when I heard there would be a new Katatonia album in late 2009 I was left feeling utterly rapturous to say the least. And why shouldn’t I? I’ve realized (much like Amorphis) that Katatonia is one of my favorite bands. Katatonia will always have songs that will emit from my speakers endlessly, albums that will delight my interests for a lifetime and the sentiments they provide through their music will work for every one of my moods. These Swedes are absolutely the ideal band for me.
Anyway it’s been about three and a half years since ‘The Great Cold Distance’ and while I loved the album I also found it to be the most accessible and possibly one of the more optimistic sounding Katatonia releases. Forget all that. ‘Night is the New Day’ brings back a lot of the melancholy and dark sounds of older releases and blends it perfectly with the bands modern sound. The result is something absolutely original and something surely only these guys could create.
All at once this album is heavy, calm, catchy, low-key, melodious, downhearted, atmospheric and just stunning from start to finish. You may find that just one listen won’t reveal the true beauty behind this album and my experience was quite similar. In fact each subsequent listen has exposed something new and electrifying for me. Be it a memorable chorus or a backing synthesizer glimmer there is so much within this album that will grip your senses and keep you coming back for more.
A song like ‘Forsaker’ hits the listener with a heavy, calm and depressed sound simultaneously while ‘Idle Blood’ is far from being even a metal song, but its atmosphere and vocal delivery are absolutely astounding. ‘The Promise of Deceit’ is probably the catchiest tune and ‘Departer’ is just pure gloom all the way. I love this record. If you don’t own it - get it!
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