Review Summary: Splendidly bleak.
It is always interesting to note the musical progression of long-standing bands with each and every album. Katatonia started out as a black/doom metal sort of hybrid, but lost the growls and then turned into some sort of atmospheric metal band with clean vocals, a direction taken first with 1998's Discouraged Ones. Katatonia's songwriting and chops improved on every album, and Last Fair Deal Gone Down is probably the album where they started functioning as a unit really for the first time. Tonight's Decision, though almost consistently amazing, lacked in just one department: the addition of a full-time rhythm section.
And with that on board for this album, this is the album we can consider to be some sort of magnum opus, or in any case, one of the (if not the) strongest offerings Katatonia has brought to the table. Katatonia have a very unique sound, relying on churning riffs (rather than a lot of chug or shred), backed by simple yet effective rhythm backdrops and Renske's ever-melancholy croon. They do not deviate from this formula much in essentials, but there are ever-subtle nuances in every track on this record that make it very engaging.
We Must Bury You is probably the best example, with electronic samples and a repetitive, simple drum beat leading the way to a grand chorus of "we must bury you so deep that no one should find you." It isn't even the sublime choral melody that holds the song together; it's the subtle repetition of musical elements that bonds the song together like glue between two sheets of paper. There are few lyrics, there are only a few ideas (and it's actually a rather short song clocking in under three minutes) but the most is made of that single idea; and that's where Katatonia's strength lies.
When it's not the electronics, it's mostly Renske's vocal lines holding a song together. Many of the songs here thrive on some repetitive melody that is emphasized throughout the song, but the trick Katatonia pulls off is finding just that line that will stick in your head until forever. Teargas isn't such an impressive song at first, but the chorus just seems to hit every note perfectly right. It seems like Renske hits magic notes on every song, there is a well-constructed hook in almost every song, so that the bleakness on offer never becomes too dreary to swallow.
And that ingenious songwriting is what keeps the whole album together. There are no typical metal technical frenzy parts, or super-obscure fantasy lyrics, or hyperactive blastbeats; it's all very restrained, very mute for a metal record, but it's so ingeniously twisted that every single musical theme and every riff becomes important enough to be pushed to the forefront. It's deceptively simple, constructing melancholy, bleak atmospheres due to simple repetition and major vocal hooks in every song; but it just works throughout and that's the reason this album is so easy to get immersed in.
If you don't mind swathes of constrained, bleak imagery, and sorrowful, moody metal, this is the perfect album. It's got the chops, the songwriting, and simply the power to enthrall for years to come. That is probably why this is the most acclaimed Katatonia record, and it's also the result of the band really functioning as one coherent unit. Katatonia would later tread some more riff-oriented territory, and explore it within the boundaries of their trademark style, but almost nothing comes as close to pure, perfected songwriting as the tracks on this album.
