KATATONIA - Brave Yester Days (Century Media)

[Papa Josh]

KATATONIA Brave Yester Days

Century Media Records
2004
www.katatonia.com


Volume One

1. Midwinter Gates (prologue)
2. Without God
3. Palace Of Frost
4. The Northern Silence
5. Crimson Tears (epilogue)
6. Gateways Of Bereavement
7. Velvet Thorns (of drynwhyl)
8. Black Erotica
9. Love Of The Swan
10. Funeral Wedding
11. Shades Of Emerald Fields
12. For Funerals To Come
13. Epistel


Volume Two

1. Murder
2. Rainroom
3. Nowhere
4. At Last
5. Inside The Fall
6. Untrue
7. Nerve
8. Saw You Drown
9. Quiet World
10. Scarlet Heavens


Here we have a KATATONIA retrospective, scanning their years before and throughout their tenure at Century Media. Is it the definitive KATATONIA collection in regards to the tracklisting? Of course not, but that would be virtually impossible. Is it a great place to start? Absolutely.

One reason is due to the rarities that are featured here, including the legendary Jhva Elohim Meth ep, their appearance on War Compilation Vol. 1, For Funerals To Come ep, Sounds Of Decay ep, and the Saw You Drown ep. Throw this all together with two tracks from the Dance Of December Souls debut and two from the monumental Brave Murder Day, and

you've got yourself a nice little piece of heavy metal history.

Great booklet, great packaging, Brave Yester Days serves best as a glimpse at the progression of this band. Recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Papa Josh

 

[Erik]

I like having "Black Erotica", "Love of the Swan" and "Untrue" (great song) in one package, but the mastering engineer should be shot. Everything is compressed and sounds flat as fuck and devoid of detail and high-end when compared to the original recordings.

 

[JayKeeley]

the mastering engineer should be shot. Everything is compressed and sounds flat as fuck and devoid of detail and high-end when compared to the original recordings.

That is so fucking infuriating. This was one re-release I was really thinking about getting just because of what was on offer, in one convenient package, and they can't even get the job done right.

 

[NAD]

Ditto. Might pick it up anyhow, when I become re-infatuated with Katatonia.

 

[Papa Josh]

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't notice enough of a difference to give a shit...

I liked it enough to sell my Jhva and Sound Of Decay cds.

 

[Tranquillian]

I hope you got a lot for the jhva cd. I love this release.

 

[Erik]

Actually I'm kind of exaggerating because it's not THAT bad, it's just that I have both the collection and the original releases on my computer and if I A/B compare them it is clear which one is the re-release, sounding quite a bit more "muffled."

 

[Demonspell]

Ditto. Might pick it up anyhow, when I become re-infatuated with Katatonia.

It provides a good overview of their development as a band (up until Discouraged Ones of course), and is essential for the completist who can't waste upwards of $500 on the originals on Egay...

 

[Erik]

It provides a good overview of their development as a band (up until Discouraged Ones of course), and is essential for the completist who can't waste upwards of $500 on the originals on Egay...

...or for the ones who aren't lucky enough to find "Jhva Elohim Meth... the Revival" for $3 in a random used CD store

 

[Papa Josh]

Exactly. I paid virtually nothing for that cd and made $22 for it.

 

[Erik]

$22 is defintely on the low side though, I've seen it go for probably $80 or more... Still... Well I'd rather keep mine than get $80 anyway.

 

[JayKeeley]

I would really like to get this album at some point, but I'm still concerned about the muffled + flat remastering....

 

[Crimson Velvet]

Don't be. I have the original The Revival and this one, and the difference is not enough to spoil the experience. Same goes with Sounds of Decay and Saw You Drown.

 

[JayKeeley]

Willowtip have it for $14 so I might go for it....