Katatonia
Night Is The New Day

THE REVIEW

Remember how we left the Swedish band Katatonia three years ago? With a very precise memory: the huge guitars, the occasionally tight rhythms, the increasingly "Tool-like" influences, Jonas' voice in better shape than ever. So, what should we expect from the follow-up to "The Great Cold Distance"?

The grand introduction is entrusted to the already anticipated “Forsaker,” which deceives us, making us believe for a moment that this new work continues the path taken with the previous one... But if you expect to find the same Katatonia from the last albums, you might be disappointed at the first listens! The second track, however, has the ungrateful (but very successful) task of subtly introducing us to what awaits, mixing the two souls of the album, the heavy riffing one and the much softer and "doom" (in the "Katatonia-esque" sense) one: this balance makes “The Longest Year” one of the best tracks of the entire work (and the chorus is one of the most moving ever conceived by the band!). From here on, the album unfolds gently, dragging us into ethereal atmospheres like never before, achieved also thanks to an abundant but skillful use of keyboards, sometimes perhaps too prominent compared to the guitars, of a bass with a "transformative" sound. Sacrificing heaviness in favor of a new intention, now more than ever indebted to bands like Opeth and Porcupine Tree (a perfect example being “Idle Blood”) and once again Tool. And perhaps condemning the album to its only but important flaw, an excessive repetitiveness that a few more dynamic and fast pieces scattered here and there would have helped to avoid. But the unease of “The Promise Of Deceit,” the distressing cadence of “Nephilim” will end up entering your heart ("digging," I would dare say), making you eventually forget the flaws and finally stop regretting "The Great Cold Distance." The songwriting of all the tracks is indeed profoundly mature, the attention to detail is meticulous, the constant research and experimentation with sounds always spot on, Jonas' voice warmer and more versatile than ever.

Finally, reach the wonderful conclusion of the album to fall in love with it definitively: “Day And Then The Shade” momentarily weighs down and enlivens the balance, only to make room for the poetic “Departer,” which, thanks to the vibrant guest vocals of Krister Linder, softly whispers us a “goodbye”...