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The potential wasted in Katatonia’s eighth long-player Night Is The New Day is daunting. It’s safe to call Sweden’s long running doom metal turned depressive rock/metal band an established act in the scene, and with that title comes a sense that the material which they are putting out will be rock-solid. The problem is, Katatonia really aren’t sure where to land their sound yet. The solid base is there, yes, with wandering and relatively simple guitar riffs highlighting the soft voice of Jonas Renkse. It serves as a facade that this music which appears so calming and serene can never get old or stale, because you really can never have too much of a good thing, right? Well, after The Great Cold Distance I was quite alright with letting Katatonia’s sound fade into memory, because their sound had already turned sour.
Night Is The New Day takes the same old basic formula and notches it up a level, in terms of both aggression and atmosphere. The surprisingly crushing chords of “Forsaker” and the calm, synth-laden verses of “The Longest Year”, two tracks which are slotted back-to-back, show the stark contrast in sound which really gives the listener a sense of hope that Night Is The New Day will become something to behold and build upon for the future. The album begins with a bang, with the first half of the album displaying some of Katatonia’s best material, but the album drastically retreats to that style which makes each song sound almost exactly the same. The brilliance of what may be Katatonia’s best song to date, “Idle Blood”, filled with lush vocal arrangements and wonderful classical guitar pieces, prove a stark contrast to the b-side material of “Day And Then The Shade” and “The Promise Of Deceit”. The small moments of progression in the form of string pieces in “Inheritance” and near A capella moments in “Departer” sadly lay waste to nearly every other moment which somehow falls into these re-hashed ideas which sound simply too familiar to really surprise you, or even to entertain.
Now, nothing here is inherently bad, there is nothing which screams “Wow, what were they thinking?!” Instead, the album feels too safe, too secure for a band with such a vulnerable sound to compose. The initial shock of the first several tracks will undoubtedly turn to boredom amongst an album which contains six tracks worth of filler. Renkse’s improved voice and the heightened state of aggression and emotion does not drown out uninspired songwriting, instead it goes on to prove that Katatonia had the chance to release the best album of 2009, and perhaps the best of their career. Instead, we are left with (maybe) an EP’s worth of solid material, strewn about amongst leaves which have long since died.
| other reviews of this album |
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Album Rating: 3.0
Probably saw this one coming.
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great review i completely agree with the fact they are sqaundering their potential. this release is not as good as everyone is saying it is.
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I still can't make my mind up about this album
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Everyone said it would grow, and I definitely gave it enough listens to do so, but it never did.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Best review so far. Based on just the rating alone. I would have done this but I have seemingly lost the interest to review.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I agree with this review. I feel like they have the potential for something great, but aren't there yet. This is a good indicator album for this, I believe.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
This still hasn't grown on me very much. Probably a 3.5 for now.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Probably saw this one coming.
I was waiting for either you or Balls to do this. And tbqh, this was an extremely fair review. My score sits in between yours and everyone elses.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
You're not the only one Karl. The album did need this review. Too many 4-higher well written reviews expressing the same points.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I still love this album but the varying degrees of 'awesome to ok' really makes this an uneasy listen.
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Probably saw this one coming.
Yep
I actually really like Departer and Night and Then The Shade. Tracks 4, 7, 8, and 9 are what I don't like. Good review and needed.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
And tbqh, this was an extremely fair review.
Thanks, I tried not to be too harsh because when I do a 2.5 or 3 review I tend to focus a lot on negatives. But, like I said, there really isn't anything bad per-se on this record.
Basically the only songs demanding a listen are tracks 1, 2, 3, and 11.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
ah well great review but obviously I disagree
| | | Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off
couldn't agree more with this review
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Short but good review, I totally agree with you. This album is too safe, it's a copy of the previous ones but with less inspiration.
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I think I liked the Great Cold Distance so much that this one just sort of paled. I don't know if I'm glad they did something slightly different or if I'd rather they just released TGCD 1.5
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I wasn't really a fan of TGCD, to me it suffered from extremely bland songwriting. Viva Emptiness is still my favorite album for their new sound.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I agree that this band has a lot of wasted potential, but I don't think that the result of them playing things safe (i.e. this album) is bad at all. It only makes me wish they'd throw on The Cure's Disintegration and keep it on repeat until it's the only album they know and then mix it with their established sound. The problem is, Katatonia really aren’t sure where to land their sound yet. How do you figure? All of the songs are pretty similar in sound/ideas, which would lead me to believe that they know exactly where they want to "land their sound". Well, after The Great Cold Distance I was quite alright with letting Katatonia’s sound fade into memory, because their sound had already turned sour. I think this is the most telling part of the review. If you were already sick of them on TGCD then this album definitely won't win them any points with you ;)
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Well, I figure they don't really know where exactly to pinpoint what kind of music they want to play. They have the whole depressive rock type thing, but when you look at the types of songs on, say, Viva Emptiness and then listen to some tracks here (which are far more progressive, so to speak) then the difference really stands out. That's what I mean when I say they aren't sure where to land their sound.
And I find this album different than TGCD (it's certainly far less boring), but I was hoping for a kick-start to their sound with this album.
I don't know if it's just me, but I can see a world of difference between how Viva Emptiness sounds versus TGCD or this album, or vice versa. Each album is just very different, but based on the same thing.
As for playing safe, I believe on several tracks on this album the band plays it far too safe. Most of the middle tracks seem like the same idea re-hashed again and again and again. Then, on the other hand, we have "Forsaker", "Idle Blood" and "Departer" which just breathe "a new sound for Katatonia", however sadly they weren't bold enough, I think, to capitalize on these ideas. Instead they reverted back to the same recycled ideas which plagued TGCD.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
"I don't know if it's just me, but I can see a world of difference between how Viva Emptiness sounds versus TGCD or this album, or vice versa. Each album is just very different, but based on the same thing."
thank you, you have no clue how angry i get when people say that (new) katatonia are releasing the same stuff over again, each one of those releases are different.
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