Katatonia – Sky Void of Stars

Katatonia – Sky Void of Stars
Release Date: 20th January 2023
Label: Napalm Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Prog, Progressive Metal, Gothic Metal, Alternative, Atmospheric Metal. 
FFO: Soen, Opeth, Anathema, Leprous, My Dying Bride.
Review By: Rick Farley

Formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström, Katatonia started life as a studio-only project as an outlet for their love of death metal. Fast-forward thirty some years and the band is set to release studio album number twelve, Sky Void of Stars on Napalm Records. It’s well documented the band has been through various members and evolutions of their sound over the years, while maintaining a core melancholic ambience that’s very distinctive and unequalled. Atmospheric darkness has remained intact while influences of death metal, goth, post, doom, prog and alternative rock have all had a lead place at the table depending on what albums we’re talking about. Beloved by many, Katatonia is a band that has fans from every era, claiming that one particular album is the very best the band has to offer. Depending on who’s talking, the entire catalogue could be listed in order of quality about a hundred different ways. I am one of those fans who vehemently believe a few of their records are absolutely untouchable and have yet to be truly let down by them. Every album has brought me challenging audio experiences that only grew in quality with each repeated listen, while maintaining the frames of their diverse comfort. 

Sky Void of Stars is a somewhat return to form if you will; at least stylistically of a time period that many fans have been eager to hear again. This album feels the most influence of past sounds, somewhere from The Great Cold Distance all the way to City Burials. It’s modern and fresh sounding, with one foot directly planted in the classic Katatonia sound. Less proggy and electronic, it’s streamlined and extremely focused, this album feels directly built for the live setting.   

The singles have been well received, with the rhythmic heavy Austerity giving small nods to 2001 and to the proggy 2017 Katatonia. Jilted guitar rhythms, energetic straightforward pace, and anthemic style alternative metal. Atrium has a modern sounding hard rock swagger that brings familiar chord progressions and a brief guitar melody at the very end that brings to mind the late 90s. While Birds is a goth tinged rocker that vibes with some Paradise Lost influence. 

On the opposite end, the gloomy Drab Moon reminds me why I love this band. Dark and melancholic with an edge of heaviness, songs like “In the White” or “The Promise of Deceit” will spring to mind. The moody and heavy Author will surely be a fan favourite. A straightforward, thick driving bassline with disjointed, airy guitars over top. Jonas sings with incredibly emotive expression, leading to a heavier hook complete with double bass and dissonant guitar melodies. A bridge pickup lead over some unusually heavy riffs accent the song before settling into a sombre, dark passage. This track as well as several others has a guitar chunkiness that’s been missing from the last few albums. Impermanence has possibly the most emotionally moving chorus I’ve ever heard from the band. Jonas’s beautiful voice drips with heartfelt elegance. A soul gripping and doomy rock ballad capable of producing real emotions. It’s, epic, yearning, and completely stunning with an equally mesmerizing guitar solo that shows the virtuosic fretwork that Roger brings to the band. Absconder (Bonus Track) has a thick pulsing bassline with clean guitar melodies that careen to distorted chugging guitars that would be right at home on Night is the New Day. Absolute Brilliance.  

Katatonia proves once again that they have no equal. The subtle nuances of mellow and heavy to fragile and ethereal. Vibrant darkness filled with warmth, melancholy, and stormy atmosphere brings these songs to life, transcending into authentic emotions felt by the listener. The album is layered, thick, and inviting with a balanced heaviness invocative of modern production without sounding overly polished. Sky Void of Stars is quintessential Katatonia, completely honest with themselves about their forever developing sound, the band is still capable of making the darkness truly beautiful.    

(5 / 5)