I believe that now the time is fair for a real review of the new Katatonia album, Viva Emptyness!
My reasons are more than obvious who has been listening like I have, to feel the amazing impression this album leaves. I was mainly into Discouraged Ones until this came along and wiped it almost clean.
Firstly this is a very complicated album, full of capturing sounds that fill the darkness of their sound in an almost indirect way, which was perhaps due to their previous sound. From a first perspective many Katatonia fan may have passed this album for a quicker easier work, but this claim cannot stand true, this album simply is as thick and fantastic as any musician, or patient enthusiast could want, and on another level catchier than anything else available. That is what every faithful artist wants to achieve, a blend of belief.
I will proceed in the normal way song by song and conclude on the overall experience by the end.
1. Ghost of the Sun: Not what you expect when first heard, particularly on a Katatonia album, but the heavy intro leads into a continuous mix of melody and interesting changes, with subtle "dead sounding" vocals contradicted by the screams underneath, a very "Tool" ending to a chorus, then into an almost familiar "late 80's" melody of soft vocals, and 3 piano notes at the end finish a very intellectual start. 9/10
2. Sleeper: users a great riff from Chrome I think on the "Now I Breathing out" vocals, but to much more effect, this is a real groovy song for Katatonia, but thats only so the can blow out in pain in the heaviest chorus. Painful and subtle melodies simple and cool, this prepares us for a mindful of struggle, the meldodies are complex within, so far I know nobody who dislikes this album, this because of it's complicity ;-) 8/10
3. Criminals: How fantastic is it to seriously hear Katatonia succeed into a ballad with their own sound? This is it, beautifully simple with "strings" and and a great guitar sound, and the second chorus just after with the mad build up, the lead guitar sounds, mental with the drums eminating its full sound, that new drummer is paying of big time! This is a top song! My favourite? Sorry its too simple for that after listening intensivly I can say this is just great to listen to, the best is yet to come. 8/10
4. A Preminition: These breaks of the intensity become welcome after a while, their are a few a songs that are much more chilled out, nothing fantastic but cool you down and this is the first, and it is soft but a really great tune to hear coming out of such a heavy introduction, it grows on you but is short and therefor feels more like an intro to whats about to really crush you. 7/10
5. Will I Arrive: Here we go.. the intro is fantastic with a crashing down riff that enters into a verse of struggle, with no hint of a direction at first, but then enters back to the intro, then into a fantastic melodic chorus.
"Street with strange names" gives you a hint of how lost jonas really feels but in a depth of ways, the chorus enters to become the interesting part of the song. This song fills the speakers with melodies of melody and more! and the little break really makes it just towared the end. I rate this song as a must experience! 10/10!
6. Burn the Rememberance: This is the best to play first to unexperienced Katatonia listeners, any average rock listener will pick up on the cool riff to start with and the soft simple verse, a great combination of 2 very interesting melodies, its the groovy middle that provides the ways into the song, this one is great for that warm summer lonelyness. 9/10
7. Wealth: Again another great intro with a real in ya face riff, then into the spit chorus, the arpegio on overdrive, accending melodies to hell. Although the chorus features the bluntless: "We Die, We Are" its provided in the craftiest of ways, with a wicked rock riff like this Katatonia really are providing a combination of frustration and release, this is music reaching an infinity....! Name me a band this experimental and catchy! 9/10
8. Once year from Now: (half way): Next break.. but wait I love this song for its meaning and reason, use it to release the intensity once again, and notice the subtle heavy "katatonia" sound in the heavy middle. Different and original, not amazing but cool. 7/10
9. Walking by your Wire: The melodic intro welcomes me, a bit of "tool" again crashing in, Jonas sounds like a real singer, and then the chorus amazed me, violent in the most softest of ways. This song becomes the most interesting for its groovy melodies, how Katatonia managed to sound this groovy I don't but they are groovy and dark, and it's fantastic. 9/10!
10. Complicity: This as known can only be the best song, the riffs arw all in the perfect place, with the "melody backward" middle plunging into the continued pain. Fantastic song :9/10!
11. Evidence: This is definitly the "best" song on the album, its smooth and catchy at the same time keeps that hidden "katatonia" melody behind all the way, its a great song one of the best and shows where the direction has come and is going,, its like being lost and finding a map and helps to define the rest of the album. The breakdown defines the melody which finished in a repetative "will they let me out to take the test", a struggle in beautiful darkness. None other than a 10/10!
12. Omerta: "Come By, you have come far", and it starts like a folk song, but these are Jonas's influencies and they end up in a song that feels lost. This are third break from the intensity in the album, I love the way it ends and that makes it valid for a good score! 8/10
13. Many have said the last song "inside the city of Glass" is like older Katatonia song, I agree to some extent, but this is a movement of deep frustation, their meaning of it on the album is as a lost to me as the meaning of the musical melodies, all I can say is that in the melodies of the songs this show that Katatonia are ahead and without end. 8/10
Overall 10/10
At first I was lost, but this album really has lost me even more, and I cannot find a single band that even comes close, Tool being experimental leave a lot of songs without an end, Katatonia have included their style and added their darkness and created a deep thrillingly dark band, Discouraged ones is melodically amazing. Viva is deeply melodically amazing, a fantastic album that must be heard so that the future of gothic music does not end sour! This is the best band in the Genre/Unground rock world, and others are seeing it as well, let them be bigger than Paradise Lost only because they really deserve it for their talent in an evolutional way!
Overall 10/10, Show me another band with this much successfull experimentational influences and i will laugh.
Over the top? Let me know, I firmly believe that Katatonia are an important musical influence, if not a fantastic band!
Thanks for reading this far..
Richard
My reasons are more than obvious who has been listening like I have, to feel the amazing impression this album leaves. I was mainly into Discouraged Ones until this came along and wiped it almost clean.
Firstly this is a very complicated album, full of capturing sounds that fill the darkness of their sound in an almost indirect way, which was perhaps due to their previous sound. From a first perspective many Katatonia fan may have passed this album for a quicker easier work, but this claim cannot stand true, this album simply is as thick and fantastic as any musician, or patient enthusiast could want, and on another level catchier than anything else available. That is what every faithful artist wants to achieve, a blend of belief.
I will proceed in the normal way song by song and conclude on the overall experience by the end.
1. Ghost of the Sun: Not what you expect when first heard, particularly on a Katatonia album, but the heavy intro leads into a continuous mix of melody and interesting changes, with subtle "dead sounding" vocals contradicted by the screams underneath, a very "Tool" ending to a chorus, then into an almost familiar "late 80's" melody of soft vocals, and 3 piano notes at the end finish a very intellectual start. 9/10
2. Sleeper: users a great riff from Chrome I think on the "Now I Breathing out" vocals, but to much more effect, this is a real groovy song for Katatonia, but thats only so the can blow out in pain in the heaviest chorus. Painful and subtle melodies simple and cool, this prepares us for a mindful of struggle, the meldodies are complex within, so far I know nobody who dislikes this album, this because of it's complicity ;-) 8/10
3. Criminals: How fantastic is it to seriously hear Katatonia succeed into a ballad with their own sound? This is it, beautifully simple with "strings" and and a great guitar sound, and the second chorus just after with the mad build up, the lead guitar sounds, mental with the drums eminating its full sound, that new drummer is paying of big time! This is a top song! My favourite? Sorry its too simple for that after listening intensivly I can say this is just great to listen to, the best is yet to come. 8/10
4. A Preminition: These breaks of the intensity become welcome after a while, their are a few a songs that are much more chilled out, nothing fantastic but cool you down and this is the first, and it is soft but a really great tune to hear coming out of such a heavy introduction, it grows on you but is short and therefor feels more like an intro to whats about to really crush you. 7/10
5. Will I Arrive: Here we go.. the intro is fantastic with a crashing down riff that enters into a verse of struggle, with no hint of a direction at first, but then enters back to the intro, then into a fantastic melodic chorus.
"Street with strange names" gives you a hint of how lost jonas really feels but in a depth of ways, the chorus enters to become the interesting part of the song. This song fills the speakers with melodies of melody and more! and the little break really makes it just towared the end. I rate this song as a must experience! 10/10!
6. Burn the Rememberance: This is the best to play first to unexperienced Katatonia listeners, any average rock listener will pick up on the cool riff to start with and the soft simple verse, a great combination of 2 very interesting melodies, its the groovy middle that provides the ways into the song, this one is great for that warm summer lonelyness. 9/10
7. Wealth: Again another great intro with a real in ya face riff, then into the spit chorus, the arpegio on overdrive, accending melodies to hell. Although the chorus features the bluntless: "We Die, We Are" its provided in the craftiest of ways, with a wicked rock riff like this Katatonia really are providing a combination of frustration and release, this is music reaching an infinity....! Name me a band this experimental and catchy! 9/10
8. Once year from Now: (half way): Next break.. but wait I love this song for its meaning and reason, use it to release the intensity once again, and notice the subtle heavy "katatonia" sound in the heavy middle. Different and original, not amazing but cool. 7/10
9. Walking by your Wire: The melodic intro welcomes me, a bit of "tool" again crashing in, Jonas sounds like a real singer, and then the chorus amazed me, violent in the most softest of ways. This song becomes the most interesting for its groovy melodies, how Katatonia managed to sound this groovy I don't but they are groovy and dark, and it's fantastic. 9/10!
10. Complicity: This as known can only be the best song, the riffs arw all in the perfect place, with the "melody backward" middle plunging into the continued pain. Fantastic song :9/10!
11. Evidence: This is definitly the "best" song on the album, its smooth and catchy at the same time keeps that hidden "katatonia" melody behind all the way, its a great song one of the best and shows where the direction has come and is going,, its like being lost and finding a map and helps to define the rest of the album. The breakdown defines the melody which finished in a repetative "will they let me out to take the test", a struggle in beautiful darkness. None other than a 10/10!
12. Omerta: "Come By, you have come far", and it starts like a folk song, but these are Jonas's influencies and they end up in a song that feels lost. This are third break from the intensity in the album, I love the way it ends and that makes it valid for a good score! 8/10
13. Many have said the last song "inside the city of Glass" is like older Katatonia song, I agree to some extent, but this is a movement of deep frustation, their meaning of it on the album is as a lost to me as the meaning of the musical melodies, all I can say is that in the melodies of the songs this show that Katatonia are ahead and without end. 8/10
Overall 10/10
At first I was lost, but this album really has lost me even more, and I cannot find a single band that even comes close, Tool being experimental leave a lot of songs without an end, Katatonia have included their style and added their darkness and created a deep thrillingly dark band, Discouraged ones is melodically amazing. Viva is deeply melodically amazing, a fantastic album that must be heard so that the future of gothic music does not end sour! This is the best band in the Genre/Unground rock world, and others are seeing it as well, let them be bigger than Paradise Lost only because they really deserve it for their talent in an evolutional way!
Overall 10/10, Show me another band with this much successfull experimentational influences and i will laugh.
Over the top? Let me know, I firmly believe that Katatonia are an important musical influence, if not a fantastic band!
Thanks for reading this far..
Richard
