Celestial Sorrow is Finnish, there’s no doubt about it. You only have to listen to the first 30 seconds and you realize that these Finns have listened very closly to their fellow countrymen Children Of Bodom. There’s normally nothing wrong with copying a working concept, however it is my personal belief that Celestial Sorrow have taken it so far that they lack any personality. This whole demo sounds so predictable it almost hurts. Sure, once in a while there’s a Testament-like riff, or a Dimmu Borgir-like psychedelic keyboard melody but that’s about as much variation as you’ll get. Only the final track "Ready To Hang" manages to slightly impress me with its rather weird interlude.

X-Hated is Celestial Sorrow’s fourth demo and contains four tracks; all in the vein of Children Of Bodom’s debut album. The song structures are more than decent but I just can’t shake the feeling I’m listening to a poor man’s Children Of Bodom. My biggest problem with this disc: why would I listen to Celestial Sorrow, when I can just listen to the real deal? Fortunately, this is just a demo from a bunch of young lads who still have a lot to learn. A step towards a more original sound should be their first priority however.