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For a long time, I was considering to introduce Katatonia to you via
this site, as I did with Opeth. Since long, this is a band that
doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Fortunately, they are doing
their first headlining tour in Europe now, so the tide could be
turning. There are plenty of parallels between Opeth and Katatonia.
They’re not only both from Sweden, but Mike Akerfeldt and Jonas
Renske are very close friends who helped each other many times in
the past. Dan Swanö also turns up regularly as a drummer, for the
mixing of the albums, etc..., and then we know we’re back in that
cosy circle where talent keeps bubbling up.
Once started as passionate Paradise Lost and Tiamat fans, Katatonia
added new elements to their music during the passing years.
The
grunt was put into spirits since “Discouraged Ones”.
“Ghost Of The Sun” is a strong trend-setter with snoring guitars and
an imperturbable Renske, who finds his way through the temptations
like a stoical follower. On the whole album, Jonas is in splendid
form, it seems to me that he came to full blossom as a singer,
stimulated by some backing vocals from his friends. There’s not only
some catchy rocking, but the desperation is already being touched on
and enriched with unconcealed bitterness about humanity. “Criminals”
comes sneaking in and that’s just what this track is all about: an
inevitable threat that can strike, the danger and the knowledge that
this world is full of lunatics who can develop the weirdest
obsessions, which fills this earthly existence with anger, paranoia
and impotence.
A
name that spontaneously pops up when I listen to “Viva Emptiness” is
Life Of Agony and the integer voice of Keith Caputo. It gets even
more contemplative with “A Premonition” with a fragile guitar line
to dress up the music. Can you call this a ballad? But then, it must
be one with a large impact, never mellifluous, always biting as a
fresh bottle of bleach. This game of light and dark between
desperation and a spark of hope at the horizon controls a lot of
songs, chained to a perfect accompaniment with some dreamy passages.
Each time they have some superb choruses. In “Burn The Remembrance”,
they add some spatial atmosphere to it; it’s full of elements of the
present Anathema: the spacey guitars, the solo work on a fragmentary
base and the phasing to shift into a whirling rhythm. (see Judgement
– Anathema).
“Wealth” is step by step growing to a climax, through emotion and
eruption. It’s a major deal for the guitars to give the voice enough
space to come in front for a while and for Jonas to take a break
during the wall of guitars. The excellent “One Year From Now’ is the
summit of introspection and musing.
Only
piano, a string and the vocals.
Lyrics to dwell on when the time passes. Pearls of hypnotic
inspiration succeed each other in a high rhythm. Solid rock guitars
as counter-weight in “Walking By A Wire”. All of them with some
touching melodies that stay in your head. The repetitive character
of “Complicity” should be present in every cranium. Such an amount
of atmospheres and yet very fluent. “Evidence” is also a cracker in
which the guitars are building up the tension while the vocals are
semi light-heartedly telling a story.
“Once
we were heroes, everything has changed since then…”
‘Omerta’ is considered as the odd one out.
Acoustic guitars with a folky angle, but it’s not even that strange
at all: this track wouldn’t be falling out of tune on Opeth’s
“Damnation” album. We end all this beauty with a psychedelic
bombardment “Inside The City Of Glass”, whispering voices and
goose-flesh all around when the guitar twines beautiful melodies
through it all for one more time. Well, I can only say one more
thing: go and buy this one! And turn it, turn it, turn it hard. It’s
very addictive! |
