Review Summary: Is it possible for a nightmare to be boring as hell?
Usually when I feel the inclination to write a review, it is because I feel I have something interesting and sharp to express about a piece of music from a band that I love. In the case of Katatonia’s "Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State", the motivating factor behind this review is to salvage something from the near-dozen empty listens I’ve given the record. Yes, despite all the listening I’ve done the past few days, I am left with hardly an impression from which to draw meaning or value, and instead have to search for it, perplexed, through the act of writing this review. I don't want to be overly harsh, but I think it is fair to say that we should expect a bit more from Katatonia at this point; they are far too along in their career to release something that sounds so characterless. This is the band's 13th release, and I frankly love about eight or nine of those previous releases from front to back. Perhaps it’s greedy of me to still desire more of their trademark doomy, proggy bliss, but the truth is that I feel a bit nonplussed at this point, as "Nightmares" is the third release in a row that fails to build on what was such a promising stretch of mid-career albums. Katatonia entered into a class of their own with "The Great Cold Distance" and followed that release with three more career standouts that advanced their songcraft and saw the band mature into perhaps the most reliable band in modern metal. Following "The Fall of Hearts", Katatonia has become trapped in an unfortunate limbo between half-hearted experiments ("City Burials") and feeling like they are on autopilot ("Sky Void of Stars"). With "Nightmares", my reaction to their new music has switched from mild disappointment and disinterest, and drifted into the territory of feeling actively perturbed by how bland and adrift the whole thing feels. Because "Nightmares" is still so full of the instrumental chops, quality production, and the wonderfully foreboding atmosphere that is the band’s now-effortless foundation, the relative lack of quality feels all the more conspicuous, and as such, I find myself much more bothered by this release than the two to come before it, even though it isn’t really that much worse than either of those records.
I am inclined to look at the album’s title for clues. "Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State" draws attention to the concept of liminal space, and spaciousness abounds on this record. After hearing the singles, I remarked that while the songs didn’t strike me as particularly great, I really did enjoy the spaciousness of the production. That remains true. But the unfortunate reality here is that rather than this spaciousness being a quality that helps the record shine sonically, it winds up drawing all the more attention to the lack of quality songwriting.
Take the opening track "Thrice” for example. I was initially very excited by this track. Right away it reminded me of a previous favorite from Katatonia: “Lethean” from "Dead End Kings." Like “Lethean” (and plenty of other Katatonia tracks from their quintessential period) “Thrice” moves intoxicatingly between heavy, driving guitar leads and slower, more cryptic verses; if you know and trust this band, the whole thing leads you to expect something muscular, powerful, and sure of itself. So when “Thrice” reached its bridge on that first listen, I felt so excited–- I expected it, like “Lethean”, to tease and provoke with its unmatchable tension before bursting into an incredible solo that just really makes the song pop off and become a career highlight. But with “Thrice”, I sat in anticipation while the bridge just sort of chugged and chugged through empty space, until drums entered and reinvigorated my intrigue… only to wind up just smirking slightly as the song sort of just stuttered into a return to the chorus, without really culminating into the release that had just been teased. Again, am I being greedy? “Thrice” still sounds great, and I ultimately really like it; I would even go so far as to say that it is my favorite track on the album. But it leaves so much potential lying on the table, and that’s the crux of this whole ordeal: these flaws are replicated in nearly every other song, but with less drive, energy, and intrigue as the record drags on and on from the pseudo-promise of its opening. All throughout the record, there is tension, vibes, and good sounds… but it feels all for naught; the songs don’t follow through on their set up with moments that truly leave an impression, nor do they uncover any truly satisfying melodies, or even hooks. Nearly every song, however, tries to build a sense of drama around these quiet, slower, wide open passages.... Only for nothing much to happen in their wake. A tepid climax here, a dreary refrain there, with hardly a memorable moment to be found.
To return to the title, "Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State" suggests what is so obvious about our times that it has become a cliche: our reality feels packed to the gills with anxieties, omens, and and even many actualizations, of what we once only thought to be possible in our worst, most dystopian nightmares. But perhaps the most disturbing thing about this phenomenon is the way daily life renders the darkness of our dreams into something mundane and quotidian. As such, a more fitting title for this album could very well be" Boring Nightmares." A record like "Night is the New Day" does a far more convincing job of making us feel the reality of the dystopian, in all its gothed up dark romanticism, than this record does in its meandering songs and forced references to Jesus and Satan. I write this with little doubt that "Nightmares" is Katatonia’s most listless and pointless album, and one that has the least to contribute to the band’s interesting development and evolution over the years.
Despite all this blandness, there are still so many trademarks of what makes Katatonia great. The record is easy to listen to, with excellent production and many enjoyable instrumental performances. It bears mentioning that the change in lead guitarist is pulled off seamlessly. In addition, the track “Efter Solen” shines for the very affecting Swedish vocals from Jonas, though the experimentation hinted at from the electronic noodling that makes up the rest of the track feels (predictably at this point) half-baked. And again, this drives home the truth about Nightmares: the core elements of what make Katatonia a great band are alive and well, but the songwriting has diminished significantly, and the mostly half-hearted attempts at adding new ideas fall short of leaving any lasting impressions. I feel odd about this record, unable to say it is truly bad, but even moreso, unable to point out anything truly remarkable or memorable about it. And so the feeling left with is perhaps best described as perturbance: this record really should be better, and it speaks to something unsettling that it is not. A new approach or songwriting process is badly needed for Katatonia at this point.
Actual Rating: 2.75/5
