Even Though Katatonia Are One Of My Very Favorite Rock & Roll Bands I Do Have A Complaint

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Broheems mentioned that he picked up the album Last Fair Deal Gone Down and one of the words he used to describe it was "monochromatic". Listening to it today i was reminded of the things that i never liked about the album. The production IS fairly monochromatic even for a band like Katatonia who favor moods that are variations on black/white/grey. The big hate for me though is the drum sound. It sounds pretty bad. Hissy distorted cymbals everywhere. I never understood this as the record was recorded at Sunlight Studios where the band made Discouraged Ones & Tonight's Decision which both sound excellent. It's the first album with a new drummer so maybe that has something to do with it. The riffs aren't as memorable on Last Fair Deal either. I like the album a lot anyhow though. I love the single "Teargas" and the song "Clean Today". Pal Dan Swano isn't listed on the credits anywhere on Last Fair Deal and i've always thought he was an important element in creating their sound(he played drums on Tonight's Decision after Jonas came out from behind the kit to concentrate on singing) Last Fair Deal also contains what is arguably the most reviled Katatonia songs by die-hard fans, "We Must Bury You". If I were to recommend albums for someone to buy first i think it would be a toss-up between Brave Murder Day & Discouraged Ones. BMD is considered a classic of the metal genre and rightly so.(Mike Akerfeldt of Opeth provides the death vocals on BMD & Jonas does the clean.) Discouraged Ones flipped me out so much when i first heard it i thought i'd died and went to heaven. Like they had made the thing for me. Shoegazer doom of the first order. I wanted all metal to sound like that album for a year after i bought it. I definitely wanted Katatonia to make 10 albums just like it, and when they didn't and put out Tonight's Decision i realized that they were a lot smarter than me. They realized that they had to keep moving.(check out the really early stuff-Jhva Elohim Meth & Dance Of December Souls-to see where they were at in the beginning) After those two albums i would say definitely check out Tonight's Decision & the latest Viva Emptiness. Both those albums are solid from beginning to end. Big riffs, catchy hooks and enough gloom for the most discerning of Cure fans.Just great modern hard rock that isn't facile or rote. Thought this might be helpful. I hope Broheems doesn't give up on the band. He should be okay if he buys Brave Murder Day and blasts that thing as loud as it will go. I feel like sometimes you can come in on the middle of a movie and wonder what the fuss was all about.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:23 (twenty years ago) link

Isnt it spelled 'Catatonia'?

― Jimmy the Saint (Jimmy the Saint), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:24 (twenty years ago) link

no, that would be the welsh band of mulder & scully/road rage fame.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:26 (twenty years ago) link

So Scott, you're saying I need to hear this band?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:52 (twenty years ago) link

Are you drunk, Scott?

― Jordan (Jordan), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:58 (twenty years ago) link

Also, what's the best Opeth album out of the last few? Do they still spend a minimum of ten minutes to get rhough a song?

― Jordan (Jordan), Saturday, 31 January 2004 23:58 (twenty years ago) link

Blackwater Park's the best one

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Sunday, 1 February 2004 00:02 (twenty years ago) link

yes, ned. no, jordan. not yet, anyway. It was just bugging me that Broheems heard the one album that i think, fot the reasons i stated, is a little weaker than the others.

yes! they spend lots of time to get thru a song. buy the last two. you get the best of both worlds. Damnation & Deliverance. it's kind of a double album anyway. they recorded them at the same time. the new dvd is excellent. hell, buy that. they play both albums live.. i love blackwater park as well. i like all their albums pretty much. but i really like what they are doing now.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 00:06 (twenty years ago) link

Cool...Blackwater Park was the one I stopped with, around the time I stopped listening to metal for awhile. I will check out one of those.

(btw, I got a track back from the metal band I did drum tracks for, I think it came out pretty well...IM me if you [meaning anyone] would like to hear it, jazzyjordan42).

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 1 February 2004 00:16 (twenty years ago) link

Opeth are touring the states now or soon i think. they put on a good show. i have a really cool bootleg video of opeth & katatonia at the milwaukee metalfest. the only time katatonia ever played the states. they flew in from sweden, played for 40 minutes on opeth's equipment, and then flew right back. it's pretty shaky, but cool.

i'm listening to Tonight's Decision now, and that is an album that just sounds more incredible every time i listen to it. it took me a long time to get used to it when it first came out. i didn't like the jeff buckley cover then, but i really love it now.(i don't know shit about jeff buckley)

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 00:29 (twenty years ago) link

The Opeth tour is pretty soon, yeah. I might go see 'em again...saw 'em when they toured behind Deliverance. It was interesting, because most of the audience was just watching them go through the pieces, like staring at fingers on frets rather than "rocking out."

The DVD is, indeed, great.

This thread has piqued my interest in Katatonia. I think I'll pick up that Black Murder Day album, if I can find it this week.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 1 February 2004 00:44 (twenty years ago) link

one of my metal friends had my download the track "dead house" ages ago. it was good.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Sunday, 1 February 2004 01:17 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, I know I've seen Opeth listed at The Rave (where Metalfest is) a few times. My friend went to see them in Chicago because Paradise Lost was opening (!!!). Not rocking out is not cool, though.

You should do a Rough Guide to the Swedish Metal Scene, Scott.

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 1 February 2004 01:42 (twenty years ago) link

I want the box set! But I R greedy.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:13 (twenty years ago) link

Opeth -- Monday, February 16th @ The Southgate House
Newport, Kentucky

I'm probably going to check this show, if the weather isn't too nasty to drive up.

― earlnash, Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:13 (twenty years ago) link

You should do a Rough Guide to the Swedish Metal Scene, Scott.

no, i really shoudn't. it would consist of nothing but katatonia, Opeth, Entombed, and Amon Amarth cuz that's all i listen to(i'm fanatical that way). i would leave out tons of other great stuff.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:14 (twenty years ago) link

That can be your 'further listening' list.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:14 (twenty years ago) link

I wonder where Siegbran is?

― Ian Johnson (orion), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:18 (twenty years ago) link

I also should mention on here that the October Tide records that Jonas & Fredrik of Katatonia put out are really great.Rain Without End & Grey Dawn are titles to seek. Amazing atmospheric doom/death. I like them almost as much as any Katatonia release.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:26 (twenty years ago) link

Ha, maybe I should then, but it wouldn't include anything after '98!

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:31 (twenty years ago) link

Ha -- yeah, so I did end up listening to Last Fair Deal Gone Down again that day. I definitely liked it better this time. Perhaps it's a grower! It helped to bear in mind Scott's comments about just the sound of the guitars. Very nice, I agree. Actually there is some kind of weird effect they use on the solos that usually turns me off (I think I would associate it with like Porcupine Tree or Magic Mushroom Band or something like that [but not Doctor Brown], if I had actually heard those bands; anyway, a kind of neo-would-be-psychedelic gesture), but in the context on Katatonia it works quite nicely.

I think by that "monochromatic" comment I was actually just referring more to the uniformity of tempo - the kind of slow, bleak cast to the record - moreso than anything to do with the production. Or maybe I was just thinking of all that sepia-toned cover art. It kind of reminds of Bare Trees by Fleetwood Mac (also a mellow record).

I can definitely get the Cure comparisons. While obviously working with different sonic material, there is an expansiveness and a melancholia to the Katatonia record that recalls the vibe on something like Disintegration (*whets Ned's appetite*). "I Transpire" was my favorite cut, I think. I will not sell it yet. I am going to stick with this record.

Anyway I'm glad Scott started this cuz they definitely deserve their own thread. Hopefully Siegbran or Ian Christe will stumble on to this, they probably didn't see that other thread the other day.

― Broheems (diamond), Sunday, 1 February 2004 02:52 (twenty years ago) link

Cool! And i like your take on things. But you know that feeling, I'm sure, where someone says that they have heard a band you love and they mention an album that you know isn't entirely representative of how great that band can be. You always want to throttle them and say, "no, wait, you have to hear this!" Or at least i do anyway.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 03:09 (twenty years ago) link

Of course i don't have to explain that feeling on ILM. How silly of me. Everyone here knows what that is like.(And i gave up long ago trying to explain to casual music listeners how monumental Paul Revere & The Raiders or Thin Lizzy could be when "Kicks" or "The Boys Are Back In Town" showed up on the radio.God, what a lot of wasted effort that can be!) Okay, now i'm drunk.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 February 2004 03:22 (twenty years ago) link

I've probably mentioned this way too often before, but Katatonia and Opeth shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence - Katatonia's first three albums are nearly flawless. That being said, "Viva Emptiness" is still massively disappointing and looking at their trajectory I've all but given up on the band.

― Siegbran (eofor), Monday, 2 February 2004 11:15 (twenty years ago) link

i think you are wrong about Viva Emptiness, Siegbran. I know that you hate Opeth, but i can't remember why. Is it beacause you think they are so boring? that's why most people hate them.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 11:21 (twenty years ago) link

( The Katatonia e-mail list that i've been on for years is evenly split between people who love Opeth and people who REALLY love Opeth.)

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 11:23 (twenty years ago) link

plus, you shouldn't forget that Mike Akerfeldt played a big part in creating the early katatonia albums, that they are best friends/grew up together, that they still record together, that they have shared many a bill and tour together, and that Katatonia themselves are the biggest Opeth fans alive. That might explain mentioning them in the same sentence.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 12:02 (twenty years ago) link

I know all that, but still:
Katatonia: less-is-more, focused, those guitar lines, great songwriting, great sense of atmosphere.
Opeth: meandering, formulaic, disjointed, boring, limp, no idea of coherent songwriting whatsoever, annoyingly pretentious and incomprehensibly overrated.

(by the way, if anyone's interested in the Jhva Elhohim Meth MCD, I've got a spare copy for trade).

― Siegbran (eofor), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:43 (twenty years ago) link

I don't know, Siegbran. The thing that kept me from loving Last Fair Deal Gone Down was that there were plenty of indicators that the awful nu-metalness of Viva Emptiness was lying dormant, just waiting for an excuse to surface. To me, Katatonia is like Tormato-era Yes, while Opeth is more Animals-era Floyd. I prefer 1) the Barrett Floyd and 2) no Yes at all, thanks, but either way it seems like Katatonia's greatest strength is the atmosphere alluded to in yr post. Opeth's "meandering" is a lot of the point - it's what's interesting about them, kind of!

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:49 (twenty years ago) link

you both should listen to Viva Emptiness some more. it's hardly awful.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:53 (twenty years ago) link

i really think that Deliverance is one of their strongest albums, song-wise. and it ain't limp.i don't even think they are that pretentious in comparison with a lot of other bands.and they sure as heck aren't pretentious in interviews. they are a pretty happy bunch. and yeah, i like meandering.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:58 (twenty years ago) link

ah, but you were nice enough to answer my question, Siegbran. i should have left it at that. they bore you. that's cool. i said on that other thread that that is the main reason most people don't care for Opeth. 15 minute songs that mix camel/wishbone ash prog with death metal is not for everybody! one of the things i like about the katatonia list i'm on is that people rave about brave murder day just as much as they rave about viva emptiness. that's where i fit in. just as pentecost III sounds as good to me as a fine day to exit.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 17:34 (twenty years ago) link

The thing that kept me from loving Last Fair Deal Gone Down was that there were plenty of indicators that the awful nu-metalness of Viva Emptiness was lying dormant, just waiting for an excuse to surface.

Exactly, but I'm still madly in love with Blackheims sense of melody and atmosphere and I kept the hope up that they were able to realize that THAT is their strongest point - not focusing on Jonas Renske's hopelessness over conventional rock riffs. I do not ask of them to return to "Dance Of December Souls", great as it may be - that ship has definitely sailed long ago. In a sense, I feel that they've lost that certain balance between the rock and the metal, the depression and the drive, that made "Discouraged Ones" so great. "Viva Emptiness" tilts the balance far too much towards Renske over-indulging in pitiful and annoyingly hollow angst.

In a bigger context: it cannot be a coincidence that surprisingly many of bands followed the exact same artistic trajectory: After a few fairly technical/complex/cutting-edge albums, the band goes for a more streamlined rock approach, with simpler songs - usually the first attempt(s) are good/successful so the band continues in that direction only to find themselves in increasingly bland territory with only sporadic glimpses of their former magic. Cases in point: Amorphis, Paradise Lost, Anathema, Katatonia, Metallica, Sentenced, Gorefest, Entombed. It is extremely rare to see a band do the opposite (from two-riff three-minute rock to more complex/extreme metal).

But hey, Katatonia is their band and if they're happy to steam fullspeed into shallow waters it's their decision. It obviously hasn't done any of the above mentioned bands much good though.

And re: Opeth (who obviously don't fall in this category): While I think that the whole "Metal! With none of the nasty stuff! We like Pink Floyd!" trend is artistically doomed from the start, I don't think Opeth are doing a very good job even within those constraints. EL&P, Yes and Pink Floyd were ten times the songwriters Opeth are. I'm just massively annoyed by lazy cut/paste songwriting in any genre (cfr Satyricon), a band has to perform some hugely charismatic other feat to redeem themselves. Uhhh....raise your standards!

< /cynical rant >

― Siegbran (eofor), Monday, 2 February 2004 22:32 (twenty years ago) link

cool. although, i still maintain that Viva Emptiness, and Opeth's Damnation & Deliverance are of a very high standard indeed. And that those last two albums contain Opeth's strongest songs. You would probably think it was pretty funny, Siegbran, on the new Opeth dvd when Akerfeldt is talking about how they improvise songs in the studio and then says something along the lines of:"Maybe for the next album we will actually rehearse before we head into the studio to record". HAH HAH! come on that's funny, given what you just posted.

I really do think Viva Emptiness is a great rock record. It's sad that you and john mountaingoat hate it so much. You can't like everything though.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 2 February 2004 23:24 (twenty years ago) link

Siegbran OTM re: the metal band trajectory. I have noticed the my favorite albums from those bands are the ones just on either side of their big switch...i.e, Paradise Lost (Draconian Times & One Second), Anathema (Eternity and Alternative 4), Sentenced (Amok & Down), Amorphis (Elegy), and after that they do indeed just seem to get more and more bland. That might not be a fair judgement on my part though, since I haven't heard the most recent album from any of them.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 00:49 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, i guess i'm just the wrong person to ask about this.i am kind of a weirdo. I really liked A Fine Day To Exit by Anathema. i haven't heard the most recent. If i had to choose, i might have to say that Judgement is my favorite Anathema album even though i love the older stuff as well. And Judgment is really where they turned that corner into Floyd territory. i can't help it, i just think it's really, really beautiful. maybe i just like these bands too much to see clearly. i'm also the person who loves Ulver from day one to last year. from demo to electronica if you will. same with The Gathering.love the old doom, love the new beats. and their big turning point, How To Measure A Planet, is my favorite of theirs.These bands really haven't let me down. Unlike, say, Metallica, who i shied away from as early as And Justice For All!(though, i liked some of it at the time) The garage days e.p. is the last thing i really loved by them. and i haven't bought a Slayer album since Divine Intervention. But i still really like Entombed! Uprising was great, i thought.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 01:25 (twenty years ago) link

one year passes...

The DVD that comes with the Black Sessions boxed-set is soooo good. Recorded live for Polish T.V. Vocals are too cavernous, but everyone else sounds great. The Viva Emptiness stuff sounds so strong live. Jeezus, those guitars. "Murder" is the last song. Jonas digging deep for his death voice. So nice to hear and see great live versions of "Deadhouse" and "For My Demons". I don't know why they can't get a tour together over here. It ain't right. Still my favorite rock band. Still dig Viva Emptiness. Still have much love for John & Siegbran even when they are so very wrong about stuff! Can definitely see where Siegbran is coming from with his anti-"Half-assed experimentalism" doctrine. I STILL haven't heard the new Opeth album.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 02:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Neither have I, so we can suffer together.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 02:39 (eighteen years ago) link

eleven months pass...

this thread mentions most of my favourite metal acts. for that reason alone, i'm gonna try and give it another lease of life.

scott, by now i'm sure you've heard the new 'peth record. what do you make of it?

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Sunday, 8 October 2006 03:26 (seventeen years ago) link

this thread really bugged me! siegbran and john were trying to make my head explode. i am convinced it is impossible for me to talk about katatonia coherently. i might as well be 12 years old.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 8 October 2006 03:50 (seventeen years ago) link

you know, i never bought the re-mastered katatonia CDs. i wonder how much better they sound. especially last fair deal.

charlie, you might be the only person on ilm who has heard the october tide albums. have you? god, i love those things. they need some serious reissue action.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 8 October 2006 03:53 (seventeen years ago) link

'am i just happy whenever not sober?, clean myself well...CLEAN TODAAAAY'

i'm bummed out about the remastering, because there's nothing i like more than a nice, solid remastering (provided i haven't already got the records) :(

haha, and yes i dig october tide. jonas's second greatest feat (before bloodbath, after you know who)

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Sunday, 8 October 2006 04:00 (seventeen years ago) link

http://cd.co.za/images/cdcovers/catatonia.jpg

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 8 October 2006 10:46 (seventeen years ago) link

four months pass...

So Katatonia then, cause I'll be reviewing the reissue of Discouraged Ones for Plan B. I am sure Scott knows about the liner notes from Blakkheim but if not for some reason I wanted to quote the end of them:

...I guess our new goth direction somehow died as fast as it was born. Just a few months later we ventured back to further explore the paths of metal and other funerals to come. Therefore, this song ['Scarlet Heavens'] was our one and only unique attempt of dressing Katatonia in a frilly white shirt stained with red wine.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:53 (seventeen years ago) link

so does that mean that you have actually officially HEARD discouraged ones?

― scott seward, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I will officially have HEARD it some time tonight! It literally just arrived in the mail today.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:56 (seventeen years ago) link

so there are b-sides and stuff on the reissue? is it re-mastered? i never got around to buying the other remastered discs. i still mean to.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:56 (seventeen years ago) link

it's on century media?

― scott seward, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Only the two bonus tracks, "Scarlet Heavens" and "Quiet World." Says it was remastered just this past December.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link

It's on Peaceville in the UK at least (they sent me the copy). Not sure about over here.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link

Skipping 8 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

siegbran, i think the songwriting on 'the great cold distance' is especially great because it doesn't rely on conventional song structures which plagued 'viva emptiness' in particular. the songs show innovation and attention to detail, as well as range and diversity. it's a heavier record than the two that came before it, and it's also a lot tighter and more concise.

― Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 11:46 (seventeen years ago) link

I actually don't see that much "range and diversity" - they've been doing the same thing since "Discouraged Ones". They've become pretty good at it though. They're the modern equivalent of AC/DC and Motorhead - perfecting the same song further and further, and writing lots of great singles (Tonight's Music, My Twin, Teargas, Deliberation, Saw You Drown) in the process.

― Siegbran, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 22:22 (seventeen years ago) link

"and do one of those 14-minute, two-riff drone tracks again."

this is pretty much why i liked that last agalloch album so much. katatonia guitar sounds + long-ass songs. liked it better than the last katatonia album too. which made me a little sad. but what are ya gonna do. i still got love for them. i guess i really am in the minority when it comes to viva emptiness. i dug it so much more than the new one.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 23:22 (seventeen years ago) link

i mean, the new one is fine. i just liked the songs better on viva emptiness. i don't know if they will ever make an album that i love as much as dicouraged ones or tonights decision again (let alone brave murder day), but i'm with siegbran about one thing at least. they definitely have the smarts and talent to pull off something big again. i would never count them out.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 00:06 (seventeen years ago) link

(i'd settle for a couple more october tide records.)

― scott seward, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 00:09 (seventeen years ago) link

two months pass...

the song 'displaced' from the my twin ep. has really been kicking my ass lately. i always air guitar to it for some reason.

and in terms of the great cold distance, i've been really enjoying some of the tracks i overlooked slightly on first listen. 'journey through pressure' for instance is quite an understated closer, but it gets under your skin

― Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 18:00 (sixteen years ago) link

Just finished translating a interview with Renske I helped doing last month.

He mentions Tool as an influence but reckons Katatonia are still a metal band, none of the "we have grown out of metal" discourse you see in current Anathema interviews. A very nice and down to earth guy. Topics discussed include the left-hand-path cross photos, forthcoming DVD and 5.1 album, and which was the German band Swanö wanted them to sound like according to Nystrom's liner notes in the Brave Murder Day reissue.

The show was cool as well, Renske pulled off some mighty death growls for the "Murder" encore.

― no-nonsense, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 21:09 (sixteen years ago) link

which was the German band Swanö wanted them to sound like

It wasn't Bethlehem, was it?

― Siegbran, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 11:29 (sixteen years ago) link

The liner notes state Swanö wanted them to play goth-metal a la certain German band the mention of which would cause the booklet to melt in your hands with the hot cheese. It was not Bethlehem.

― no-nonsense, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 13:29 (sixteen years ago) link

On a somewhat related note, I'm nervous about the new Bloodbath album/mini-CD/whatever.

― chris.steffen, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 14:19 (sixteen years ago) link

when I was in Sweden last month I listened to Brave Yester Days on headphones for, like, two days (I was riding in a car), and fuck that thing is pretty goddamn unstoppable. I'd listened to it before but never gave it the close attention it deserves.

― J0hn D., Wednesday, 9 May 2007 16:50 (sixteen years ago) link

Dear Scott,

I have Discouraged Ones,and like it. Which one should I get next? I understand Brave Murder Day is supposed to be their other classic, so I was thinking that one. Please let me know kay thanks bye!

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 19:05 (sixteen years ago) link

i like "the black sessions" a whole lot. comes with a dvd from a live performance in krakow from 2003 too. i guess the only disadvantage for you jeff is 5 of the songs on the two cds are from "discouraged ones".

― drone/a/sore, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 19:26 (sixteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

"Tour lineup" include :: KATATONIA, Scar Symmetry, Insomnium and Swallow the Sun.
Sept. 4 Jaxx West Springfield, VA United States Tour lineup
Sept. 6 BB Kings New York, NY United States Tour lineup
Sept. 7 Mark's Place Bedford, NH United States Tour lineup
Sept. 8 Chance Theater Poughkeepsie, NY United States Tour lineup
Sept. 9 Le Medley Montreal, QC Canada Tour lineup
Sept. 10 Imperial de Quebec Quebec City, QC Canada Tour lineup
Sept. 11 The Funhaus Toronto, ON Canada Tour lineup
Sept. 12 Peabody's Cleveland, OH United States Tour lineup
Sept. 13 I-Rock Detriot, MI United States Tour lineup
Sept. 14 The Pearl Room Mokena, IL United States Tour lineup
Sept. 15 Station 4 St. Paul, MN United States Tour lineup
Sept. 17 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO United States Tour lineup
Sept. 19 Whiskey Hollywood, CA United States Tour lineup
Sept. 20 Showcase Theater Corona, CA United States Tour lineup
Sept. 21 Brickhouse Phoenix, AZ United States Tour lineup
Sept. 22 Launchpad Albuqeruque, NM United States Tour lineup
Sept. 24 White Rabbit San Antonio, TX United States Tour lineup
Sept. 25 Ridglea Theater Ft. Worth, TX United States Tour lineup
Sept. 26 Scout Bar Houston, TX United States Tour lineup

― drone/a/sore, Monday, 28 May 2007 00:02 (sixteen years ago) link

Nice, there's a good chance I'll be in Houston around that time for business. What are they like live nowadays? I've never seen a 'proper' Katatonia concert, the only time was an all-instrumental gig (due to voice problems, end of tour and all that) circa "For Funerals To Come", which is obv a while ago. Do they still have the old classics (Without God, Brave, etc) in their set?

― Siegbran, Monday, 28 May 2007 15:39 (sixteen years ago) link

Nice, there's a good chance I'll be in Houston around that time for business.

Hm! Anywhere else in the States you'll be?

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 28 May 2007 16:10 (sixteen years ago) link

siegbran in the states??? LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS, AMERICA!

― scott seward, Monday, 28 May 2007 16:17 (sixteen years ago) link

Of the old stuff, expect "Murder" at best. This is what they played in Madrid last month:

. Leaders
. Wealth
. Soil’s Song
. Deadhouse
. Teargas
. Ghost Of The Sun
. Criminals
. July
. Future Of Speech
. Tonight’s Music
. For My Demons
. Sleeper
. My Twin
. Evidence

Encore: Murder

― no-nonsense, Monday, 28 May 2007 16:34 (sixteen years ago) link

I saw Katatonia when they came through with Moonspell and Daylight Dies a few months back. Really good set. Unfortunately, I had never heard any Katatonia before then, so I couldn't tell you what they played (of course, since then I've picked up Discouraged Ones and Brave Murder Day, so I've become a bit more familiar).

― Jeff Treppel, Monday, 28 May 2007 19:40 (sixteen years ago) link

Looks like a nice setlist. Not too many "tortured artist" theatrics and posing?

Anywhere else in the States you'll be?

Probably only Houston for two or three days, hit & run. Would be nice to have a good night out there, usually there's little to do on trips like that other than drink yourself senseless in some fucked up hotel bar.

― Siegbran, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 21:08 (sixteen years ago) link

Katatonia played it pretty straight when I saw them, didn't move much at all. Moonspell were the ones that really hammed it up.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 21:28 (sixteen years ago) link

Looks like a nice setlist. Not too many "tortured artist" theatrics and posing?
Actually not, it surprised me that Nystrom has a total 80's metal image, if you saw him with the audio muted it would look like he is in Helloween or something. Ranske just stands, hair covering his face, and follows the beat slapping his thigh. Not a spectacular show but they sound great.

― no-nonsense, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 21:59 (sixteen years ago) link

one year passes...

So I picked up Tonight's Decision the other night based on a) the Cure comparisons, b) listening to a lot of black metal lately, and c) Scott's unabashed raves on many threads. And, well, I'm sorry but with each listen I enjoy this album less and less. Doesn't sound like a far cry from Papa Roach, to my ears.

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:47 (fourteen years ago) link

sorry! all i hear is truth beauty and awesomeness when i play it.

― scott seward, Thursday, 21 May 2009 12:16 (fourteen years ago) link

tonight's decision isn't my favourite of theirs, but there's still a lot of sincerity and stripped back emotion to the songs that really carries them. the downcast frame of mind is laboured, but that's kind of the point with this band.

personal faves remain last fair deal gone down (which is incidentally the most cure-addled) and the great cold distance.

― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 21 May 2009 13:00 (fourteen years ago) link

i mean, "black session", "for my demons", heck, i love the whole album. i even like the jeff buckley cover. (i've never actually heard a heff buckley album.)

― scott seward, Thursday, 21 May 2009 15:27 (fourteen years ago) link

(i'd settle for a couple more october tide records.)

― scott seward, Wednesday, February 28, 2007 12:09 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark

alas, this hasn't happened, but they have reissued the first October Tide album. remastered apparently, but that stuff usually doesn't mean much to me. i love how it sounded originally.

― scott seward, Thursday, 21 May 2009 15:29 (fourteen years ago) link

two months pass...

http://www.nightisthenewday.com/
new album coming out in october on peaceville records

― drone/a/sore, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 00:46 (fourteen years ago) link

um, yeah, looking forward...

― scott seward, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 01:16 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

was these guys last album any good? gonna go check 'em out tonight. playing three blocks from my house.

― Stormy Davis, Saturday, 18 September 2010 00:47 (thirteen years ago) link

the latest album isn't very good. stylistically it's similar to TGCD (which is incidentally a great record), but the songwriting is significantly weaker and i don't know, the formula just sounds stale on this one.

― charlie h, Saturday, 18 September 2010 15:03 (thirteen years ago) link

one year passes...

decided to listen to tonight's decision... tonight

― Whiney vs. (BradNelson), Monday, 27 February 2012 02:17 (twelve years ago) link

anyway what a great fucking record, just a breathtaking expansion on discouraged ones in every way

(even though i prefer discouraged ones because i think there's something in their transition from a more traditionally doomy band to whatever-they-became-later (gothy alt-metal? god, that's not it) that is pretty totally singular. like i can't think of a record or a scene that sounds quite like discouraged ones)

― Whiney vs. (BradNelson), Monday, 27 February 2012 02:21 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

What are they like live these days? It looks like recent setlists don't go back further than the last few albums.

― Brad C., Wednesday, 1 May 2013 18:48 (ten years ago) link

two years pass...

read a bunch of fans repping for dead end kings as potentially the best katatonia album which i thought was interesting bc the two listens i gave that record felt really dull

i revisited it yesterday and i think i can start to see what they're talking about? in that the hooks definitely aren't there in the same way as past katatonia records but that's not the *~point~* i guess. some of the compositions are really interesting

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:05 (eight years ago) link

i found it very dull

― akm, Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:27 (eight years ago) link

lol yeah i feel that obv. it's at least better than night is the new day, which makes me look forward to the new one

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:38 (eight years ago) link

which

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIGBNc2nFZA

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:38 (eight years ago) link

lol i actually really love this new song

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:41 (eight years ago) link

i don't love it. they are like The Shoes now. making commercial music for years that nobody will hear.

i haven't bought an actual physical copy of an album since night is the new day. so, i am missing two. but i would buy them if i saw them in a store. and probably not listen to them much.

― scott seward, Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:53 (eight years ago) link

i might actually listen to the acoustic album they made if i bought it. kinda reminds me of the old anathema i like. or that opeth acoustic album. always liked that a lot.

― scott seward, Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:57 (eight years ago) link

idk the new song seems patient and moody in a way they haven't been in a while, albeit with a chorus melody that i wouldn't be surprised to hear in a power metal song (though that's not unusual for katatonia imo). the problem with night is the new day is that it kinda gets lost in its own busyness imo. might have something to do with the new new drummer

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 15:25 (eight years ago) link

i'm talking a lot of shit about night is the new day but i wanted to clarify that "idle blood" rules

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 15:34 (eight years ago) link

one month passes...

really love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_o_j6v3PGE

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Tuesday, 17 May 2016 21:46 (seven years ago) link

imo the new one's their best since viva emptiness, much more varied in composition than dead end kings. it just feels like it moves more. however it might be too proggy. these are their longest songs since brave murder day. regardless the opening three tracks are all amazing, as are "residual" and "serac"

― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Tuesday, 31 May 2016 04:20 (seven years ago) link

two weeks pass...

hahahahaha I just went to revive this thread to say "hey I bet Brad would like this album" and here we are

anyway it's really good!

― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Friday, 17 June 2016 01:43 (seven years ago) link

one month passes...

oh sweet i was worried i was the only person who really liked the new one!

― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 12 August 2016 18:21 (seven years ago) link

ten months pass...

Been listening to Dance Of December Souls, never heard the band before but I've probably been meaning to for a decade, really liking the style. I really wish the ending section of "Tomb of Insomnia" was longer, it's gorgeous.

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 30 June 2017 13:42 (six years ago) link

eleven months pass...

For Funerals To Come EP (including bonus tracks) is a bit of a letdown. Some nice things happen on it but I never properly dug any of the tracks.

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 15 June 2018 18:15 (five years ago) link

four years pass...

Last Fair Deal also contains what is arguably the most reviled Katatonia songs by die-hard fans, "We Must Bury You".

Why is this the case? The drum programming?

― brimstead, Friday, 21 April 2023 20:45 (one year ago) link

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