Celestial Completion is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Becoming the Archetype

Becoming the Archetype

Becoming the Archetype is a Christian progressive death metal band signed to Solid State Records and Century Media Records formed in 1999 in Dacula, Georgia. They have released four albums on Solid State Records. Dichotomy, released in November 2008, sold around 2,300 copies in the United States...

. The album was released on March 29, 2011 through Solid State Records

Solid State Records

Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...

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Becoming the Archetype added some diversity and unusual elements to their sound on Celestial Completion. The album features instruments and techniques that are not common for a metal band, including: trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

s, sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

s, tambura

Tambura

The tambura, tanpura, or tambora is a long-necked plucked lute . The body shape of the tambura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – only the open strings are played to accompany other musicians...

s, tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

s, vocoder

Vocoder

A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...

s, an intro with "operatic soprano vocals and four-part harmony," and a recording of a religious mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

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In April 2010, when the group was only in the early stages of writing a new album, Celestial Completion was given the working title of In a Monstrous World of Half-Human Deities, Some People Will Unfortunately Die from Old Age.

Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark (musician)

Ryan Clark is an American graphic designer and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Demon Hunter, which he co-founded with his brother, guitarist Don Clark.-Early life and career:...

, art director for Solid State Records and vocalist for Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...

, contacted Dan Seagrave

Dan Seagrave

Daniel Seagrave is a British artist, who created many record covers for death metal bands especially in the early 1990s. He currently lives in Toronto, Canada. He grew up in Ravenshead, near Nottingham....

 to design the artwork for Celestial Completion. Seagrave had previously designed the art for Becoming the Archetype's debut album Terminate Damnation

Terminate Damnation

Terminate Damnation is the debut album by Christian progressive death metal band Becoming the Archetype. The title of the album was taken from the song Terminate Damnation from the Mortification album, Scrolls of the Megilloth....

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In its debut week, Celestial Completion sold approximately 2,100 copies and ranked at number 7 on Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

s Top Heatseekers

Top Heatseekers

Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

 chart.

The title of track four, "The Path of the Beam", is a reference to Stephen King

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...

's The Dark Tower (series)

The Dark Tower (series)

The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...

. Which bassist/vocalist, Jason Wisdom

Jason Wisdom

Jason Wisdom is the lead vocalist and bass guitarist for the Christian Progressive death metal band Becoming the Archetype signed to Solid State Records and Century Media Records formed in 1999 in Dacula, Georgia. Though he was born and raised in a Christian home, he states that he was never...

, & guitarist/keyboardist/clean vocals, Seth Hecox are both fans of.

Track listing

1. "The Resonant Frequency of Flesh" – 2:11
2. "The Magnetic Sky" – 4:26
3. "Internal Illumination" – 5:10
4. "Path of the Beam" – 5:00
5. "Music of the Spheres: Requiem Aeternam Part I" – 1:33
6. "Elemental Wrath: Requiem Aeternam Part II" – 7:51
7. "Xenosynthesis: Requiem Aeternam Part III" – 3:16
8. "Invisible Creature" – 0:41
9. "Cardiac Rebellion" – 5:17
10. "Reflect/Refract" – 4:37
11. "Breathing Light" – 6:32

Personnel

Celestial Completion credits as adapted from Allmusic.

Becoming the Archetype

• Seth "Count Seth" Hecox – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Brent "Duck" Duckett – drums
• Daniel Gailey – guitar, vocals
• Jason Wisdom
  Jason Wisdom
  Jason Wisdom is the lead vocalist and bass guitarist for the Christian Progressive death metal band Becoming the Archetype signed to Solid State Records and Century Media Records formed in 1999 in Dacula, Georgia. Though he was born and raised in a Christian home, he states that he was never...
  
  – bass, vocals

Additional musicians

• Dennis Culp – trombone
• Sean Patrick Murphy – sitar, tabla
• Ivey Norton – vocals
• Nathan O'Brien – trombone
• Kim Stice – violin

Production and recording

• Troy Glessner – mastering
• Matt Goldman – engineer, mixing, producer
• Matt McClellan – engineer

Artwork and packaging

• Becoming the Archetype – art direction
• Ryan Clark – design
• Dan Seagrave – paintings
• Troy Stains – band photo