Katatonia
Viva Emptiness

THE REVIEW

This review (like many of the upcoming ones) I want to explicitly dedicate to all those who think metal is:
- Satanism
- General filth
- Beer
- Vomit
- Assorted burps
And to those who dare to judge a genre that is one of the most diverse and innovative in today's music just because they don't like the cover of a certain album or just because their judgement was based on observing a (minimal) part of what is the metal scene.

And now for the actual review.
It was already known that Katatonia were geniuses, first fundamental pillars of the Swedish death/doom scene and pioneers (not mere copies as some think) of that metal particularly influenced by very '70s sounds that seems to have become very fashionable after Opeth's Blackwater Park, then once again pioneers in trying something brand new on a global scale with the splendid Brave Murder Day (in which Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth sang).
Subsequently, the Swedish band had embarked on a darker path mainly oriented on doom/rock/dark coordinates, and, to be really honest, I had lost track of them. But... who expected them to come out with an album like this?
An album, and I say it immediately, in which "Metal" is really little, apart from the cover and the splendid artwork, some bursts of double bass and the label this Viva Emptiness was released on (Peaceville, already for Anathema, My Dying Bride, etc etc). Everything else is a big cauldron where strong "Toolian" influences are mixed (especially the singer Jonas Renkse is very similar in style to Mr. Keenan), a general and oppressive feeling of claustrophobia, and beautiful heavy guitar riffs always contrasted by very gloomy and vaguely psychedelic melodic parts.

The first three tracks go by without even realizing it, perhaps the most "metal" ones, and you arrive at the fantastic ballad "Premonition, A" and then end up at "Will I Arrive," very dark and somber in its guitar arpeggio.
Then come "Burn the Remembrance" and "Wealth," very progressive in their uneven time signatures and counter-rhythms. "One Year From Now" is another splendid ballad while "Walking By A Wire" is a candidate for one of the best tracks on the album, and then... well, oh dear, I'm going over... well, buy it, you'll thank me.