The loudest (and the nicest) band to ever come out of North Wales is back, on Friday the 13th nonetheless! Their newest single “Iodine” will punch a hole in your walls, kick down your doors and feed your cat. I absolutely adore how the Welsh duo mixes metal, goth, industrial, with the cheerfulness and sonic fluffiness that could only be matched by a 6 week old Persian kitten. The band is a breath of fresh air, absolutely fantastic live and you will love them more than I love chocolate cheesecake.
“Iodine” single cover
Official bio: CELAVI are a fierce duo from Bangor, North Wales called Gwion and Sarah, armed with their genre-exploding take on nu-metal, fuelled by their anthemic nu-sound of metal, goth, emo, industrial, electro and rock. Always staying in their own lane, CELAVI thrive on their fresh, innovative sound, supported by ‘BBC Introducing Rock’ with Alyx Holcombe on BBC Radio 1 and ‘Future Alternative’ with Nels Hylton on BBC Radio 1.
CELAVI are, in my personal and humble opinion, one of the most unique bands I have ever come across. They record primarily in Welsh, but “Iodine” is sung fully in English. The duo consists of Gwion and Sarah Wynn Griffiths, a married couple who work together like a charm. You can easily tell how much they enjoy what they do, it’s very obvious in their music, pictures and on stage. Every review I read mentions their absolutely amazing chemistry and pure joy from being together on stage. This is something that really draws me to them – you can’t help but like them. They are also pretty good at what they do, which is of course, a huge bonus. A great band, making music that makes them, and others happy, what’s not to like!
“Iodine” wasn’t written in happy circumstances however. Not so long ago, Sarah was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that really had a massive impact on her life. You may think that the music is uplifting and energizing, but if you listen closely to the lyrics you will notice Sarah sings about fear and uncertainty and worse, of the excruciating pain. The repeated verses of “What is happening to me? and “Make it stop” truly hit hard – I myself have at one point of my life been diagnosed with a serious illness (thyroid cancer) and I know very well how painful and long the recovery might be. We send Sarah our best wishes!
CELAVI by Andrew Benjamin/Andrew Cockerill Photography
“Iodine” stands at nearly four minutes (3 minutes and 56 seconds to be exact). It was produced by Grammy nominated record producer, Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Nova Twins, Motörhead) and it will come with an official video that is going to be released in a few weeks. The video was directed by Shaun Hudson (Slipknot, Sleep Token, Limp Bizkit) so there is much to look forward to, especially if the duo’s new EP is also rumored to come out sometime in November.
“Iodine” is a dosage of pure, refined industrial metal. The track has some sort of instrumental and elongated intro and outro, but then speeds up like a crazy train. The vocals, as always, are heavenly, guitars – electrifying and the drums are about to bring the roof in.
You will be addicted – CELAVI are, to quote Tina Turner, simply the best.
5/5.
CELAVI online:
https://www.wearecelavi.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WEARECELAVI/
https://www.instagram.com/wearecelavi/
https://twitter.com/wearecelavi
https://soundcloud.com/wearecelavi
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OEzNJIkgsH8PTw0y86ATx?si=bo7MdX3-Q1O_nfbhpgAziw&nd=1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVqtR652vnb9pwo89ek2Y2g
https://www.tiktok.com/@wearecelavi
https://www.threads.net/@wearecelavi
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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