Katatonia
Dead End Kings

Thankfully, there is Katatonia!

After almost three years of waiting and two of 'amalgamation' with the new members who replaced the Norrman brothers, one of whom had been in the lineup for 10 years and the other for a solid 15, here they are again. The amalgamation was successful. Our guys have released an album that, in my opinion, is at least a cut above the previous one, which was, let's admit it, again in my opinion, inferior to its predecessor 'The Great Cold Distance'.
Overall, the phase continues that stands between prog metal and gothic. Suffice it to say that in September 2012, the five Swedes will be in the States for a tour along with and as co-headliners with Paradise Lost. They too are progenitors of the goth-doom genre and also innovators over time of their style and sound. Both with more or less positive outcomes, this is entirely subjective.

But let's get to the Swedes' work, which opens with a track whose title "The Parting" says it all about the mood that will ooze from the entire magnetic support. Nothing more and nothing less than the decadence that has always permeated their compositions. Already from this first chapter, we find a much more 'present' Renkse. I feel this singer growing vocally from album to album. It is no coincidence that in this "Dead End Kings", it’s not the rhythmic section that takes the lead (as it was for a good part in 'The Great Cold Distance') but rather his vocal line is absolutely in the foreground.
"The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here" is the second track and probably the one in which a certain catchiness was deliberately sought. Also, to achieve this goal Silje Wergeland from The Gathering participates, who unfortunately, I don't like in The Gathering and equally here. Perhaps the only drop in style that can be found on this album. Cute track but too 'melodic by force'.

The next chapter, "Hypnone", fortunately, is another thing and falls back into the more genuine Kata-style, with more incisive and heavy instrumentation that gives way to well-achieved melodic openings that are never banal, only to return to sharp riffs.
"The Racing Heart" really hurts, perhaps the most impactful piece on an emotional level, a true gem. It vaguely reminds me of their wonderful b-side 'Sold Heart' conceived, lyrics, and music by Jonas Renkse. This piece features melodic lines on an electronic base, with a brilliant and not at all obvious ending.
"Buildings" is the storm after the calm; I would assign it the role of the new "Leaders". The way it is structured vaguely reminds me of it, with powerful riffs that leave space for voids of melancholic absence.
Following "Leech" does not disappoint and keeps the album's rhythm high, giving you a rising perspective, with beautiful guitars that marry exceptionally with the vocals, but it is the next "Ambitions" that reveals what these somewhat grown-up lads are really capable of. A masterpiece from all points of view, perhaps the best of the album in terms of songwriting.

'Undo You' is a desert of desolation and competes very well as the slowest and saddest song of the last albums.
Here we are, we made it: the final triptych "Lethean", "First Prayer", and "Dead Letters". Don’t be surprised if you find yourself submitting the player to continuous repetitions. I myself can't say which of these three chapters is better.
"Lethean" is destined to become a Katatonia classic and offers a perfectly fitting groove, with a striking solo, and everything expected from the masters of decadence. "First Prayer" contains the best 2 minutes (the final ones) of the whole album, where a slow arpeggio meets Daniel Liljekvist's always impeccable drumming followed by Niklas Sandin's omnipresent bass, closing with an opening of those riffs that make you vibrate and say 'to hell with it all! The final "Dead Letters" is, instead, a compact metal-prog of clear Toolian matrix with complex and intense rhythms.

For some, it’s not over: The limited book version with a DVD includes an acoustic bonus track called "The Act of Darkening" with characteristics that stray a bit from their classic style, breaking away from the previous 11 tracks with a custom-made choral refrain that vaguely reminds me of something by Porcupine Tree, closing a work with a rating of 4.5 which for me and mathematics is rounded up.

An album that is ultimately slightly more alternative-prog than the previous ones, but retains the essential metal lines that have distinguished our guys from the beginning of the millennium to today.

What was I saying? ... Ah, yes... after a lackluster album (except for some cues) by Opeth and the complete disappointment of Storm Corrosion, thankfully there is Katatonia!