Katatonia – City Burials

6/10

Katatonia, a band who just like Opeth totally changed direction but kept their name.
A fun thing about a band like this is that the fans might be upset and all that about the direction change but I don´t hear people getting to war over it like they tend to do with bands who is slightly bigger

Now we are about to explore their seventh album (I think it is ) since the musical change of direction. “Heart Set To Divide” tells us once again that those who, just like me, has followed the band since “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” will have their mouth full of the modern, maybe I shall say grown up Katatonia for the next hour and an enjoyable ride it turns out to be. But at the second song “Behind The Blood” I instantly react to the quite different build up, now this tune is more hard rock than they have been for a very long time, then Jonas vocals lays a safe fatherly hand over the whole song and we´re back where we should be. If you can´t stand a whole album of today’s Katatonia, this might be a song to put on a playlist. “Laquer” kind of gives you a long nose if you think the album will sound like that.“The Winter of our passing” is a title that triggers me to want to know what the song is about. If there was an MTV showing music videos this could have been some kind of a “heavy rotation” song on a show like “Alternative nation”(for those old enough to remember when MTV was a music video channel know what I talk about).

“City of glaciers” sounds like a homage to someone or something, a song like “Flicker” is like Katatonia trying to create some kind of a chaos song. It differs from all the other songs on the album. In “Untrodden” I can hear all the reason why I like the band, this is my cup of Katatonia tea. Quite hard to explain but its one of the songs I think I should use to introduce the band with.
Hour long albums tend to have a kind of a “marching order” of the songs. A build up to a crescendo somewhere in the middle of the albums and then dive out. With Katatonia there is no such thing. Even if the songs are different they are sure to be water marked Katatonia .
“Fighters” is another fast song to say that we still got it in us but we will not let our vision get lost over it and a fine way to finalize the album. It´s a high low level throughout but the fear is that they will be a band that will put out records that people will criticize for being a carbon copy of the last one. But with this band it is quite ok for me.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1DX36PVNNEo2o9RAZN6OYJ?si=akSBvuwaTcWr7EzrteNPSw

Band: Katatonia
Title: City Burials
Label: Peaceville
Date of release: 20-04-24
Rate: 6/10
Stand out track: City Of Glaciers