- Apr 5, 2003
- 2,668
- 2
- 38
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
Peaceville - CDVILED154 - 06/11/06
By Brandon Strader
What a blast from the past! Katatonia's Brave Murder Day has been reissued yet again in 2006 with the Sounds Of Decay EP from 1997 included at the end as a special bonus. Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth fame lent his dinstinguished vocals to these recordings, and was truly at his prime; there are dynamics to the multifaceted performance that would impress modern Opeth fans.The sound is incredible; just as good now as it did back then, yet it may be even more relevant in an age when death metal is on the rise and nobody truly acknowledges the old greats anymore... People who listen to modern Katatonia where the sound is catchier will probably get a few tears in their eyes when they hear this album again in all its majesty...
"Brave" is a simple yet powerful song. It has two main verse / chorus sections with other arrangements being tossed in once in a while. It is by no means a commercial tune, clocking in at an epic 10 minutes, yet it is a very catchy and depressing song. The guitar lead part is played nearly perfect with some mistakes here and there, yet it has a special charm to it and the melodies are astounding! "Murder" follows in this pattern with melodic guitar leads immediately, though the tempo is quite a bit faster and the song is a lot shorter! When Akerfeldt's vocals finally enter the music after a minute, the mood changes considerably. The rhythm becomes a bit more discordant, and the lead follows suit. The scream vocals that follow sound very strange, with a higher pitch and it sounds like the fellow had a frog in his throat. I'm not sure if it was Mike, but if it was, that's just another example of the dynamics he used to have... All of the vocals sound just a bit more awesome with the reverb applied to them, though! The main verse from the opening of the track comes back on, and it feels like a weight has been lifted as the arrangement before it gives the listener an odd, tiring feeling. "Day" is a tiny bit shorter still, and features the clean vocal stylings of Jonas Renkse. His voice sounds a lot less confident and more off-key than the more recent Katatonia material, however it sounds a lot more honest and atmospheric than their recent stuff too without all that editting and auto-tuning on them. The song has an awesome echoing clean guitar melody underneath the vocals, and without the heavy guitars of the previous massive tracks, the percussion sounds a bit fake - especially the snare drum. The song has an incredible atmosphere which is fueled by the key changes and vocal performances, although it takes successive listens to really appreciate the song properly.
"Rainroom" starts immediately with growls, and the melodic guitar rhythms we've become accustomed to since the beginning of Brave Murder Day. It also features what seems to be the first real appearance of the two-part guitar harmony used as a rhythm that Opeth did so well with Orchid and Morningrise. Katatonia may have changed drastically since the time of this masterpeice, but it is still available for all to experience - especially with the reissue. Brave Murder Day is really an incredible classic that anyone listening to extreme metal should be familiar with. The addition of Sounds of Decay at the end is quite nice as well, and continues in the same style though with a slightly more abrasive mix. Buy this one now, and if you like it, check out October Tide.
8.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Katatonia Website
Official Peaceville Website
Peaceville - CDVILED154 - 06/11/06
By Brandon Strader
What a blast from the past! Katatonia's Brave Murder Day has been reissued yet again in 2006 with the Sounds Of Decay EP from 1997 included at the end as a special bonus. Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth fame lent his dinstinguished vocals to these recordings, and was truly at his prime; there are dynamics to the multifaceted performance that would impress modern Opeth fans.The sound is incredible; just as good now as it did back then, yet it may be even more relevant in an age when death metal is on the rise and nobody truly acknowledges the old greats anymore... People who listen to modern Katatonia where the sound is catchier will probably get a few tears in their eyes when they hear this album again in all its majesty...
"Brave" is a simple yet powerful song. It has two main verse / chorus sections with other arrangements being tossed in once in a while. It is by no means a commercial tune, clocking in at an epic 10 minutes, yet it is a very catchy and depressing song. The guitar lead part is played nearly perfect with some mistakes here and there, yet it has a special charm to it and the melodies are astounding! "Murder" follows in this pattern with melodic guitar leads immediately, though the tempo is quite a bit faster and the song is a lot shorter! When Akerfeldt's vocals finally enter the music after a minute, the mood changes considerably. The rhythm becomes a bit more discordant, and the lead follows suit. The scream vocals that follow sound very strange, with a higher pitch and it sounds like the fellow had a frog in his throat. I'm not sure if it was Mike, but if it was, that's just another example of the dynamics he used to have... All of the vocals sound just a bit more awesome with the reverb applied to them, though! The main verse from the opening of the track comes back on, and it feels like a weight has been lifted as the arrangement before it gives the listener an odd, tiring feeling. "Day" is a tiny bit shorter still, and features the clean vocal stylings of Jonas Renkse. His voice sounds a lot less confident and more off-key than the more recent Katatonia material, however it sounds a lot more honest and atmospheric than their recent stuff too without all that editting and auto-tuning on them. The song has an awesome echoing clean guitar melody underneath the vocals, and without the heavy guitars of the previous massive tracks, the percussion sounds a bit fake - especially the snare drum. The song has an incredible atmosphere which is fueled by the key changes and vocal performances, although it takes successive listens to really appreciate the song properly.
"Rainroom" starts immediately with growls, and the melodic guitar rhythms we've become accustomed to since the beginning of Brave Murder Day. It also features what seems to be the first real appearance of the two-part guitar harmony used as a rhythm that Opeth did so well with Orchid and Morningrise. Katatonia may have changed drastically since the time of this masterpeice, but it is still available for all to experience - especially with the reissue. Brave Murder Day is really an incredible classic that anyone listening to extreme metal should be familiar with. The addition of Sounds of Decay at the end is quite nice as well, and continues in the same style though with a slightly more abrasive mix. Buy this one now, and if you like it, check out October Tide.
8.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Katatonia Website
Official Peaceville Website
