Hell

And in this regard, it's not a coincidence that they chose a title like this, hopefully not heralding a dissolution: if Night was a point of no return and a transition for the band (the contribution of Frank Default has been and still is fundamental), Dead End Kings sounds like a conclusion, a place where the band comes to terms with everything they've created so far (what was the last album of theirs that had a half-dead crow on the cover?! ;) ), a conceptual summary of their own "imagery" and a decisive settling into a new style, beyond which it’s uncertain what lies ahead, if there will ever be a sequel (the constant repetition of that simple "now" in certain tracks is enlightening, as are the continuous references to the absence of an escape route, to the unknown that awaits us beyond that "dead end," to the "end origin," and the whole discourse develops in this sense, track after track, with a coherence and depth that leaves me astounded). Anyway, in reality, I should be the last to speak, considering I was one of the first to trash Night when it came out: I didn't understand it, I just couldn't follow it… And I regret even writing a review in the frenzy of disappointment at that moment (if I could, I would erase it), but it's precisely this drastic change of opinion that has helped me to be more objective and open towards Katatonia... I'm an overly enthusiastic fan, I know, but I feel capable of critiquing even the bands I care about the most; the fact is, right now, I can't find anything to blame Katatonia for, not even if I try.

Don't pay attention to that 3, it's just the score of a grump who had to deal with his favorite band. :D I mainly have to accept the fact that the Katatonia of the last two or three albums are liked much less compared to, for example (without bringing up the doom period), a colossus like "Viva Emptiness." Yes, they have become a bit more "progressive" while still writing SONGS that don’t go beyond 4-5 minutes. Yes, the music is so refined and meticulously packed with details and layers that it can come off as a bit too tedious on first listens. And yes, they have become quite a bit more gothic and melancholic, but it doesn’t seem right to undervalue them since the artifices and plasticity are elsewhere. Yet they are still the same, always changing their skin without ever losing their essence (I challenge today's bands to keep up similar rhythms after nine albums!), this same Dead End Kings seems to refer directly to the style of Night but is still different: where Night was an album with autumnal, warm, soft shades, Dead End Kings seems to freeze, immobilize, gray the landscape of its predecessor, to the point of recalling certain atmospheres of TGCD… But the final product is, as always, unique, a story of its own while being conceptually linked to all the other albums (there are quite a few self-references in the lyrics).

Hi, you know I respect you as a reviewer (especially for the consistency with which you write) but this time I completely disagree. For me, it’s yet another masterpiece and another piece of my life. If I really had to find a minor flaw, it would be "First Prayer," but even that has some breathtaking atmospheric breaks... The rest is perfect, and it couldn’t be otherwise since it’s a continuation (in style and lyrics) of "Night." Fantastic lyrics, Jonas more expressive than ever even though he delivers one of his less immediate performances (very few choruses stick in your head right away), and this applies to the rest of the musicianship as well: I’ve said it to someone recently, I hate making statements like this because they really are just hot air and everyone engages with music as much as they want, but Katatonia (especially the recent ones) need to be earned. There’s no denying it. This time I was less unprepared because I had the experience of "Night," and indeed I started listening to it from mid-June until August... So, to understand it fully in every nuance, in every damn detail that might seem insignificant at first, in every vocal line that initially feels "flat," it took me just two months instead of... Two years. I would love to write everything I think about each track on the album but I realize it would turn into a painfully boring novel and anyway, I’m not in the mood right now. P.S. In hindsight, the only album of theirs that still doesn't convince me at all is "Tonight's Decision"; all the others, for me, are gold. And screw the detractors who still want another "Brave Murder Day."

My vote for the band. I hope the fanZ won't hold it against me.

So… Let me preface this by saying I wouldn’t really call it "my genre" (and I haven’t had it clear in my mind for a few years now either)… There’s a ton of stuff here. Too much to grasp everything in just one listen. For now, it's a solid and overflowing 4 but it will grow (so let's say 5 on trust). I have to say that, inexplicably, despite certain adjectives used in the review, I was expecting some kind of sonic assault. Instead… a heart slowly and mercilessly grated over an hour and a quarter. (In "Below The Salt," I risked a heart attack.)

Masterpiece.

Certo, inviami pure il testo e procederò con la traduzione.

But at least you could've thrown in a few rhymes, huh?

Lately, I haven’t been reading much about DeB at all. In this case, I gladly made an exception. If tonight after finishing watching "Kumonosu-jo" I have a “moment” (a.k.a. 75 minutes) free, I’ll check it out a bit...

One of my all-time favorites.