KATATONIA

KATATONIA have been releasing albums for 30 years now, and I feel they have three distinct periods when it comes to their style. The first two albums from '93 and '96 used extreme vocals and this was a band who were huge BATHORY fans, along with that British scene that included ANATHEMA's early stuff, along with PARADISE LOST and MY DYING BRIDE. I have a hard time with the early stuff, even if Mikael Akerfeldt guests on that second album "Brave Murder Day".

The next phase includes "Discouraged Ones" from '98, "Tonight's Decision" from '99, "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" from '01 and "Viva Emptiness" from '03. The extreme stuff is gone, this is just sad, beautiful music. "The Black Sessions" is a mini box set consisting of two cds, both over 68 minutes long. The music is from those four albums. A cool idea to focus on this period, and we also get a DVD from a show they did for Krakow TV in Poland, in April of '03. So two cds in their slip cases, a DVD in it's slip case, plus thick liner notes.

The liner notes are mostly the lyrics plus Travis Smith's incredible art work. Just a great package if your a KATATONIA fanboy. Each disc has 15 tracks all from those four albums, plus four songs from the two EPs they released during this period called "Tonight's Music" and "Tear Gas", both from '01. Two tracks from each of those two EPs are included by the way. The longest track is called "Black Session" at 7 minutes, and it's the only previously unreleased track on here, taken from the "Viva Emptiness" sessions.

This has been sitting on my shelf with my other KATATONIA cds for many years. Good to finally talk about it. While I'm not big on compilation albums, this one has merit with the four tracks from the two EPs and that unreleased song, plus the DVD. This would be great for someone new to the band. That period before they went into more of a Prog Metal style. I prefer "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" from the '98 to '03 era, but my favourite is "The Great Cold Distance" from 2006, the first of those Prog Metal records.

There is a particularly morbid and even depressive quality to the music of Katatonia's fifth studio album 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', a peculiarity that characterizes this album much more than any other release by the band, an omnipresent melancholic, dark aspect in the way the album has been conceived and constructed that has never been replicated on the following releases, quite heavy and dark in their own respect, too. However, this release marks an important stylistic shift for the band, as the Swedish outlet led by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström swiftly move away from their earlier death-doom and goth tropes towards a more alternative metal direction, with a sound that preserves the gloominess of early Katatonia but the music is given a more contemporary spin. I could imagine how the brooding sounds of this release might have been influential to an extent to Porcupine Tree or eventually Anathema and Pain of Salvation and what they were doing later on in the decade (all of this is in the domain of speculation, of course).

Being the band's fifth album, the sound and production of 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' are apparently more mature and professional and while Katatonia had been toying with alternative metal on preceding albums, it is this one that truly encapsulated and portrays their new direction. The result is an incredibly solid, diverse and intricate album, much more streamlined and experimental in a way, too, marking what would become the first really solid lineup of the Swedish metal act. The personal themes of the album, linked naturally to band leader Jonas Renkse's experience in life, further allow each song to have a more distinct character as each track becomes a little story on its own, either fictional or reflecting Renkse's personal problems. All this results in an incredibly intense and melancholic album, a cathartic experience that could rarely be replicated by another album or artist. On an album where each track is a highlight by itself, particularly strong and memorable pieces include the opening track 'Dispossession', 'We Must Bury You', 'Teargas', 'Tonight's Music', 'The Future of Speech' and 'Sweet Nurse'. A powerful and emotive release by Katatonia that stands as one of their finest moments.

On their third album, Katatonia didn't leave any stone unturned despite staying largely within the same atmospheric feeling. Slight change was in the loss of epiqueness, romantism despite the morbid, depressive and heavy feeling kept in tact. One of the greatest decisions made was inviting Opeth's mastermind to contribute vocals to cut the most brutal album vocally. The second great decision was to how two guitars are combined, creating heavy but also mournful feeling. Guitar are masterful and essential in creating the level of bleakness on this record. Two points of criticism, non-essential ones to me: intentionally simple 4/4 beat drumming on the first three heavy tracks. Directly linked to this is the level of repetition which is unlucky from the music perspective but I can understand it for that kind of mood - doom metal bands often use slow repetitive patterns, the same goes for post- rock. I divide the album into three track categories - straightforward gothic/death represented by the first and second track. "Day" is an excellent light weight 90's alternative rock track, fragile yet well constructed. Warmer than anything else on the album, obviously. The third, most voluminous category are tracks 4-6. "Rainroom" starts as a straightforward gotic number but turns into a more slow doom number. The deceivingly mellow repetitive part is alternated by a death/doom ominous motive which then replaced by a straightforward chilling death metal. "12" is a fantastic doom number with great guitar tandem riffing on a different octave. The slow death metal quite Opeth- like motive follows and then very quiet section with clean guitar comes. Another great doom metal riff kicks in before a mellow motive repetition. What comes out of the blue is the last very powerful and evil misanthropic doom riff greatly propelled by the deamonic Akerfeldt to the deepest depths of misery. Astonishing atmospheric moment. "Endtime" has a similar structure to "12" just that it starts with what is the final section of the previous track - quiet instrumental guitar intro which then develops into a similarly sounding doom moment. The melody is simple yet devastating. Vocals are brutal and seem to be duplicated in their loudest part "Here is my darkness". This is Katatonia at their most influential stage setting the scene for further doom/death metal acts to follow. Katatonia would never leave the feeling of sadness yet this was their last matching to brutality. I recommend acquiring this album with the EP "Sounds of decay" which contains 3 similarly designed tracks with Akerfeldt on vocals.

'The Great Cold Distance' is Katatonia's seventh studio album, released in 2006 and following what is perhaps the band's two strongest consecutive albums to date, 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' and 'Viva Emptiness', not just chronologically but also stylistically as it consolidated the Swedes' transition from doom and death metal to a more alternative style of heavy music with many intricate and interesting moments, certainly inspired by their comrades Opeth and Porcupine Tree, among other bands, and what they were doing at the time [talking about the early and mid-2000s], experimenting with the progressive side of rock and metal. This release, however, completes in a glorious manner what could be considered a very successful trinity of classic albums for this band, as it is entirely on par with the two aforementioned ones and stands on its own as a very important pillar in Katatonia's catalogue.

This album, while necessarily heavy and vibrant, as the firepower-loaded riffs pierce the album, remains very consistent all throughout, it displays a very intelligent album architecture that does not compromise the experience of hearing the album and enjoying every single minute of it. As usual, the duo of Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström is responsible for the writing of the album, also assisting Jens Bogren in the production about which one could not point out to any flaws. The entire thing sounds quite good, absolutely menacing and emotive, all instruments are able to impact the songs just the right way, and the vocals are impeccable, yet hauntingly beautiful in every single number on here.

Needless to say, this record gives us some of the band's absolute classics, like 'My Twin', 'Deliberation' or 'Soil's Song' as well as several lesser known but not a single bit less explosive tracks like the throbbing 'Rusted' or the more melancholic 'July', but pointing out to any highlight on here would be an injustice to all the other songs, as the whole album is really consistent, with no weak entries. This record is a very fine mixture of the things Katatonia does best in this period of theirs - delivering these dark and occasionally depressing anthems that always have this menacing heaviness to them as well as the intricacy and appeal of modern prog metal.

"A Sunset Choir For The Daylight Harvest" is an EP release by Swedish death/doom metal (later alternative/progressive metal) act Katatonia. The EP was released through Night of the Vinyl Dead Records in January 2023. The original 7" vinyl version of the EP is limited to 500 copies, but the EP is also available digitally. "A Sunset Choir For The Daylight Harvest" is a re-recording of Katatonia´s 1992 rehearsal demo and the re-recordings were done only by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström (under their original pseudonyms Lord Seth and Blackheim respectively) without contributions from the remaining members of the 2023 version of Katatonia. This is not the first release of the material, as the two re-recorded tracks were first featured on the March 2022 "Melancholium" (Darkness Shall Rise Productions) boxed set.

Needless to say that there is a big difference in sound quality between the original rehearsal demo versions of the songs and these professional studio re-recordings, but if that´s not exactly a surprise, the authenticity and respectful performances of the re-recordings are a bit more astonishing. Especially given the development of Katatonia´s music from 1992 until these re-recordings were done in 2021. But on the other hand maybe one shouldn´t be so surprised as Renkse and Nyström have always kept in touch with their extreme metal roots and have of course also been active in their death metal Bloodbath project when they weren´t busy with their day job in Katatonia. So recording respectful and authentic versions of material they wrote in the early 90s, which is far removed from the latter day sound of Katatonia, maybe isn´t that surprising after all.

Stylistically this is dark, doomy, and melancholic death metal which is strongly influenced by Paradise Lost´s 1991 "Gothic" album. Renkse has a slighlty more aggressive blackened edge to his growling style than Nick Holmes, but the instrumental part of the music has many similarities to the legendary Brits and their equally legendary "Gothic" album. Soaring melancholic leads, ultra heavy riffs, and slow doomy drumming (parts of "Sunset Choir" features faster-paced drumming though). All the ingredients of that particular sound are here and accounted for. One could have feared that the great respectful performances could have been ruined by a clean and sterile production job, but again Katatonia show that they have great taste and understanding of how music written in the early 90s should sound. This sound production has just the right amount of grit and gloom while still being detailed and clear, that you´re transported to exactly the right place, which is one of the functions and success criterias of a well executed production job. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

— First review of this album —

"Rehearsal '92" is the second demo recording by Swedish death/doom metal (later alternative/progressive metal) act Katatonia. The demo was independently released on cassette tape ni October 1992. It features the songs "Daylight Harvest" and "Sunset Choir", which are not on the tracklist on the preceding demo release "Jhva Elohim Meth" (July 1992). In fact the two tracks were recorded shortly after the recording sessions for "Jhva Elohim Meth". The tracks would not be included on Katatonia´s debut full-length studio album "Dance of December Souls" (December 1993). Katatonia opted to re-record the two tracks in 2021 and include them on the March 2022 "Melancholium" (Darkness Shall Rise Productions) boxed set and they would also subsequently be released as the January 2023 "A Sunset Choir For The Daylight Harvest" EP.

This original rehearsal demo is a pretty lo-fi, murky, and raw sounding affair. Stylistically it´s obvious that Katatonia at this point were strongly influenced by the 1991 "Gothic" album by Paradise Lost, as their melancholic death/doom metal sound is in many ways similar to the sound of that particular album by the Brits. I´m not sure how Katatonia managed to record guitar harmonies on a rehearsal demo recording done by only two persons (Dan Swanö does guest on keyboards here though, so maybe he contributed other instruments too), but other than that detail, the basic tracks were recorded live in the rehearsal space. Although the sound quality leaves a bit to be desired it´s still audible that both tracks are great melancholic death/doom metal tracks and those who enjoy early Katatonia (and Paradise Lost) should find entertainment value here. I can recommend seeking out the re-recorded versions of the two tracks, as they are both respectful towards the originals and feature the right amount of authenticity plus professional production values. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

"Jhva Elohim Meth" is the first demo recording by Swedish death/doom metal (later alternative/progressive metal) act Katatonia. The demo was independently released in July 1992. The first cassette tape batch was limited to 500 copies. Edge of Sanity frontman Dan Swanö was involved in the production of the demo and he also plays keyboards/sings additional clean vocals, helping out Blackheim (electric & acoustic guitars, bass) and Lord Seth (drums and vocals).

The demo features five tracks and a total playing time of 17:11 minutes. The two songs bookending the demo are shorter intro and outro tracks, while the three tracks in between are more "regular" length melancholic death/doom metal tracks. Only "Without God" from this demo would make it unto Katatonia´s debut full-length studio album "Dance of December Souls" (December 1993). The remaining tracks are exclusive to this release.

Stylistically the material is influenced by early Paradise Lost, but also other contemporary Swedish artists like early Tiamat and Cemetary. The very young band, who were only 17 years old (both members) at the time of recording this have created a very convincing good quality demo here, which also features a well sounding production job. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(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.

"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)

Heavy, dark guitar-driven music with modern vocals. The metal lightens up at times but the mood never does. I'm reminded frequently of Opeth--both dark progressive metal from Sweden. But "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" doesn't have the growls that Opeth often does.

This is good music--well-produced, well-performed, smart. The most popular track--at least according to number of plays on streaming platforms--is "Teargas," but the album is consistently good. There isn't a bad song on it. That being said, there's nothing entirely original here. If you like dark progressive metal like Opeth--and especially if you like this type of music without the growls--you'll like this. If you prefer more traditional or more unique progressive metal, it's still worth a listen. Opeth fans will likely rate this higher than my 3.5 stars.