The first song "Face of My Innocence" starts off with blistering guitars and nicely executed blast beats. The music is aggressive but never too brutal. The blast beats are there but never dominate, and the guitars are heavy but dont resort to "chugga-chugga" riffs over and over and always display an amazing sense of melody overall. The vocals are raspy and sound a bit like later day Chuck Schuldiner of Death.
"Maddening Disdain" just might be my favorite song off the record. Nevermind the double bass, the ride cymbal and thrashy guitar riffs are what make this song! "Worship Depraved" is another favorite and reminds me of how I felt when I first heard Shadows Fall's Of One Blood. They had such potential after that record but never reached the same heights again, instead they settled into a comfortable thrash/metalcore hybrid. It seems like Arsis pick up where that record left off and go even further. They both have a knack for writing catching songs, something rare in extreme metal. Only there are no clean vocals or typcial breakdowns here. Just great riffs and infectious guitar harmonies.
I don't know what else to say about this record. To put it frankly, Celebration of Guilt crushes just about everything but the best releases from 2004 and could honestly be a contender for record of the year (maybe I should make a top 10 list or something? Hmmmmmm.....). Arsis is definitely on their way to the top of todays metal scene. Fans of old In Flames, Death, Immortal, and Shadows Fall should already own this record, and anyone else who remotely likes REAL metal needs to check this out also.
Standout Tracks:
Face of My Innocence
Maddening Disdain
Worship Depraved
Elegant and Perverse
Wholly Night