Katatonia - Brave Yester Days
Century Media Records - 8159-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Listening to this retrospective round-up of some of Katatonia's earliest (and, currently, most hard-to-find) material is somewhat akin to comparing the face of your father to the school photos in your grandparents' living room. The elements that were to evolve and mature into the entity that you are familiar with are there to see, but the overall impression is of a completely different individual. That is to say, the mournful, epic and sorrow-laced doom metal on offer within the first disc in particular of this release is light-years away from the stripped-down, more far-reaching 'blue' metal Katatonia that has developed since the Brave Murder Day album.
Brave Yester Days includes several incredibly desirable items for Katatonia enthusiasts - the entire For Funerals To Come EP, the first demo Jhvia Elohim Meth, and the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit Sounds Of Decay EP. Couple this with selected tracks from other releases that were unveiled during the band's stay on Avantgarde Records, and what you have is a particularly impressive release.
The earlier material in particular is intriguing in the way it shows how far Katatonia have evolved from their decidedly My Dying Bride/Paradise Lost/Anathema-inspired roots, and the later material on the second disc shows both Katatonia's maturation into a unique band with an individual sound, as well as just how fitting Mikael Akerfeldt's vocal contributions were on the Brave Murder Day and Sounds Of Decay releases. Obviously, hardcore Katatonia enthusiasts will own most of the albums/EPs already, but for those who only got into the band with Tonight's Decision, Brave Yester Days is an essential purchase.
8.5/10
Katatonia Official Website
Century Media Records
Century Media Records - 8159-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Listening to this retrospective round-up of some of Katatonia's earliest (and, currently, most hard-to-find) material is somewhat akin to comparing the face of your father to the school photos in your grandparents' living room. The elements that were to evolve and mature into the entity that you are familiar with are there to see, but the overall impression is of a completely different individual. That is to say, the mournful, epic and sorrow-laced doom metal on offer within the first disc in particular of this release is light-years away from the stripped-down, more far-reaching 'blue' metal Katatonia that has developed since the Brave Murder Day album.
Brave Yester Days includes several incredibly desirable items for Katatonia enthusiasts - the entire For Funerals To Come EP, the first demo Jhvia Elohim Meth, and the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit Sounds Of Decay EP. Couple this with selected tracks from other releases that were unveiled during the band's stay on Avantgarde Records, and what you have is a particularly impressive release.
The earlier material in particular is intriguing in the way it shows how far Katatonia have evolved from their decidedly My Dying Bride/Paradise Lost/Anathema-inspired roots, and the later material on the second disc shows both Katatonia's maturation into a unique band with an individual sound, as well as just how fitting Mikael Akerfeldt's vocal contributions were on the Brave Murder Day and Sounds Of Decay releases. Obviously, hardcore Katatonia enthusiasts will own most of the albums/EPs already, but for those who only got into the band with Tonight's Decision, Brave Yester Days is an essential purchase.
8.5/10
Katatonia Official Website
Century Media Records
