The Swedish doom/post-metal outfit Katatonia is finally back with a new full length album. It took them more then 3 years to come up with a follow up album after the great The Great Cold Distance from 2006. Off course the involvement of some members with the ‘hobby’ death-metal act Bloodbath has everything to do with that, but finally they have a new record.

Katatonia started out as a typical death/gothic-metal band in the same style as the pioneers of that genre, for instance My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost, but already in an early stage their sound evolved into something different. Every release that came out somehow contained more melody and even pop-music structures, but without losing the metal edge. Today Katatonia is a band that makes modern doomy post-metal, that totally stands on their own and with an own identity.
 

The new album continues the path they’ve chosen on the album The Great Cold Distance. Great, atmospheric, moody, dark post-metal, with hinds of electronical music and even pop-music. Somehow similar in the vein of Tool, Opeth, Amplifier and the newer Anathema.
 

The album opens up with a crushing riff that introduces the album and the song called ‘Forsaker’, this is by far one of the heaviest songs on the album. Somehow they succeed to have a crushing, heavy riff in this song, but at the same time a lot of melancholic atmosphere woven into the song. In the song ‘The Longest Year’ you’ll hear the use of electronic music, a lot like My Dying Bride did on their misunderstood masterpiece 34,788% Complete. This comes back in several songs like ‘Liberation’ and ‘The Promise Of Deceit’. On these songs Katatonia is on their best, great, heavy but catchy metal-riffs, hypnotic drum ‘n bass electronics and just awesome melancholic, but beautiful melodies.
 

If you like your music melancholic, atmospheric, but at the same time full of beautiful melodies, you’ll need to check out this record and this band in general!