Australian Gothic doom act The Eternal came into my life with their 2018 opus Waiting for the Endless Dawn and caused me much consternation. I loved their depressive Paradise Lost / Sentenced / Katatonia style, but struggled with the sheer length of the compositions, which ranged from 10 minutes upward to 20. I underscored the album despite some amazing material due to its sheer size, and I regret that still. 2024s Skinwalker saw them tone down the running times somewhat, and it was another glum victory with huge moments of sadboi glory. Now, The Eternal drop a mini-album/EP named Celestial, and lo and behold, it’s economical in size and scope.1 You get 4 new tracks, a remix from their sophomore release, and one short intro.2 It’s not much on paper, but it hits way above its weight and again proves these Aussie doomers have something special going on that every doom fan needs to be aware of.

After a throwaway intro, “Celestial Veil” comes in to mop the floor with your emotions with a vulgar display of poignant Gothic doom. It has strong similarities to the classic Black Sun Aeon and Dawn of Solace playbook of Tuomas Saukkonen, with weepy guitar lines and plaintive clean singing designed to fill your heart with grief. The chorus is so perfect and gripping that you can’t unhear it after one exposure. And the most amazing part? It’s relatively short at just over 6 minutes! “It All Ends” is even shorter and carries the torch of despondency with another downcast paean to misery that’s emotive, morbid, and catchy, with a killer chorus designed to stick like a prison shank.

The hits keep coming on “Bleeding into Light,” which milks the band’s streamlined template for all its worth. It’s simple but uber-memorable, part Goth rock and part doom. It works a charm, and it’s so easy to listen to as it hollows out your soul. The big surprise comes with “Casting Down Shadows,” where the band takes their core approach and layers it with epical Middle Eastern symphonics to arrive at something grandiose like a doom version of Led Zeppelin’s immortal “Kashmir.” It creates a strange hypnotic effect, and you lose yourself in the haze of time and space. It’s a really interesting song and shows a side of The Eternal that I want to hear more of. Things round out with “Everlasting MMXXVI,” a remix of a track off their 2004 Sleep of Reason album. It works here, and though the overall style is more stripped-down and Goth rock-based. These shorter style cuts remind me of the early stuff from Deathwhite, and that’s a good thing.

The Eternal know how to nail their chosen style to the wall, giving the Gothic/melodoom fan everything they could want. Mark Kelson’s vocals are perfect for this kind of dour doom, and he sells negative emotions by the truckload without having to strain or contort his voice to get the point across. His sullen crooning is beguiling, and when he steps the urgency up, things really pop. Kelson and Richie Poate are a potent guitar tandem, often keeping things minimalist while crafting classic Goth/melodoom harmonies that remind of what Greg Macintosh (Paradise Lost) does so well. Their playing is the mortuary drape that covers everything in cold hopelessness. This isn’t the most flashy of bands musically, but they don’t need to be to ensnare and bewitch you.

In my review for Skinwalker, I wrote, “If they ever learn to resist their fatter angels, they’ll drop a magnum opus that will shake the heavens.” Here we find The Eternal associating with angels on Ozempic, and the results are impressive indeed. I’m anxious to see if Celestial is indicative of where the band is heading. I’m fully on board if that’s the case, and if not, I can deal with the zaftig angels too. I’m easy when the doom is this sexy.



Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Reigning Phoenix
Websites: the-eternal.com | facebook.com/theeternal | instagram.com/theeternalofficial
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2026

🕷️𝑳𝒐𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔🕷️
ꕤ — ✦ — ꕤ
Los skinwalkers son hechiceros del folklore navajo que no conocen límites. Pueden tomar la forma de cualquier ser vivo, imitar voces humanas y moverse de manera antinatural. Se alimentan del miedo, la confusión y la confianza que depositas en quienes crees cercanos. Se dice que si escuchas tu nombre en la oscuridad y reconoces la voz, quizá ya sea demasiado tarde…
ꕤ — ✦ — ꕤ
Escuché mi nombre entre la maleza,
y el aire se volvió demasiado pesado para respirar.
No era su voz. No era la de nadie que conociera.
Era un eco torcido, un susurro que conocía cada miedo mío,
cada recuerdo que había creído seguro.

Vi moverse algo entre los árboles.
Un animal con ojos humanos, famélicos y fríos,
la boca curvada en la risa de alguien que amaba,
imitando mi confianza para destruirla.

Corrí, pero el bosque parecía absorber mis pasos.
Cada sombra se alargaba, cada rama crujía como hueso bajo mi peso,
y su voz me perseguía, repitiendo mis palabras, mis secretos, mis dudas.
Sentí cómo se colaba en mis pensamientos,
torciendo la memoria, corrompiendo los recuerdos dulces
hasta que no sabía lo que era mío y lo que él había tomado.

Me detuve, jadeante, y el silencio cayó.
Y entonces lo entendí:
el skinwalker no necesita morder, arañar ni desgarrar.
Solo necesita estar,
mirarte, imitarte y confundir tu corazón.
Porque mientras lo sigas con la mirada,
ya está dentro, devorando lo que eres,
transformando tu confianza en terror puro,
tu amor en desconfianza,
cada paso que des, cada sombra que mires,
será un recordatorio de que no estás solo, pero tampoco estás seguro.
ꕤ — ✦ — ꕤ

#terror #skinwalker #pesadilla #leyendas #oscuro #miedo #relatos #navajo #cuentooscuro

We Investigated SKINWALKER RANCH And This Is What We Found...

https://peertube.gravitywell.xyz/w/8XKr2YXFKniJyR79xSacY1

Is it just me, or does this movie feel horribly young adult? It just screams how hip and with-it it is.

It's like a pop singer trying to do punk.

#FrightClub #Skinwalker