Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
Peaceville Records CDVILE128 - 13/03/2006
By Sam Brokenshaw
Many people bemoaned the direction Katatonia took on their last opus "Viva Emptiness". The words nu-metal were bandied around and personally, I didn't agree. "Viva Emptiness" was a definite step in a different direction from the almost alt-rock stylings of the previous three albums, three albums which represented a refinement of a particular style. "Discouraged Ones," "Tonight's Decision" and "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" each served as a step in the development of a style which endeared new listeners to the former doom band, experimenting more and more with melancholy and less with out and out metal. "The Great Cold Distance" would appear to be the same kind of refinement from the previous album, leading me to believe that this is a new era in Katatonia's musical chronology. It's hard to say whether the band have improved from "Viva Emptiness", as the differences on offer here are subtle and hardly the kind of jump that the band made between "Brave Murder Day" and "Discouraged Ones." Many elements are held over from the stylistic lexicon that the previous album displayed; epic sustained guitar sound-scapes, shimmering clean guitars, a thick and warm bass tone and Mr Renkse's vocals sound more comfortable than ever.
The track available for download, "My Twin", doesn't tell the whole story here either. "My Twin" is similar in some ways to the more catchy material on "Viva Emptiness", such as "Criminals" and "Evidence", but overall, "The Great Cold Distance" is a lot more convoluted and complex. The songs are less catchy in general, with a few exceptions, and the album stands as one long journey into a particular mode of thought. Renkse calls the album, "A distance necessary to journey through the corridors of human vexation." The album noticeably lacks certain elements from the previous, no "Omerta" or "Inside the City of Glass" to break up the flow for example. This works for and against the album in different ways. The overall length of the album can be somewhat of a hindrance without the breaks in flow that the aforementioned track afforded "Viva Emptiness". However, this singular direction of flow also gives the album a unique push into the journeying mode that Renkse speaks of.
The album largely features the kind of crushing, moderately simplistic riffs that prevailed on the last album, but at times they reveal half hidden pieces of technicality that can occasionally be glimpsed through the walls of distortion. The musical performances on display are top notch, the guitars are incredibly tight and Daniel Liljekvist's drumming is tight and hard, really giving the album the kind of percussive force that the hard riffs demand to be supported by. As previously stated the songs seem to flow into one long musical sound-scape and there is not a huge amount of variation to break it up, but there are highlights. The lilting, rolling gait of "Soil's Song" proves extremely effective and along with "My Twin" provides a one-two hit of the albums most blatantly catchy moments. "Consternation" is probably the most out and out heavy song on the album, reminding me of "Wealth" from "Viva Emptiness" in it's bloody-minded riffing. "In the White" features a clever laying of rhythms between the bass and guitars, whilst not quite as blatant as Meshuggah, the polyrhythmic effect is somewhat disturbing and catches the listener's ear. Renkse's vocal performance is also superb on this song, he breaks the comfort zone inhabited on most of the rest of the album, sounding as desperate as ever, and as beautiful. The album closer, "Journey Through Pressure" doesn't disappoint, ending the album in an epic and different way, with many different experiments in production giving the song a complex texture.
Katatonia really stand out as one of the most consistant bands in the metal scene today. There is not a single Katatonia album I don't enjoy in some way or another, whichever period you choose to pick from. From the early crushing, blackened doom, through the alt-rock styled period and on into this more metallic current sound. "The Great Cold Distance" is a deceptively complex journey into the darker side of human emotion, which doesn't suffer from it's near singular thrust but rather thrives on it. It's always a good sign when you're already looking forward to what a band will do next, before they even release the current album. Katatonia have achieved a rare level excellence and that surely must be applauded.
9/10
Katatonia's Official Website
Peaceville Official Website
Peaceville Records CDVILE128 - 13/03/2006
By Sam Brokenshaw
Many people bemoaned the direction Katatonia took on their last opus "Viva Emptiness". The words nu-metal were bandied around and personally, I didn't agree. "Viva Emptiness" was a definite step in a different direction from the almost alt-rock stylings of the previous three albums, three albums which represented a refinement of a particular style. "Discouraged Ones," "Tonight's Decision" and "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" each served as a step in the development of a style which endeared new listeners to the former doom band, experimenting more and more with melancholy and less with out and out metal. "The Great Cold Distance" would appear to be the same kind of refinement from the previous album, leading me to believe that this is a new era in Katatonia's musical chronology. It's hard to say whether the band have improved from "Viva Emptiness", as the differences on offer here are subtle and hardly the kind of jump that the band made between "Brave Murder Day" and "Discouraged Ones." Many elements are held over from the stylistic lexicon that the previous album displayed; epic sustained guitar sound-scapes, shimmering clean guitars, a thick and warm bass tone and Mr Renkse's vocals sound more comfortable than ever.
The track available for download, "My Twin", doesn't tell the whole story here either. "My Twin" is similar in some ways to the more catchy material on "Viva Emptiness", such as "Criminals" and "Evidence", but overall, "The Great Cold Distance" is a lot more convoluted and complex. The songs are less catchy in general, with a few exceptions, and the album stands as one long journey into a particular mode of thought. Renkse calls the album, "A distance necessary to journey through the corridors of human vexation." The album noticeably lacks certain elements from the previous, no "Omerta" or "Inside the City of Glass" to break up the flow for example. This works for and against the album in different ways. The overall length of the album can be somewhat of a hindrance without the breaks in flow that the aforementioned track afforded "Viva Emptiness". However, this singular direction of flow also gives the album a unique push into the journeying mode that Renkse speaks of.
The album largely features the kind of crushing, moderately simplistic riffs that prevailed on the last album, but at times they reveal half hidden pieces of technicality that can occasionally be glimpsed through the walls of distortion. The musical performances on display are top notch, the guitars are incredibly tight and Daniel Liljekvist's drumming is tight and hard, really giving the album the kind of percussive force that the hard riffs demand to be supported by. As previously stated the songs seem to flow into one long musical sound-scape and there is not a huge amount of variation to break it up, but there are highlights. The lilting, rolling gait of "Soil's Song" proves extremely effective and along with "My Twin" provides a one-two hit of the albums most blatantly catchy moments. "Consternation" is probably the most out and out heavy song on the album, reminding me of "Wealth" from "Viva Emptiness" in it's bloody-minded riffing. "In the White" features a clever laying of rhythms between the bass and guitars, whilst not quite as blatant as Meshuggah, the polyrhythmic effect is somewhat disturbing and catches the listener's ear. Renkse's vocal performance is also superb on this song, he breaks the comfort zone inhabited on most of the rest of the album, sounding as desperate as ever, and as beautiful. The album closer, "Journey Through Pressure" doesn't disappoint, ending the album in an epic and different way, with many different experiments in production giving the song a complex texture.
Katatonia really stand out as one of the most consistant bands in the metal scene today. There is not a single Katatonia album I don't enjoy in some way or another, whichever period you choose to pick from. From the early crushing, blackened doom, through the alt-rock styled period and on into this more metallic current sound. "The Great Cold Distance" is a deceptively complex journey into the darker side of human emotion, which doesn't suffer from it's near singular thrust but rather thrives on it. It's always a good sign when you're already looking forward to what a band will do next, before they even release the current album. Katatonia have achieved a rare level excellence and that surely must be applauded.
9/10
Katatonia's Official Website
Peaceville Official Website
