The tone and
atmosphere is set from the word go, and
Katatonia
takes us deep into the cold and dark corners of your soul, establishing a sonic
universe of melancholy. They waltz between progressive, folk, dark and doomy
moments, never taking a false step, missing a beat or tripping over.
"Night is the New Day" is an
introvert journey of moods, soundscapes and colours; from the blissful highs to
dark and cold despairing lows. It rips your intestines out, demands you to look
at the ugliness of it all and deal with it. Jonas Renkse's haunting voice
portrays these emotions and colours in such impressive way that this can only be
considered as the vocal performance of 2009.
"Night is the
New Day" takes
Katatonia to a whole new level, and
I haven't heard an equally impressive album with the same ambient, dark and atmospheric
soundscapes for a long while. Last time was when their fellow countrymen Opeth
released their black and white albums "Deliverance" (2002) and "Damnation"
(2003), albums "Night is the New Day" has some strong parallels with. Another
brilliant band that rears its ugly head is Blackfield, but
Katatonia
comes across heavier and darker.
Given the dark and
depressive nature of the songs this should be a gloomy and melancholic
experience, but it has had a cleansing and
almost therapeutic effect on me; it actually makes me happy...
Like Peter would say: "I did
not see this one coming", and I must admit that this album has made a very, very
strong impression on me, and I can't stop listening to it and it does put a big
smile on my face.
Biggest surprise this year!
