Celestial Ruin

http://home.online.no/~arnasboe/new_reviews.htm

First time I heard this band and The Awakening album, I immediately fell in love with their sound! They are convincing! Authentic, down to earth and they still can take you to a whole higher level with their simplicity, elegance ...Larissa's voice are astounding and it's because her sincerity and honest vocalization. She is dark, strong, bitter and yet gorgeous, warm, nostalgic and exasperating! And this is what I mean when it comes to alt-singers who want to sing metal. If they want they can do it, and they do it really well! For example: Larissa Down. When it comes to musical instruments.....You know is dark, is simple, is hard and heavy at times and yet so pleasant and lovely that put a smile on your face, caresses you ears and you can not stop listening over and over. I am greatly surprised and thankful for having this surreal experience and if this is with a “home-made” album, I don't even want to imagine what can happen with a huge machinery behind these talented, daredevil musicians. Well Done! 99/100 - melodic hard rock today

The wild card of the evening, Celestial Ruin. While most of the bands in the battle so far have some apparent death metal influences, Celestial Ruin stood out with a purely symphonic metal sound. We’re talking powerhouse clean vocals, keyboard, songs about dragons… the works. The judging panel was quick to give Celestial Ruin props for repping a sound and style that is greatly underrepresented in Vancouver - Abort Magazine

Celestial Ruin's sound combines heavy rock rhythms and riffs with catchy, singable melodies and rich symphonic textures. And the lady that fronts this awesome band is Larissa Dawn, who has a fine set of lungs within her, her vocal style more rock than operatic, although she does occasionally flirt with the operatic vocal style, the awesome 'Asylum' being one such track. In-fact the word "awesome" could be used several times here as there are some humdinger tracks like the rocking 'Apocalypse', the superb 'Goddess', the rather nice keyboard orientated 'The Hunted' and the atmospheric piano and string led ballad 'Underground', that closes the album rather nicely. Having listened to this album a few times, I found it to be a grower and indeed is a very good release overall. Hear for yourself HERE ....8.5/10 (Dave) - ravenheart music

Opening band is CELESTIAL RUIN, right out of our own Vancouver backyard, with a more symphonic rock sound to them. What makes them unique is they are a female fronted band, and they are really hard to just slot into one genre. But do we need to, it’s basically whether you like it or not, and I for one, really did enjoy this band, they had a lot going for them, slightly different from most, giving them the edge I think. - metal titans

Larissa Dawn, who has a fine set of lungs within her.... In-fact the word "awesome" could be used several times here as there are some humdinger tracks like the rocking 'Apocalypse', the superb 'Goddess', the rather nice keyboard orientated 'The Hunted' and the atmospheric piano and string led ballad 'Underground', that closes the album rather nicely - Ravenheart Music

The event of the night was Celestial Ruin..it was great I cant wait for the next one! - See it Live Canada

the vibrancy of Celestial Ruin’s music comes alive through the charisma and individual personalities of each musician in the band...the dynamism created was very infectious... one of the highlights of the night for me - Sonic Cathedral

Celestial Ruin appears to be in a subgenre scene of one ...their differences are working to their advantage. - BeatRoute Magazine

4 out 5 Stars

Vancouver rockers Celestial Ruin are breaking ground by offering one of the first professional symphonic rock albums released by a Canadian act. The majority of symphonic rock and metal, which boasts loud guitars, symphonic keyboards and operatic vocals, tends to come from Europe where the style is thriving. In Canada the format is still relatively new, with the exception of the massive breakout from Texas rockers Evanescence a few years back. So in that sense, The Awakening is a great title for an album that might serve as an introduction to the world of symphonic rock and metal for those that might not know the format all that well.

Sounding the furthest thing from the commercial sounds of Evanescence, Celestial Ruin tend to borrow more from their European counterparts Nightwish and Stratovarius and mix it with a slightly less operatic vocal approach and not as much concentration on epic pieces. This gives them a unique mix of European flair and North American song structures.

The 10 track debut is a strong beginning for a band that has the skill and look to bring symphonic rock/metal to the Canadian masses. Notable highlights include From Beneath You - the most epic sounding piece on the album and Asylum, which showcases a more smoky vocal from singer Larissa Dawn, resembling a younger Cher or Stevie Nicks. What might be missing from the album though is a certifiable radio hit, but I doubt that’s the point for a band that seems to love making mini-symphonic masterworks.

The Awakening sounds like a lot of effort was put into the writing, production and performance of it, showing that Celestial Ruin are here for good. And if The Awakening is only the beginning of things to come, you’d best get on board now while the getting’s good. - Rock Star Weekly Magazine

The band has not been together for a long amount of time, yet their debut EP; "The Awakening" boasts professionalism in both the musicianship and songwriting. The opening track "From Beneath You" begins with a thumping bass to open the song as the track quickly morphs into a catchy, straight-forward metal track. "Goddess" is next and begins with a slower tempo as the truly beautiful vocals of Larissa Dawn joins in. As the song progresses the tempo speeds up and gets heavier. This song quickly became my favorite of the four songs featured here. "Behind These Doors" is next and begins with a nice piano intro, before developing into a nice, melodic mid- tempo number. Vocalist Larissa Dawn shows off her diversity on this one. "The Hunted" neatly wraps things up, after about 18-minutes. Celestial Ruin is currently looking for a label and if they continue to progress, based on what is presented on "The Awakening", they should find a home in no time. This band has tons of potential. - femme Metal Magazine

CELESTIAL RUIN. This group is an newer Vancouver ?Indies” band I thought were exciting, powerful, sweet yet dangerous. Symphonic is its one description. Their music appealed to everyone.
Larissa Dawn, the lead vocalist, has at times an Angelic voice but can masterfully bring a powerful sound to ?Kick your ass” That with the Thunderous- Adam ( Thunder) Todd on drums ,
Mike (DIKK) Dagenais on Bass, Yakir Biton on
Guitar and Nathan Loflin on Keyboards, Celestial Ruin is a band which will command the attention of a lot of fans. They literally blew me away. Their original material and the cover they did of The Final Countdown by Europe was fantastic, powerful and the band just controlled the audience. - Rockstar Weekly

Hard rock with beautiful vocals and melodies, yet with a heavier, darker edge. There is a lot of rock music in the Vancouver indie scene, but nothing like Celestial Ruin. - Uncharted Music News

Celestial Ruin got the night started with their very Kamelot meets Nightwish with hints of Evanescence sound. The female fronted band definitely had a lot of confidence in what they do, and it showed in their music - James Weekes, Hammer Records (Nov 25, 2011)

"It is rare that Canada has released such a band that has success written all over them. Definitely the band to watch for in 2020!!!" - Phil Cyr (Bling)

"What can I say, if you snooze you lose, and you lost big time if you weren’t there. Make sure to catch Celestial Ruin if they are openers, or even their own show, because with their talent, they should be seen and heard, and definitely moving up in this world." - Rita Tupper

"“Heart Shaped Ashes” is most well-defined by its powerful guitar riffs perfectly accentuating the soaring vocals of lead singer Larissa Dawn. Throw in the lush symphonic textures introduced on Pandora and you’ve got yourself a damn good single." - Christopher Gonda

“Dark and moody, Celestial Ruin was a perfect closing act...Hints of euro-metal speckle this ominous prophetic rock band. An auditory augury, CR makes for the perfect soundtrack to march toward our doom” - RHYS LILLO

“Dark and moody, Celestial Ruin was a perfect closing act...Hints of euro-metal speckle this ominous prophetic rock band. An auditory augury, CR makes for the perfect soundtrack to march toward our doom” - RHYS LILLO

“Larissa Dawn, who has a fine set of lungs within her.... In-fact the word "awesome" - Dave "Ravenheart" Smith

"“Heart Shaped Ashes” is most well-defined by its powerful guitar riffs perfectly accentuating the soaring vocals of lead singer Larissa Dawn. Throw in the lush symphonic textures introduced on Pandora and you’ve got yourself a damn good single." - Christopher Gonda

"What can I say, if you snooze you lose, and you lost big time if you weren’t there. Make sure to catch Celestial Ruin if they are openers, or even their own show, because with their talent, they should be seen and heard, and definitely moving up in this world." - Rita Tupper

"It is rare that Canada has released such a band that has success written all over them. Definitely the band to watch for in 2020!!!" - Phil Cyr (Bling)