SKY VOID OF STARS

Sweden's gothic rock-leaning prog metal legends Katatonia released their thirteenth studio album in January of 2023, after two very solid previous releases, 2016's 'The Fall of Hearts' and 2020's 'City Burials', seemingly following up and expanding that well-established on these aforementioned albums sound that depicts them as a mature metal band enjoying their prime years by writing epic and upliftingly dark prog-shaded songs that sit very well within the ears of the listener. 'Sky Void of Stars' continues this trend, and it has to be said that it comprises a very nice addition to their already-excellent catalogue - the album is like an organic blend of the previous two releases, kind of taking the grave nature of 'The Fall of Hearts' and mixing it with the seemingly uninviting but surprisingly comforting ether of the songs found on 'City Burials'.

With all of this said, it is worth mentioning that this is quite an enjoying album, I find it working very well as a whole, it has been very intelligently constructed and above all, it contains some very beautiful moments, where the band is certainly at the top of their game. While it might not be rivaling iconic records like 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' or 'Brave Murder Day', this one is a gorgeous snapshot of where Katatonia is at the moment, in what I consider their most melodic and beautiful period, also a period where the band's name has certainly become synonymous with quality, if this has not been as strongly established before. Among the highlights of 'Sky Void of Stars' one shall find 'Austerity', 'Colossal Shade', 'Birds', 'Impermanence', 'Atrium', and the bonus track 'Absconder' - some of these truly have the potential of becoming classics of the Swedes' catalogue. A great new release for Katatonia by all means.