Written by the stranger on 17.12.2008 at 05:20

It could be said that it's Katatonia's third era. Anyway, the thing is that is different from what it used to be.

People usually talk about Katatonia's two eras and that would be "growl" and "clean" or something in that vein... when Katatonia threw most of the black feeling that the band had on albums like Brave Murder Day or Dance Of December souls...

I don't think the sound changed THAT much from Discouraged ones to The great cold distance.... Better sound quality but the genre is pretty much the same.

That's why I can't see any third era.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 17.12.2008 at 17:25

Written by the stranger on 17.12.2008 at 05:20

It could be said that it's Katatonia's third era. Anyway, the thing is that is different from what it used to be.

People usually talk about Katatonia's two eras and that would be "growl" and "clean" or something in that vein... when Katatonia threw most of the black feeling that the band had on albums like Brave Murder Day or Dance Of December souls...

I don't think the sound changed THAT much from Discouraged ones to The great cold distance.... Better sound quality but the genre is pretty much the same.

That's why I can't see any third era.

That's because you're considering Dance Of December Souls to be the same era of Brave Murder Day. The first one would be up to Dance Of December Souls. The second one up to Sounds Of Decay and from Funerals To Come. The third would be from Discouraged Ones onward. I'm stating these from http://www.doom-metal.com/bandlist.php?id=131.
I've heard three Katatonia albums: Dance Of December Souls, Brave Murder Day and Viva Emptiness. I can see three different eras with them. Anyway, I'm not trying to say that I have the truth about Katatonia, you asked about the three eras, I'm showing you how they are classified. In the end, it doesn't matter. As usual it is just one more way from many ways to order something.

Written by the stranger on 17.12.2008 at 19:14

That's because you're considering Dance Of December Souls to be the same era of Brave Murder Day. The first one would be up to Dance Of December Souls. The second one up to Sounds Of Decay and from Funerals To Come. The third would be from Discouraged Ones onward. I'm stating these from http://www.doom-metal.com/bandlist.php?id=131.
I've heard three Katatonia albums: Dance Of December Souls, Brave Murder Day and Viva Emptiness. I can see three different eras with them. Anyway, I'm not trying to say that I have the truth about Katatonia, you asked about the three eras, I'm showing you how they are classified. In the end, it doesn't matter. As usual it is just one more way from many ways to order something.

Well... I think about the two-era-thing be better concidering the biggest change was the vocals. And that's pretty much how most of the fans talk about Katatonia... The growl-oriented and raw doom and the clean-oriented rock/gothic/doom thing...
And the other reason is because the first two eras that you were saying and two tiny to call "eras"

But the way to clasify albums is not important at all so let's talk abotu something else instead.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 17.12.2008 at 22:34

Written by the stranger on 17.12.2008 at 19:14

That's because you're considering Dance Of December Souls to be the same era of Brave Murder Day. The first one would be up to Dance Of December Souls. The second one up to Sounds Of Decay and from Funerals To Come. The third would be from Discouraged Ones onward. I'm stating these from http://www.doom-metal.com/bandlist.php?id=131.
I've heard three Katatonia albums: Dance Of December Souls, Brave Murder Day and Viva Emptiness. I can see three different eras with them. Anyway, I'm not trying to say that I have the truth about Katatonia, you asked about the three eras, I'm showing you how they are classified. In the end, it doesn't matter. As usual it is just one more way from many ways to order something.

Well... I think about the two-era-thing be better concidering the biggest change was the vocals. And that's pretty much how most of the fans talk about Katatonia... The growl-oriented and raw doom and the clean-oriented rock/gothic/doom thing...
And the other reason is because the first two eras that you were saying and two tiny to call "eras"

But the way to clasify albums is not important at all so let's talk abotu something else instead.

//Yes i agree with you Mr. Doctor. I think the main thing that sticks out and labels a change in "era" is the vocals. I dont think that there is a significant change that someone can say Katatonia has changed eras since Discouraged Ones to The Great Cold Distance. I guess we'll see soon though. By the way, nothing wrong with either era. Brave Murder Day and Discouraged Ones have to be in my favorite albums of all time list. So, dont think im playing favorites when it comes to different styles anybody. KaTaToNiA!!!//

Written by Metal_Militia on 20.12.2008 at 17:43

//Yes i agree with you Mr. Doctor. I think the main thing that sticks out and labels a change in "era" is the vocals. I dont think that there is a significant change that someone can say Katatonia has changed eras since Discouraged Ones to The Great Cold Distance. I guess we'll see soon though. By the way, nothing wrong with either era. Brave Murder Day and Discouraged Ones have to be in my favorite albums of all time list. So, dont think im playing favorites when it comes to different styles anybody. KaTaToNiA!!!//

I agree with you.. there's not a big change since DO to TGCD... Except the production.
And those two albums are good indeed. There's not an album that I don't like. Some of the are way better than the others of course...

Katatonia Unfurl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMR8IYft2M

Judging from the leak, the new album is much much much better and more varied than The Great Cold Distance. I love how the band this time incorporated lots of influences from other kinds of music and other bands (say, ...Depeche Mode!) into their own style to make an album so original and refreshing.

There's 2 songs + the bonus track missing from the leak (at least from where I found it)

This is one of my most anticipated albums this year...can't wait to listen to it!

Well despite the fact that the last 2 songs and bonus track are missing, I think the new album is really fucking good!!! Much more varied like Duy Hung said. There are some heavy songs (like Forsaker, Liberation) and then light songs (like Idle Blood and Inheritance). You can definitely hear some influences in some songs (huge Opeth influence in Idle Blood) yet they still manage to retain their own identity as Katatonia.

Written by MetalSpider on 20.10.2009 at 06:44

You can definitely hear some influences in some songs (huge Opeth influence in Idle Blood)..

Exactly my thought. For many parts of that song if one just removes Jonas' vocals one might as well assume it's Opeth playing (which is not a bad thing at all in this case). The song overall has a feeling a bit similar to Opeth's Burden.

Saw them yesterday. Meh, they're really not a live band. The songs just sound like poorer versions of the album material. Renkse isn't a very good live singer, the frail and tender voice he shows on the albums is watered down to a loud, mediocre attempt at imitation.

That said, they were quite good nonetheless. They're Katatonia, after all. There were some technical problems, so they had to finish quickly and couldn't do any new songs. I guess that was a good thing, because it meant they played Murder. My god, was it awesome! I really like how it sounds when Renkse does the vocals. Brought back the good ol' times of Dance of December Souls, with that killer shoegaze riff of Murder. It really salvaged a night of disappointment (Katatonia had a poor sound, and Porcupine Tree played a horrible set, save for Russia on Ice).

What's wrong with Porcupine Tree's set? Although I have to admit The Incident doesn't impress (or hasn't impressed) me as much as I expected, the band should be OK in terms of playing live.

.. and I heard that Daniel's drum pedal broke into two??! Still can't imagine how

Not sure how it broke, but it broke anyhow, and the band totally dropped the ball.

As for PT's set... Eh, it consisted mostly of the Incident, Fear of a Blank Planet and Nil Recurring stuff, the new crap. Two songs from Deadwing, poor choices at that. Two unsurprising pieces off of In Absentia. And Russia on Ice, which was the oldest song of the setlist. That's it. Ugh. Russia on Ice was amazing, but otherwise it was very boring. Where the hell was all the material from The Sky Moves Sideways, Signify or Stupid Dream? You know, the stuff that makes the band good, in the firs place. >_>

Written by IronAngel on 22.10.2009 at 12:27

Saw them yesterday. Meh, they're really not a live band. The songs just sound like poorer versions of the album material. Renkse isn't a very good live singer, the frail and tender voice he shows on the albums is watered down to a loud, mediocre attempt at imitation.

That sucks, because when I saw them sometime around 2007 they were brilliant. Heavier and more energetic than on CD, they really connected with the audience... the only thing that was lacking was stage presence, but they did what they could

Seems like Katatonia is a hit-or-miss live band then... I would still like to see them sometime though.

So, what do we think? I got the limited edition straight away.

I'm still quite uncertain about it. It's easily the lightest Katatonia album to date, in terms of instrumentation. It's rather dark and oppressive, "heavy" in terms of atmosphere, though. I like this; TGCD had a tendency to be heavy and loud for no apparent reason, "just because." Night is the New Day is more subtle and sophisticated, and I think this solution works much better.

The songwriting is pretty decent. The sound is great. I wish there were more catchy vocal melodies and guitar riffs, though. This tops the previous flop easily, but I'm not yet sure if it can contest any other Katatonia albums. It's clearly the same band, and offers very little in terms of innovation and surprise, but the overall style is renovated just enough to mark it as a unique album with a clear identity, like all their previous work.

Written by IronAngel on 02.11.2009 at 17:21

So, what do we think? I got the limited edition straight away.

I'm still quite uncertain about it. It's easily the lightest Katatonia album to date, in terms of instrumentation. It's rather dark and oppressive, "heavy" in terms of atmosphere, though. I like this; TGCD had a tendency to be heavy and loud for no apparent reason, "just because." Night is the New Day is more subtle and sophisticated, and I think this solution works much better.

The songwriting is pretty decent. The sound is great. I wish there were more catchy vocal melodies and guitar riffs, though. This tops the previous flop easily, but I'm not yet sure if it can contest any other Katatonia albums. It's clearly the same band, and offers very little in terms of innovation and surprise, but the overall style is renovated just enough to mark it as a unique album with a clear identity, like all their previous work.

I really like the new album, I'm on a break from it because I do not want to overplay it. To be frank, I'm kind of new to the band. I listened to The Great Cold Distance in contrast and I didn't really like it. With the comments I've read so far, I guess its apparent that the new album is unique from the rest in terms of approach. My favorite songs so far are 'Idle blood', 'Liberation', and 'Inheritance'.

I have to say, that "Night is The New Day" is their best since "Discouraged Ones". Perhaps many will disagree. but NITND is heavier and darker than anything since the mentioned album. The guitars are quite oppressing, and mixed with Jonas' soft, depressive vocals create an awesome combination. I was expecting a medicore album, somewhat in the image of "The Great Cold Distance", but was I surprised... There is hope for Katatonia yet.

Its definitely heavier and darker in atmosphere. Im still undecided as to what's my number 1 album of 2009...this might be it.

Written by Slayer666 on 21.11.2009 at 14:50

I have to say, that "Night is The New Day" is their best since "Discouraged Ones"

Ok... NOW I'm gonna check it out

It is heavy in atmosphere, but certainly not in sound. Discouraged Ones isn't exactly heavy, either. I don't hear much in common with the two albums, and I'd never compare NitND with DO in terms of quality. I've given it a bit of a rest since the first week of buying it, so we'll see if I've changed my mind after I give it another spin. But it's nothing if not mediocre, on Katatonia's scale, IMO.

Written by IronAngel on 22.11.2009 at 01:45

I don't hear much in common with the two albums, and I'd never compare NitND with DO in terms of quality.

OK, let me rephrase what I said. NitND is the most appealing Katatonia's album for me since DO. How about now?

Oh, your opinion is fine. I just don't hear it myself, and I wondered if you just happen to like NitND more than anything since DO, or if you actually think the two have something in common. Who knows, if it was pointed out I might realize it too. To me, it has none of that raw melancholy (not to mention the awesome shoegaze sound) of DO, which made it such a special album.

Oh, favorite songs so far, btw: The Longest Year, Idle Blood, Onward Into Battle and Nephilim.

Written by IronAngel on 22.11.2009 at 21:56

Oh, your opinion is fine. I just don't hear it myself, and I wondered if you just happen to like NitND more than anything since DO, or if you actually think the two have something in common. Who knows, if it was pointed out I might realize it too. To me, it has none of that raw melancholy (not to mention the awesome shoegaze sound) of DO, which made it such a special album.

Oh, favorite songs so far, btw: The Longest Year, Idle Blood, Onward Into Battle and Nephilim.

From what I heard so far it doesn't sound as DO, I think he just said that he liked the album more than the albums after DO. I still have to hear the full thing so I can give an honest opinion.

And yeah, I really love the shoegaze sound in DO, it gives a unique atmosphere comparing it to the others.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 25.11.2009 at 18:12

Written by IronAngel on 22.11.2009 at 21:56

Oh, your opinion is fine. I just don't hear it myself, and I wondered if you just happen to like NitND more than anything since DO, or if you actually think the two have something in common. Who knows, if it was pointed out I might realize it too. To me, it has none of that raw melancholy (not to mention the awesome shoegaze sound) of DO, which made it such a special album.

Oh, favorite songs so far, btw: The Longest Year, Idle Blood, Onward Into Battle and Nephilim.

From what I heard so far it doesn't sound as DO, I think he just said that he liked the album more than the albums after DO. I still have to hear the full thing so I can give an honest opinion.

And yeah, I really love the shoegaze sound in DO, it gives a unique atmosphere comparing it to the others.

Can you explain to me what shoegaze is? I understand the term loosely, but if you could elaborate a bit, that would be great.
Btw, I must have missed your birthday, so allow me to say "HAPPY B-DAY!!!" a few days late.

Written by Slayer666 on 26.11.2009 at 12:31

Can you explain to me what shoegaze is? I understand the term loosely, but if you could elaborate a bit, that would be great.
Btw, I must have missed your birthday, so allow me to say "HAPPY B-DAY!!!" a few days late.

Shoegaze has always been for me one of the genres that you can easily recognize in the sound of the band, but it's such a pain in the ass to explain it with words since it feels weird [just like explaining to someone what's drone]...

So yeah, acording to my ears [since I believe someone else could give you a totally different answer (and probably better)] Shoegaze feels like listening to pop with lots of distorsion, yeah... that's not really specific but I always felt that way.
There's a lot of guitarr effects, droning riffs and "the wall of sound" from the noisy guitars, the vocals are usually treated as another instrument since they are mostly underneath the riffs, sometimes you can't make out what the vocalist is saying... The always sounded "sweet" or very emotive to me. Then again in DO you can easily hear the vocals but the shoegaze influence it's more in the guitars .P
A fair amount of shoegaze bands use drum machines as far as I know, but there are also many that use live drums
Shoegaze you can clearly hear in the metal scene in DO, Alcest, Amesoeurs, Have a Nice Life, Jesu [as far as I know] and others...

I hope that can help you a little bit, sorry if I can't make a better explanation, and thanks for the greetings

It's mostly the guitar sound, yeah, and some of the dronish riffs in BMD and DO. Listen to Slowdive's Souvlaki or My Bloody Valentine's Loveless albums for a good idea, I guess. In fact, Katatonia have outright said that Slowdive and Kent were a big inspiration for them in making Brave Murder Day. Shoegaze is pretty much the same as what's often called Dream Pop, and was at its biggest as a movement in the late 80s and early 90s. Good stuff, some of it!

Written by IronAngel on 26.11.2009 at 19:08

Katatonia have outright said that Slowdive and Kent were a big inspiration for them in making Brave Murder Day.

Hahaha... I always saw some Kent influences in Katatonia but I thought I was crazy. But some Katatonia solos remains me of Kent and viceversa.

Yep. Verkligen does have the melancholy sound, too. A great band (as far as mainstream rock goes, anyhow), especially in their early years.

The above influences are mentioned in the booklet of BMD's reissue, by the way.

Written by IronAngel on 26.11.2009 at 22:01

The above influences are mentioned in the booklet of BMD's reissue, by the way.

Damn... And I just ordered Katatonia's debut for a week ago and should be here in a couple of days. Now I wish I ordered BDM as well

I sense more melancholy in Du & Jag Döden although that album was released in 2005
So the only melancholic albums by kent those yeard were Verkligen and Isola [the debut is quite happy imo] but yeah... that's a little off-topic.

Damn, i can't wait to get Katatonia's debut... Jonas did such an amazing job with thegrowls and screams. Sad that it was only a one-time thing. You see kids... You have to really practice so your throat will not get fucked up.