KOCYTEAN

"Kocytean" is a compilation EP release by Swedish rock/metal act Katatonia. "Kocytean" was released through Peaceville Records in April 2014 as a special limited edition 12" vinyl (limited to 2.000 copies) as part of the annual records store day. The 6 tracks on the 26:35 minutes long release, have all been featured as either single/EP B-sides or bonus tracks on the last couple of albums by the band (releases from the 2006 - 2012 period). Katatonia have previously released the two compilation albums "Brave Yester Days (2004)" and "The Black Sessions (2005)", which in addition to being "best of" type compilations, also featured B-side single/EP tracks and rare bonus tracks. So Katatonia are generally pretty good at catering for their listeners and making sure that they get the chance to gain access to their more rare material. Being a vinyl only release "Kocytean" is however slightly more exclusive in nature compared to the two above mentioned compilations.

Stylistically the music on "Kocytean" isn´t at all surprising if you are familiar with the 2006 - 2012 period of Katatonia´s discography. The tracks are maybe slightly more quirky in nature than the "regular" album tracks from the same period, but they aren´t odd or experimental in nature as some B-side/bonus tracks sometimes are. The most unusual tracks on "Kocytean" are "Unfurl", which features some electronic trip hop type beats, which reminds me of fellow Swedes in Paatos, and the closing "The Act of Darkening", which is a more acoustic oriented track than what we usually hear from the band. But the music style is overall still dark and depressive rock/metal like Katatonia have played for many years now. There are some heavy parts featured on "Kocytean", especially on "Ashen", but it´s generally not the band´s most heavy release.

"Kocytean" is well produced, and although the six tracks were recorded at different recording sessions, there´s still a stylistic red thread which seamlessly binds the tracks together to a coherent release. While most of the tracks featured on "Kocytean" could easily have been included on the band´s full-length studio albums, I still think the little extra quirks are quite charming, and make most of them stand out a little more than your regular Katatonia track. So upon conclusion "Kocytean" is a great high quality release by Katatonia and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating isn´t out of place.