Following the end of Wildernessking’s career, Keenan Oakes had to continue making music, despite the difficulties of playing in a metal band in Cape Town, South Africa. Regardless, Oakes joined forces with Crow Black Sky’s Gideon Lamprecht in 2018 to create the musical entity known as CONSTELLATIA. Taken from the word ‘constellation’, CONSTELLATIA refers to the nature of existence and the natural world, the cosmos, and extracting meaning and happiness from it all. The band’s somber take on progressive black metal encapsulates inherently human subjects; a distillation of life’s meander, sadness and tribulations.

Inspired by artists such as Opeth, Mastodon, The Cure, Primordial, Neurosis, Wolves in the Throne Room, Pink Floyd, Beach House, Agalloch, Emperor and Cult of Luna, Constellatia imbue their stark musical landscape with ferocity and reverie. Following the release of their debut record via Isolation Records in 2019, The Language of Limbs, CONSTELLATIA was very quick to garner the attention of listeners around the world, leading to their acknowledgement and subsequent signing to the large, independent record label, Season of Mist. While The Language of Limbs sounds bleak and tends to instill a sense of longing within the listener, it too sparks an idyllic feeling of catharsis with the mesmerizing atmospheric soundscapes and subtle intoxicating harmonies. 

Now with Season of Mist’s support moving forward with their sophomore record, CONSTELLATIA have the footing and foundation to fully expand on their musical endeavours. The new album which is set to release on November the 11th 2022, shows CONSTELLATIA continuing to evolve on their already mature sound, creating these larger-than-life romantic compositions that express the emotional spectrum of simply being; an amorphous progressive metal experience enriched with lavish ambiance and ripe with spirit, unique to them alone.
From the very start, the goal with CONSTELLATIA was to create emotionally dense and textured metal that is both transcendent and incredibly human. With the release of their upcoming record later this year, CONSTELLATIA will reveal just how much more dynamic and vulnerable their music has become. It may seem that the band is now hitting their stride, but they have only just begun. Plans are being made to tour the many corners of the world in support of their new album and subsequent releases.
 
To love
The wheels of this great turning
Dispel the grey aura you’ve known
Deepen the joy, stars aglow

Follow CONSTELLATIA on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.

Genre: Post/progressive black metal

Mastering studio and engineer: Fascination Street - Tony Lindgren

Producer / Mixing engineer: Gideon Lamprecht 

Recording Line-up:
Gideon Lamprecht - Lead guitar
Adam Hill - Rhythm guitar
Keenan Oakes - Bass, vocals
Frank Schilperoort - Drums

Guest musicians:
Alison Rachel (Honeymoan) - Adorn
Skye MacInnes (Honeymoan) - Adorn

Cover Art: Kent Andreasen
Video art: "Adorn" is filmed and edited by Barry De Villiers. 

Biography: Written by JP Pallais

Line-up:
Gideon Lamprecht - Lead guitar
Adam Hill - Rhythm guitar
Keenan Oakes - Bass, vocals