SKY VOID OF STARS

Katatonia are a bona fide metal institution. With 12 full-length albums under their belt, the Stockholm-based trailblazers have been leaders in redefining the sound of the genre, building from their death/doom origins in the 1990s to gradually incorporate post-rock, dark rock, and progressive metal elements into their music. On January, 20th, 2023 the band will release their latest effort Sky Void of Stars via Napalm Records. Comprised of 10 songs (plus 1 bonus-track), once again all penned by vocalist and founding member Jonas Renkse, the anticipation for the follow-up to 2020's City Burials is sky high. Can the dark metal icons pull off yet another masterpiece? Or are the years taking a toll on their creativity?

These were some of the questions going through my head as I pressed "PLAY" to stream the promo provided by Napalm Records. My trepidation was further enhanced by the fact that I wasn't overly impressed with the band's previous LP City Burials - an album that walked a fine line between understated mellowness and plodding torpor, but did not always manage to stay on the right side of it. Fortunately, Sky Void of Stars blew all my concerns out of the water, and stands magnificently as one of the best albums Katatonia ever made.

With the new LP, the Swedes have attempted something very bold. They have taken the most distinctive aspects of their sound over the last 20 years, and pushed each separate element to a further extreme, all in the space of the same record. If you have been following the release of the three album singles, you will know exactly what I mean. The first single "Atrium" was a gloriously catchy, deceptively simple goth tune that could by all means be a new "Teargas" or "My Twin" for the band. Next, Katatonia dropped "Austerity", an incredible tour-de-force that manages to distillate in just under 4 minutes the essence of modern progressive metal, from angular riffing to complex polyrhythms, all without losing sight of melody. The final single "Birds" took us yet on another stylistic turn: it's a more straightforward, heavier piece that harks back to the sound Katatonia pioneered in the early 2000s, on their Viva Emptiness album in particular, with its austere atmosphere, sinister melodies and urgent pacing.

Taken together, the three singles capture exactly what you can expect to find on Sky Void of Stars: catchy, electronic-laden gothic anthems, punishing progressive beasts, and heavy-hitting slabs of sinister dark metal. "Hang on a second", you ask, "how can these disparate styles coexist on the same LP?". While the three singles may point to a scattershot album that does not quite know which direction to take, the real beauty of Sky Void of Stars lies in how naturally and elegantly Katatonia managed to weave together these different sonic niches to form a strikingly coherent whole.

A lot of it has to do with the sequencing of the tracklist. The way it keeps building and releasing tension * alternating driving uptempos with mellower songs, heavy demanding pieces with sudden bursts of melodic accessibility - is absolutely pitch-perfect. The shifts are gradual and natural. Take the first three tracks on the LP. Opener "Austerity" takes no prisoners. Drummer Daniel Moilanen is on fire: his urgent, tentacular performance is astonishing, making it almost impossible to count the time signatures. Niklas Sandin's pulsating bass is no less impressive both in the faster, more technically demanding parts and in the mellower jazzy bridge. Meanwhile, Anders Nyström and Roger Öjersson churn out some beautifully complex riffs, before Öjersson unleashes a shimmering solo halfway through the song (the first of many he performs on this record). Renkse's voice is warm and inviting as usual, but his melodies are oblique and unpredictable, making for a rather claustrophobic start to the album. How do you come down from such a high-pressure, high-impact track? "Colossal Shade" dials things down gradually with its catchier melodies, bouncy mid-tempo and poppy electronic undertones, but there is a darkness lurking beneath the surface, in the heavy chug of the guitars and the dissonant bridge, which ushers in those Viva Emptiness vibes I was mentioning earlier. With "Opaline", the comedown is complete. Together with "Atrium", the song is probably the most accessible of the whole album, with its infectious electro-goth undercurrents and mellow keyboard lines, all converging into a majestic, melancholy-infused chorus that brings to mind the band's best work on The Great Cold Distance.

The rest of the album ebbs and flows in a similar fashion. "Birds" and "Author" dial up the tension again - the latter packing a lugubrious chorus that takes me way back to those early Katatonia albums where Renkse had just started experimenting with clean-vocal (but pitch-black) melodies (Tonight's Decision; Discouraged Ones). The mellow, vaguely psychedelic "Drab Moon" softens the blows, while "Impermanence" is a spellbinding heavy ballad that features co-vocals by Joel Ekelöf (Soen) as well as some beautifully mournful guitar leads that hark back to the band's early doom days. "Sclera" is a masterpiece in understatement, with its barely hinted melodies, scattered drumming and evocative electronic effects. The crescendo from verse to pre-chorus to chorus is mesmerizing, and builds the perfect tension for the subsequent track "Atrium", which is the other melodic centrepiece of the album after "Opaline". Sky Void of Stars closes as it started, with another crushingly progressive piece. This time extending to over 6 minutes in length, "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall" is an ever-changing beast that builds on twisted riffs and bleak vocal lines that keep mutating and evolving, leaving the listener with little to latch on and no clear sense of what may come next.

The record is further graced by a masterful production by Danish wizard Jacob Hansen: warm and natural, yet clinically clean, it achieves a beautiful separation between frequencies in the mix, ensuring that each instrument is clearly heard at all times, from Sandin's bass, to the two guitars, to the keyboard effects, to Moilanen's various drum components. The end result is particularly admirable when one considers how richly textured the music is. The keyboards and electronic effects are omnipresent, but so are the drums and the guitars - the latter playing a much more prominent role than on City Burials. As a consequence, Sky Void of Stars feels heavier and fuller than its predecessor, but this is accomplished without sacrificing nuance or clarity.

With of Sky Void of Stars Katatonia have tried something bold and ambitious: to condense in the space a single LP the vast universe of styles and influences they have taken on board in the course of their three-decade career - from doom, to gothic metal, to electronica, to progressive rock. What's more - instead of attempting to find a compromise between the different styles within each song, they pushed each different style to the fore across a different set of songs, merging them then into a coherent narrative by means of gradual shifts in tension and expressivity. In many ways, this is reminiscent of what Katatonia tried to do on City Burials, but with much better results, as the new album sounds crisper and more dynamic, and it achieves a better balance between mellow and upbeat moments as well as between guitar-driven music and futuristic electronic elements.

The flip side of this ambitious endeavour is that Sky Void of Stars is not an easy record to take in: there is a lot going on and the album requires a dedicated investment in time and active listening on the part of the audience. It is, however, worthy of every second of your time, because Sky Void of Stars is absolutely brilliant, and perhaps even the pinnacle of the Katatonia's entire discography.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

Katatonia's last is an absolute monster of dark music. That's right, any label goes just well with Katatonia, prog, goth rock, metal, doom metal (not now though), electro-goth, whatever you want really, but encompassing every one of these genres we have total and utter darkness. That is the essence: Cold, autumn music, charged atmospheras and profound lyrics, and that is something Katatonia never failed to acomplish. With this record, they've perfected the craft, and managed to, in some way, represent the same exact feelings within a million different sounds, constructing even well sounding, almost poppy hooks without really getting rid of any of those chilling elements that make katatonia the band it is.

+ The production of this record is just marvelous, different. Entering the world of "Sky Void of Stars" is entering to a crisp, dark yet clear environment, with layered guitars and huge sounding drums. It is not a normal sounding production, and I love that (some may hate it).

+ If well Jonas is known for not experimenting much with his vocal timbre, and use to stay low register, sounding like a lord of darkness, in this record he drops some glimpses of a new Jonas with the capacity to break dynamics through high notes, having as a result some beautiful sounding choruses and vocal lines.

+ Joel's participation is amazing, "Impermanence" is the more emotional song in the record. Oh, and the fills in this album, awesome, very 80's sounding drums.

January 20, 2023 was a big day for metalheads within the prog community, between this and Riversides'. Maybe I still consumed by the hype of the release, but I don't really care at this point, this just sounds great and I'll come back to it.

Best track: Author (that hook omfg), Austerity (that bridge, god), Opaline (it's just that good).

Weaker track: Probably Birds, there is just something weird about those guitars.

One of Sweden's oldest and most consistent masters of dark prog metal release their 13th studio album since 1992.

1. "Austerity" (3:41) cool KARNIVOOL-like song and vocal performance. (I understand how wrong this reference is since Ian Kenny and his Aussie bandmates were barely out of diapers when Katatonia launched its career but my knowledge and familiarity of Karnivool's music preceded that of my Katatonia awareness.) Excellent guitar solo in the second minute. Great choruses. A top three song for me. (8.75/10)

2. "Colossal Shade" (4:29) opens like some 1980s power metal but then enters the 21st Century with some great effects and djenty guitar play. (8.75/10)

3. "Opaline" (5:00) through the first minute of this song I feel as if I should prepare myself for some kind of Linkin Park performance pyrotechnics, but the song turns out to be far more straightforward and melodic than I expected. (9/10)

4. "Birds (4:08) great performances from the rhythm section, weak vocal. (8.667/10)

5. "Drab Moon (3:59) is this KARNIVOOL? Hearing this song begs the question: Did Mariusz Duda hear Katatonia before gathering his musical credits? before he helped form RIVERSIDE? (8.5/10)

6. "Author" (4:17) now this is more like what I like in my atmospheric metal music! (I am, after all, a attested fan of all-things djenty.) By far my favorite song on this album! I love the extreme dynamic shifts and atmospheric keys, subdued vocal performance and djenty guitar sections. (9.5/10)

7. "Impermanence" (5:12) I hear a little Cy Curnin (THE FIXX) in this vocal performance. (8.75/10)

8. "Sclera" (4:45) nice sounding but so very simple--both compositionally and vocal/melodically. (8.5/10)

9. "Atrium" (4:08) as melodic as anything Ian Kenny and his KARNIVOOL mates have done. In fact, this is almost a straight-forward rock ballad! (8.75/10)

10. "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall" (6:08) again, it's the dynamic range of this song that brings me in--even though some of the heavier stuff is a bit repellent. That fourth minute is spell-binding. Unfortunately, it flows into the less-than-impressive chorus section. Still, this is probably my final top three song. (8.75/10)

Total Time 45:47

I do not find this music to be nearly as dark as others have written. In fact, I find it much more melodic and uplifting--reminding me quite a little of KARNIVOOL's wonderful 2013 minor masterpiece, Asymmetry. The excellent drumming and bass contributions to this album's music are always so solid, so noticeable. I've listened to Katatonia albums before but none have grabbed hold of me as well as this one. This might help inspire me to go back into their rather extensive discography.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

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.

Solid Melodic Goth / Doom undercut by Overproduction

Katatonia have been at it for a long time, and have settled into their current sound which involves clean vocals, a wall of sound that includes multiple guitars and keys, mostly middle tempo songs, scattered prog elements, and a dark but not overly dreary flavor. In general, I enjoy goth metal, and yearn for good metal that lacks guttural vocals. I am a good target audience for this album.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through the album the first time through. There is a same-ness to the textures and tone that was almost boring for me. The main reason for this is the very common modern pattern of overproduction. The drums sound like they've been heavily quantized and everything snapped to the grid. There is a lot of compression on the mix such that dynamics are minimal. The guitar tone is very scooped and disappears behind the drums except for a bit of textural wash. The wall o' reverbed, detuned guitars muddies the riffs - and riffs are the heart of metal!

The good news is that on multiple listens, my ear got accustomed to the production and started to pick out the riffs, the melodies, and even occasionally - groove. I could hear the little prog moments (there aren't a lot), and appreciate the changes in texture when they happened. I can honestly say that at this point, I enjoy this album.

Depending on the soundman, I could see this material being a lot of fun to see live. Live music can pull out dynamics and rhythm so much more than recorded versions. The elements are there in the compositions on "Sky Void of Stars," they just aren't delivered here to the degree that I'd like.

Favorite songs - "Austerity" "Colossal Shade" "Atrium"

"Sky Void Of Stars" is the thirteenth full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Katatonia. The album was released through Napalm Records in January 2023. It´s the successor to "City Burials" from April 2020. The album features the same quintet lineup who recorded the predecessor. Once again lead vocalist Jonas Renkse is the main composer of the material as guitarist Anders "Blackheim" Nyström is still suffering from writers block (I read an interview with Renkse where he confirmed this).

While the material on "Sky Void Of Stars" is generally slightly harder edged than the material on "City Burials" (only slightly though, as this is by no means a particularly heavy release), this album still features a similar atmospheric and melancholic alternative/progressive rock/metal style to the predecessor. Renkse´s melancholic and emotional vocals are the focus of attention, but the tracks also feature solid instrumental performances. Katatonia are true professionals and it´s audible in everything they do. While the band have tweaked and developed their sound over the years, it´s been a few years and albums since they´ve released anything surprising and honestly monotony has begun to set in. It´s almost like they´ve become too accomplished at what they do, and every new release therefore sounds too safe and formulaic. I think I remember saying this about "City Burials" too, but I´ll say it again here...

...the sound production choices are also similar to the sound found on "City Burials" and again it would be nice to hear Katatonia travel down a different sonic road and challenge themselves and their audience. I´m probably being a bit unfair here, as "Sky Void Of Stars" objectively is a high quality release, and if this is your entry point to Katatonia you´re likely to love it, but to us old fans, who have followed them and the development of their sound since the early 90s, it´s pretty obvious by now that they´ve stagnated and are rehashing tried and true musical ideas. And when they do try something a little different like they do on "Birds", it´s really not that different, as that song more or less sounds like a cover of Paradise Lost (a band Katatonia have always had some similarities to) with Renkse singing.

"Sky Void Of Stars" features a clear, professional, and detailed sound production, where everything is audible in the mix. It´s very polished and could have prospered from some bite and rawness, but that´s not how Katatonia want their music presented anymore. Despite my reservations towards "Sky Void Of Stars", it´s still a quality release from Katatonia, although it´s often a bit dull and lacking punch. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Katatonia is a band that consistently underwhelms. Despite a strong vocalist and a truly unique sonic palette, Katatonia albums always felt like dragged out snooze fests. Katatonia often forgoes riff-driven metal for a more intimate and layered sound. Riffs make their appearance to be sure but they're second to the atmosphere and mood generated by the layered guitar and synth work. On paper, this is an approach I absolutely should adore. But somehow, the records seem to fall flat and meander. Despite this, I still make the time to listen to their new releases in the hope that the band will release something that is both true to their genuinely unique sound but also has a pulse.

Sky Void of Stars is an album that still falls short of my expectations for the group but, nevertheless, was still the most enjoyable experience I've had listening to one of this group's records. There are several memorable hooks and riffs that buoy the melancholic atmosphere and prevent the record from descending into the melancholic meandering drudgery I am used to.