Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"
This is really impossible. I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others.
I need help with this band. Everyone I know says I'd love them. I listened to The Great Cold Distance last week, and I liked it, but found the record and the singer very...samey. I was waiting for some more dynamics within the songs and with the singer, and never got it. Is that just their thing? Kind of mid-tempo all the way around?
Absolutely love Katatonia...they are kind of difficult to pin down, though, as they went through several phases over their (lengthy) discography...here's a quick rundown, with my own (very questionable
) studio full-lengths groupings:
Dance of December Souls/Brave Murder Day: that's their Death/Doom phase...although BMD was already pretty unique, setting a bit of a blueprint for that melancholic sound. It's mostly harsh vocals here (handled by none other than Mikael Åkerfeldt). Not sure how you feel about the genre, but that's a classic.
Discouraged Ones: that's somewhat of an oddity in their own discography. Very dark, with stripped down production and 100% clean vocals. I personally love it - it's very much recognizable as Katatonia, but it's a version of the band that was never quite revisited
Tonight's Decision/Last Fair Deal Gone Down: I'm putting these together, as they share some stylistic traits, even though the latter is, imo, far superior and focused. Songs start being a little more elaborate, and Renkse establishes himself more as a proper singer. Tonight's Decision has its charm but I feel the band was still dipping their toes in some new territory. Last Fair..., on the other hand, is one of my favorite Katatonia albums, and Teargas is one of my favorite songs of theirs
Viva Emptiness: Again, kind of its own beast. Some more "modern" influences start popping up. Another big favorite of mine, dark and heavy at the same time.
The Great Cold Distance/Night is the New Day: Well, you've heard TGCD. At first, when it came out, I liked it but I didn't love it. There was a Tool influence in certain songs that I didn't think fit Katatonia super-well and, like you said, the vocal lines don't have a ton of variation. The album has grown on me a ton over the years and, as a whole package, is one I would definitely recommend to someone wanting to explore "modern" Katatonia. Night is the New Day continues along those lines, although it sounds a little more, um, "nocturnal", with subtle electronic touches in some songs. Another one that grew on me over time.
Dead End Kings/The Fall of Hearts: Things become a tad "proggier" here, in terms of songs' length and structures (especially in the latter), although there are still some shorter, more immediate songs ("The Racing Heart" and "Lethean" in DEK, in particular, are fantastic). I like both albums, although I didn't connect with Fall of Hearts quite the same way.
City Burials: Their more recent album, and one of my favorites from 2020. Again, moody and subtly complex, but with the benefit (for me) of being more concise, which suits Katatonia better. I don't disagree that Renkse's singing tends to be a little "monotone" in general, but I think his performance on this is his career best.