I prefer the darker, more urban sound of this band, but this more prog style is decent.

I really liked Sky Void of Stars, the sound here is similar, but it lacks the peaks that SVoS provided. This feels more meandering and steady. First listen was while I was working and the entire album went by before I realized it because there wasn't anything that really drew me in.

Second listen was more active, and the overall sound is still the solid Katatonia prog-goth that I enjoy, but I think this ultimately will get lost in their discography, nothing special, good or bad, worth remembering.

Weirdly enough...this is the best Katatonia album since Dead End Kings. Which is not saying much, because of how bad the previous albums were, but whereas in the previous 3 they all sound like one big song, this one, at least, has some more variety, theres moments that i want to listen to again.

Shit, this thing is pretty bad not a single song stands out. Very boring and uninspiring album, one song just drags to another and it all sounds like multiple instruments glued together. The worst album of Katatonia in my opinion. Anders, we already miss you man.

I actually enjoyed this one more than Sky Void of Stars (which was still a great album). I think it's a solid album. A lot of the songs are more memorable to me.

This album has many problems in my opinion.

First of all, the memorable verses and choruses that made Katatonia stand out are all gone. Indeed their previous album was not their best but at least it had its moments (e.g. Birds).

Secondly, the "prog" drumming does not allow the songs to flow. It creates some interesting patterns for sure, but it makes everything clunky. It almost feels like Renske wrote the drums on his laptop and then asked the drummer to replicate them exactly.

On top of that, the production (similar to the previous album) is quite muddy and lacking that nice high end.

The band feels like they are trying too hard to innovate while many of their best qualities come from their down-to-earth songwriting.

Written by ForestsAlive on 12.06.2025 at 15:31


Secondly, the "prog" drumming does not allow the songs to flow. It creates some interesting patterns for sure, but it makes everything clunky. It almost feels like Renske wrote the drums on his laptop and then asked the drummer to replicate them exactly.

Exactly, the drumming is so off, as the drummer was payed for a fill. Not for a "feel". It's so disjointed from the music, not mentioning all the other things surrounding it.

Did anyone make it through to the last song?