As one of my top 5 favorite artists, I find myself listening to Katatonia year-round. However, when September hits and the weather changes into cool nights, the sun sets earlier, and the leaves begin to change, I find that the band’s work feels like it makes the most sense. If you’re looking to get your feet wet with Katatonia, especially after the release of this year’s excellent City Burials, here’s an hour’s introduction with representative tracks from all of their albums since transitioning away from doom metal.
We start off with the quintessential Katatonia track: Jonas Renske’s emotive vocals paired with a punishing riff that is broken up with sections of calm. Night is the New Day is one of the band’s darker records, and that mood really shines through in its opening track.
We keep the energy high with the second single from their latest record: a punchy track that is filled with 80’s muscle. Anders Nyström’s solo midway through the track is among his very best with the band.
Another classic song that has all of the hallmarks of a Katatonia track: the waltz-like 6/8 time signature, quiet parts punctuated by a heavy riff, and Jonas singing about sacrificing oneself in the name of a cause.
A bit of a respite with one of the band’s most poignant songs. If you don’t tear up a little when Jonas sings, “The love for life once bright; a burning fuse the only flame I have,” you may as well check your pulse. A bit Opeth this one, but also one of the band’s very best.
This seems like a pretty straight-forward track, propelled by a simple rock beat. But, once the chorus kicks in, Serein’ transcends to another level: “It churns the blood, the weight of dependence, await to be slain, by memories of old.” It’s a bit of a grower, but will stick with you once it gets its hooks in.
I love Viva Emptiness, but it’s a bit uneven, with some middling tracks surrounded by some of their best. This one has always been one of my favorites, especially when the chorus kicks in. The lyrics are a bit goofy (“Once we were heroes, everything has changed since then”), but not enough to overshadow the song.
After two well-regarded doom records, Jonas had some physical issues that left him unable to do the harsh vocals, so the band transitioned to a new sound. Jonas was growing into his new voice and the band was still trying to work out their direction, so Discouraged Ones isn’t one of their best. This song is one of the better tracks on a record that would be surpassed a few times over.
The Great Cold Distance is my favorite record in their catalogue, so it was really difficult to pick only two songs. However, it’s hard to bet against this fan favorite: big, meaty chorus with singable lyrics that will be stuck in your head.
I love the jangly opening riff juxtaposed with the loping, waltz-like rhythm section here. There’s a bit of a Tool feel, but with a hypnotic tone that befits the title. A high point on an album that didn’t quite all hit the mark.
Tonight’s Decision saw a refinement of the new direction charted on Discouraged Ones, but it’s still not fully formed into what they would become. There’s a heavy Cure influence, and I love how the track plows headfirst into things from the opening notes.
“What will replace us? What will be our memories of this time?” This track is indicative of Viva Emptiness' dark rock with a splash of alternative flavor and pensive lyrics. I love the extended outro that starts with a swirling guitar riff and crescendos into a wall of sound.
This wasn’t one of my favorite songs from this album until I heard it played live. Now, I can’t imagine how I missed it. I absolutely love the chorus: “Will the darkness around me be so strong that there is no way I can be seen?” The most fully-realized of the post-doom albums until the watershed Viva Emptiness.
Don’t be fooled by the Tool-esque intro, as it’s followed up by what is perhaps the heaviest riff in the band’s post-Brave Murder Day history. If you thought the lyrics were bleak before, it doesn’t get much more bleak than, “Vexation, internal void, my dreams are getting darker and darker.” It’s the perfect segue from the autumn of late September to the darkness of October.
