One housekeeping note - we glossed over "Wide Awake In Quietus" (a bonus track from
The Fall of Hearts) having a guest guitar solo from Greg Mackintosh of Paradise Lost.
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Atrium single:
Released October 25, 2022.
1. Atrium 04:08
First single released.
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Austerity single:
Released December 2, 2022.
1. Austerity 03:41
Second single released.
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Sky Void of Stars EP:
Released December 30, 2022.
1. Atrium 4:11
2. Austerity 3:43
3. Night Comes Down 4:20
4. Fighters 3:40
5. Forsaker (Live at Summer Breeze 2012) 4:09
6. Liberation (Live at Summer Breeze 2012) 4:22Total runtime: 24:25A teaser for the new album with the first two singles, the two covers from the past two albums, and two live tracks.
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Birds single:
Released January 4, 2023.
1. Birds 04:08
Third single released.
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Sky Void of Stars
Their 12th and current album, released January 20, 2023, on Napalm Records.
1. Austerity 03:41
2. Colossal Shade 04:29
3. Opaline 05:00
4. Birds 04:08
5. Drab Moon 03:59
6. Author 04:17
7. Impermanence 05:12
8. Sclera 04:45
9. Atrium 04:08
10. No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall 06:08
11. Absconder (bonus track) 04:47 Total runtime: 45:47 (50:34 with bonus track)
Anders Nyström: Guitars
Jonas Renkse: Vocals, lyrics, songwriting
Niklas Sandin: Bass
Daniel Moilanen: Drums
Roger Öjersson: Guitars Additional personnel:Joel Ekelöf (of Soen): Vocals on "Impermanence"
Production Info:Jacob Hanen: mixing, mastering, drum recording
Martin Pagaard Wolff: drum engineering
Lawrence Mackrory: guitar and bass recordingGuitar and bass recording at The Bird's Nest in Stockholm, Sweden in spring '22.
Vocal recording at City of Glass, Stockholdm, Sweden in spring '22.
Mixing and mastering at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark in spring '22.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4EcfbzCtbJDk2wMwhT4D1hMusic videos:"Atrium" music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB24-hVZ88k"Austerity" image video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTj41rDTgBw"Birds" music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ILWPwc4KaY"Opaline" music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYzVCJRJhow---
Opening Notes & Thoughts:*Anders still had writer's block (a bit concerning particularly when we get later to the section about touring), and Jonas started working on the writing of the album shortly after completing the prior album
City Burials. It was the early days of the pandemic, so what else was there to do? It does sound like the process was still more collaborative between Jonas and Anders than
Night Is the New Day and
City Burials had been though. Unlike previous albums, they didn't have a deadline to record this album.
*Jonas dipped into some different influences for certain songs on the album than usual. He intentionally chose a more rock/pop direction for many of the songs (though not all), intending for some more straightforward tunes that would translate well live. You could certainly think of some of it as darker arena rock. "Colossal Shade" is a nod to
Lick It Up-era KISS. "Opaline" is inspired by Kent. "Birds" is a tip of the hat to recent Paradise Lost.
*They continued to work with Jacob Hansen for the second album in a row for general production/engineering/mixing/mastering.
*Jonas had started contributing some guitar parts on
Discouraged Ones in '98, but since Roger joined in '16 after
The Fall of Hearts it seems he hasn't considered it necessary on the last two albums.
*They switched labels in '22 to the Austrian label Napalm Records, their first switch since they had signed to Peaceville Records in '98. Napalm Records used to be a bit of a punchline among the more elitist of metalheads, but I suspect some of them have had to change their tune in more recent years as they've scooped up a great deal of quite acclaimed acts who left other labels.
*My initial feelings hearing
Sky Void of Stars were more positive than they had been for the previous two albums.
The Fall of Hearts was after my frustration with Liljekvist leaving, and
City Burials was in the pandemic haze, so I felt just in the wrong state of mind to hear those when they came out. Despite being distracted with my roulette here for a solid chunk of the year, I was much more amenable to a new album from them this time. Consequently, I got in quite a few listens throughout the year, particularly early on and then later last year and recently to research this writeup. It wound up being my album and song ("Opaline") of the year, which was not the case with the previous two albums in the years they were released.
*The tracks that instantly stood out to me were "Opaline" and "Author", for reasons I'll get into more later.
Vocals - bass - drums:*Some aren't fond of the electronic effects on Jonas' voice at 3:00 in "Drab Moon". I have no problem with them personally.
*The bass continues to be a bit more audible on this album again, which is always a plus for me.
*I'm sort of surprised that I don't have as many specific notes on Moilanen's drumming. I enjoy it in general, particularly the greater distance we get from Liljekvist leaving, but it is curious that I don't seem to notice specific moments as highlights nearly as often.
*One exception is the first verse of "Sclera", which has some tasty hat and rim cross-sticking.
Guitars:*There are some nice solos in "Austerity", "Author", "Impermanence", "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall", and "Absconder". Roger continues to be the perfect counterpart to Anders that I didn't even realize I needed. His style is more technical and with dashes of blues/shred that I wouldn't have expected to work with their sound, but somehow fits in perfectly.
*"Opaline" is intriguing in how the pre-chorus starts at 1:02 with palm-muted guitar lines, which at 1:13 open up and start ringing out to build into the chorus.
*I love the Tool-ish riff at 1:03 in "Author".
*They remain one of my favorite bands for guitar tones, particularly in terms of guitar effects such as the subtle modulation on the solo at 2:16 in "Absconder".
Keyboards:*The synthetic horns in the opening of "Opaline" are a rather unusual texture for them. "Shifts" on
The Fall of Hearts is the only other song I can recall having a similar type of sound. This helps make it one of their more singular songs. Normally I'm not a huge fan of keyboards trying to mimick non-keyboard instruments like strings and brass, as it often feels fake and dated, but in this instance they're just synthetic and different enough that it doesn't bother me. I think I've said before that partially due to that and the somewhat more straightforward, almost "dance-y" nature to it, I can hear a killer synthwave-style cover version of this song in my head.
*I enjoy the synth textures on the left that pop up occasionally in "Drab Moon". They remind me of some of the better moments on In Flames'
Soundtrack To Your Escape.
*I love how they've made the electric piano such an effective riffing instrument at times. The opening such riff in "Author" is sort of a punchier callback to "Residual" from
The Fall of Hearts.
*The album doesn't have as much piano as some of their other albums, but I do like the ending of "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall" and wish it were extended a bit longer.
*The string pizzicato-esque patch at 2:51 in "Absconder" is a rather unique and cool timbre for them.
Additional song-specific thoughts:*"Colossal Shade" feels like it would have fit just as well/ever better? on
City Burials. And the section at 2:29 reminds me of another song or riff of theirs, but it's completely escaping me which one it might be.
*"Opaline" has some hand claps and shaker for percussion in spots, which is a bit uncommon for them, but further serves to give the song a unique sonic signature. The offbeat hi-hat propelling the chorus, while a staple in some other genres, is also uncommon (perhaps even never previously used) for them, and gives it an infectious energy.
*People sometimes complain about "Opaline"'s chorus being essentially two notes, but I consider it a testament to their creativity how they can milk so much out of them. "Forsaker" for
Night Is the New Day immediately comes to mind as another song with a note-minimalistic melody that is highly effective in spite of it. The layers of production, instrument orchestration of parts, rhythmic variety, and mixing on "Opaline" keep evolving so it's never the same for very long. The backing vocals also subtly shift throughout the song to give the melody a different feel. If you listen closely at the repeat at 4:06 you can hear a whole series of countermelodies going on in the backing vocals emphasizing different harmonies, and then of course the melody variation ending the song. I'm kind of astounded at the minutiae I still pick up on in what is a relatively simple song, possibly 100+ listens in at this point.
"Birds" is clearly the most creative title they've ever come up with. Why didn't they think of it earlier? It's quite a fun change of pace though, since it's one of the highest tempo songs they've ever done. I can't think offhand of one with a higher overall BPM, so it's still fascinating that they continue to subtly push at the edges of their sound this late into their career.
"Initially "Impermanence" was not one of the standout songs on the album. I liked it, but it was lost in the sea of the rest of the album. I often pay special attention to tracks with guest spots, but I honestly can't remember if I didn't look up or had just forgotten that Joel Ekelöf was the vocalist of Soen, I certainly didn't instantly recognize him by name. Soen is a band that I'd heard their albums and enjoyed them, but wasn't particularly familiar with in spite of Martin Lopez being one of my favorite drummers and the Tool-inspired style being one that often resonates with me.
*So this paid dividends when Evermind sent them later in my roulette and this helped me get into them more. In turn, this has made me pay much more attention to this track since then, and it has become of my favorites on the album. I really like Jonas and Joel's interplay on it, which I enjoy much more than "Departer" on
Night Is the New Day, which had Krister Linder from Enter The Hunt. Perhaps at least partially because I don't know Enter The Hunt very well.
*I also really love the guitar/keyboard-doubled line at 2:35 in "Impermanence". I just can't shut up about "Opaline" either, with the similar one at 3:34 reprising the opening horn motif.
*I really love how effortlessly they transition between heavy and mellower moments, arguably better than say, Opeth does. For example, the ascending chromatic riff at 2:46 in "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall" reminds me a bit of a heavier version Alice In Chains' "Them Bones", with the Slayer-esque whammy dive bombs on top of it and Moilanen gradually increasing the subdivisions of the bass drum hits to a frenzy (also a bit like Tool's "The Grudge"). But then it seamlessly segues into a delightful mellower section with the electric piano and pseudo-jazzy clean guitar octave lines.
*The bonus track "Absconder" is in a relatively unusual key for them, of C#m. They've very rarely touched that key since switching to C standard tuning on
Viva Emptiness (and often drop-Bb starting with
The Great Cold Distance).
Final Miscellaneous Thoughts:*The music video for "Opaline" in particular was heavily on my rotation. I think somewhere in spring for a month or two I was watching it almost every night before going to sleep.
*It's a treat to see Lawrence Mackrory (Darkane, Andromeda, Scarve) involved with the album, even if it's only in a engineering capacity.
*I'm definitely curious about TAC's opinion on "Birds" and "Austerity", with them being some of the faster and more energetic songs they've ever done.
Favorite Songs: "Opaline", "Author", "Impermanence", "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall"
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A Sunset Choir for the Daylight Harvest
Released January 29, 2023
1. Daylight Harvest (re-recording) 04:50
2. Sunset Choir (re-recording) 05:09
Total runtime: 09:59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkgmzirtahsWe've talked about this a couple times already, but more formally, this is a new rerecording of some old demos from the early 90s. It's still definitely on the raw and murky side, but to me is certainly more listenable than the originals.
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Touring:*Obviously due to the pandemic they couldn't tour for
City Burials properly for awhile. They did various scattered festivals and isolated shows in '21, more in '22, and started doing a normal North American tour for
City Burials starting in November of '22.
*The main troubling issue is that Anders hasn't been touring with them for
Sky Void of Stars. He stopped in early '23 before the album came out. No one seems to have any solid information why, just that he's dealing with some family issues. Often they're just playing with Roger and backing tracks for additional guitar parts, though sometimes Per Eriksson (who played on
Dead End Kings) fills in. Some are saying some of Moilanen's parts are also being piped in on the backing tracks.
*The weird thing is that Anders has done some shows with Bloodbath in the past year, but not Katatonia. And Jonas is no longer touring with Bloodbath. There is all kinds of speculation online, but who knows what's really going on. There are some US dates for Katatonia and Bloodbath just a few days apart coming up in May, which would be the best shot at more interesting developments.
*They've been touring with The Ocean, Soen, GosT (not the more famous Tobias Forge one, it's the darksynth/horror synth act), SOM, Grivo, Sólstafir, and Cellar Darling at various points. I have yet to check out SOM and Grivo, and have only heard a very limited amount of Sólstafir, but I quite like Cellar Darling, GosT, Soen, and The Ocean.
*They've done a number of surprise shows where because some venues are requiring at least three bands to be on the bill, Katatonia has played the entirety of
Dead End Kings under the name "Concrete Skies" as an opening act for GosT, and then closing with their normal show.
*They noted that it used to be cheaper to tour the US than many other places, but fuel costs lately have changed that.
*Lethean will have to chime in with any other interesting info since he's actually seen them on the current tour.
Topic: Katatonia Discography Discussion: Sky Void of Stars (2023) (Read 22613 times)
