Review Summary: Katatonia don't reinvent their own wheel, but they have improved it at least.
Quantifying a Katatonia release was a lot easier through
Night is the New Day. Through their first eight albums, it felt like each release was a significant leap forward. It was a period of constant exploration, expansion, and refining of the band’s sound, and it made each release feel exciting and fresh. With the release of
Dead End Kings, though, Katatonia dropped the exploration and expansion, and settled on simply refining. As a fan, it squashed any pre-release anticipation I might have had for the subsequent albums. It also made the albums themselves less exciting because it felt like I had already heard it before, and better, on previous releases. Worse, though, beginning with
Dead End Kings it felt like the band lost their remaining fire, and were simply content to putter around lethargically. Granted, there was still enough to enjoy from each release because they weren’t objectively bad, but they weren’t essential either. So, where does that leave
Sky Void of Stars?
If you’ve heard any of the pre-release singles, you should already be aware Katatonia still isn’t exploring or expanding their sound. Those songs are the same gothy dark rock with subtle prog flourishes they’ve been doing for years. On the other hand,
Sky Void of Stars is one of the best refinements of their sound in quite a while. The most important of these refinements is the return of the energy levels that have been lacking since
The Great Cold Distance (
Night is the New Day is excellent, but energetic it is not). Opening track, “Austerity”, immediately benefits from these renewed energy levels; delivering a heavy track that is more playful with the prog elements because it is not hampered by sluggish tempos. Other notable tracks that make good use of the band’s renewed energy levels are “Colossal Shade”, “Birds”, and “Author”, all of which are able to be more creative with their rhythms and dynamics. Of course, Katatonia haven’t suddenly become this heavy, proggy, metal band; there are still plenty of slow atmospheric songs, but these have been refined as well.
If there is one thing Katatonia has been good at since the beginning, it’s creating a dense poignant atmosphere. Songs such as “Impermanence” capably deliver a strong melancholic atmosphere (as multiple Katatonia songs have done before), but it stands out due to its diverse sound, strong melodies, and a catchy chorus. In all honesty, the additional dynamics and enhanced prog influence a lot of these mellower songs contain is all it took to make songs that would have been unremarkable on the previous three releases into something compelling and interesting. As stated above, this in no way should imply that Katatonia have started experimenting with their sound or that
Sky Void of Stars sounds like anything other than the fourth iteration of
Dead End Kings, but it is better and that must count for something.
Katatonia are on autopilot. They’ve found their cruising altitude, steadied the course, and are seemingly content to stay that course. There’s nothing on
Sky Void of Stars that you haven’t heard from the previous few releases, but it is a better version of that sound. Katatonia’s songwriting has improved immensely due to the inclusion of a more diverse range of tempos, more capable prog elements, expertly crafted atmospheres, and a catchier direction overall. While the pre-release tracks didn’t cause me to actually
anticipate this release, and the songs themselves are crafted from the same formula Katatonia have been using for the last decade, this is a better version of that formula making
Sky Void of Stars the first compelling Katatonia release in quite some time.
