So I (hesitantly) picked up the new issue of Metal Hammer yesterday. I don't really like the magazine, but it's all I can get in the town I'm in, and I usually like to see if there's any mention of any decent bands. Er, I got it home, took it out of its silly foil baggy, went straight to Subterranea and saw this:
KATATONIA
The Great Cold Divide
Opeth have a lot to answer for
It's taken 15 years for this Swedish mob to sound like they belong, but with this, their seventh album, Katatonia have found a niche. Unfortunately, it's a niche that's already occupied by Opeth.
Their brooding, melancholic goth-metal has been more promising in theory than in practice; the talent was there, but they lacked the vital ambition. 'The Great Cold Divide' still suffers from the same malaise, though at least the cloth has been cut according to the means. There are no sprawling epics here; each song is kept on a tight leash, which means they finish before chronic boredom sets in.
Opening with the moody 'Leaders', every track does follow a distinct formula, matching pumping Euro metal against more introverted plains. It's a neat balance, although once you've got the idea on 'Deliberation' and 'Soil's Song', it becomes slightly one-dimensional. However, the standard of musicianship is mostly strong enough to retain the interest, and there's three truly astounding tracks.
'Consternation' is pallid, haunting and utterly composed, as Katatonia lean heavily towards their more acoustic side. 'July' is bright yet mournful, allowing the guitars of Anders Nystrom and Fred Norrman free rein to explore more progressive territory. And 'Journey Through Pressure' closes the record with a confident, bruising beat.
If this standard could have been kept throughout, then we'd be talking here about a classic. As it is, 'The Great Cold Divide' doesn't have either the consistency or warmth of intimacy to be anything other than a close shot across the bows. Perhaps what they need is the sort of inventive injection that Opeth received, when they worked with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson on 'Blackwater Park'. [7]
MALCOLM DOME
I really can't comment on the bulk of it, as I haven't heard the album yet (I'll be waiting rather impaitiently til it arrives on my doorstep) ... but am I alone in thinking it's wrong for a reviewer to criticise (er, critique, whatever) an album and say "Well, it could be good, but they're Swedish ... and they're not Opeth!" when they can't get the name of the album right?
uke:
KATATONIA
The Great Cold Divide
Opeth have a lot to answer for
It's taken 15 years for this Swedish mob to sound like they belong, but with this, their seventh album, Katatonia have found a niche. Unfortunately, it's a niche that's already occupied by Opeth.
Their brooding, melancholic goth-metal has been more promising in theory than in practice; the talent was there, but they lacked the vital ambition. 'The Great Cold Divide' still suffers from the same malaise, though at least the cloth has been cut according to the means. There are no sprawling epics here; each song is kept on a tight leash, which means they finish before chronic boredom sets in.
Opening with the moody 'Leaders', every track does follow a distinct formula, matching pumping Euro metal against more introverted plains. It's a neat balance, although once you've got the idea on 'Deliberation' and 'Soil's Song', it becomes slightly one-dimensional. However, the standard of musicianship is mostly strong enough to retain the interest, and there's three truly astounding tracks.
'Consternation' is pallid, haunting and utterly composed, as Katatonia lean heavily towards their more acoustic side. 'July' is bright yet mournful, allowing the guitars of Anders Nystrom and Fred Norrman free rein to explore more progressive territory. And 'Journey Through Pressure' closes the record with a confident, bruising beat.
If this standard could have been kept throughout, then we'd be talking here about a classic. As it is, 'The Great Cold Divide' doesn't have either the consistency or warmth of intimacy to be anything other than a close shot across the bows. Perhaps what they need is the sort of inventive injection that Opeth received, when they worked with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson on 'Blackwater Park'. [7]
MALCOLM DOME
I really can't comment on the bulk of it, as I haven't heard the album yet (I'll be waiting rather impaitiently til it arrives on my doorstep) ... but am I alone in thinking it's wrong for a reviewer to criticise (er, critique, whatever) an album and say "Well, it could be good, but they're Swedish ... and they're not Opeth!" when they can't get the name of the album right?
uke:
