Written by Netzach on 26.05.2016 at 22:11

You are the watcher
...

Tack så mycket!!
Is it just me or Jonas' pronunciation sounds a bit... weird at times? The "r" I mean. Perhaps it's southern..?

Written by bogdmark on 21.05.2016 at 13:21

Interesting, I think the second half of the album is stronger (Passer is my favorite now), but I like the first half as well. I think this album needs a lot of listening, after the first few play I couldn't remember any melody and it seemed like they were improvising (especially Jonas), but later it becomes clear. So it's not an easy listen but it becomes beautifuI in time. I gave it a 10 because I feel like it will become one of my favorite album from them, but maybe I ranked it too early.

You hit it on the nail man. Don't expect instantly memorable melodies like on Last Fair Deal Gone Down or Viva Emptiness. In fact this probably the least accessible, the most intangible Katatonia album since Discouraged Ones. What Jonas is doing with vocal melodies, I hadn't imagined it possible to this extent - almost "hook-less", but ages beautifully after half a dozen or more listens. Think clean vocals are by rule easier to decipher than harsh vocals? Think again.

IMO Katatonia have done nothing short of reinventing themselves again - Gothic doom metal (1998-2015); Progressive (2016- )

I was really surprised by this! They had gotten so stale, just repeating the Great Cold Distance. I really like the fresh progressive feel they attained here.

Written by God Alone on 26.05.2016 at 22:24

Written by Netzach on 26.05.2016 at 22:11

You are the watcher
...

Tack så mycket!!
Is it just me or Jonas' pronunciation sounds a bit... weird at times? The "r" I mean. Perhaps it's southern..?

Nope, his Swedish is super-normal. Stockholm-ish. Very far from Southern Swedish. The reason the "r"s disappear a bit is probably because he's singing. But anyhow, when we speak in normal speed, the "r"s tend to drop. If you pronounce them all correctly, it sounds academic or snobbish.

Written by Kuroboshi on 27.05.2016 at 05:04

If you pronounce them all correctly, it sounds academic or snobbish.

Oh I see, didn't know that. Thanks to you too!

I'm stunned actually. At first I thought this was their best since "Brave Murder Day". Now I'm thinking it's actually better. I love this. I love the heavier and more progressive approach, some songs sound like Opeth. Biggest surprise of the year.

Just like the last three Albums...its so Repetitive...and boring for me...their old stuff was so much better ...
::

Written by Warman on 28.05.2016 at 10:22

I'm stunned actually. At first I thought this was their best since "Brave Murder Day". Now I'm thinking it's actually better. I love this. I love the heavier and more progressive approach, some songs sound like Opeth. Biggest surprise of the year.

You deaf? This is more or less the same thing they have been doing on evrything after Viva Emtpiness so on their last three new full-lengths.
It might be slightly better than the last two but that is about it. It still is totally inferior to anything Viva Emptiness and earlier.

That was unmemorable.

Is it wrong for me to say that I don't really like BMD except for the song, "Day". Everything after is fantastic though - I also love all the last three albums they have done as well, so many songs that I like.

This latest album is a very strong release & definitely in their top 3 best albums, the new drummer & guitarist are solid additions to this band adding a new fresh power to their overall sound & some superb solo's along with Anders.
Renkse and Nystrom have done a excellent job with the production too & Jens Bogren(mixed) given this album a huge sound! I'm pleased they have done this album purely because I myself was not been impressed with their previous effort, finding it a little dull & repetitive.
A very good balance to this album and some lengthy tracks too which do not outstay there welcome due to the musicianship that's on show. The last three songs are exceptionally strong with closer track "Passer" fitting end to wonderful album. I can see this album becoming my favourite by this band, time and more listens will tell & may sway me.

A definite contender for top 10 albums of this year.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.05.2016 at 03:27

Written by Warman on 28.05.2016 at 10:22

I'm stunned actually. At first I thought this was their best since "Brave Murder Day". Now I'm thinking it's actually better. I love this. I love the heavier and more progressive approach, some songs sound like Opeth. Biggest surprise of the year.

You deaf? This is more or less the same thing they have been doing on evrything after Viva Emtpiness so on their last three new full-lengths.
It might be slightly better than the last two but that is about it. It still is totally inferior to anything Viva Emptiness and earlier.

Katatonia have always been the epitome of a polarizing band - is there even any point in debating or just pointing swords at each other any this point?

But if you think they're sounding the same on this album, then you're just stopping at the overall impression and really not engaging with the nuances; everything is different - structure, arrangement, how melodies are utilized, but they may be lost to the casual listener (or ears that have been desensitized by over-indulgence in extreme metal haha). So "surprising" and "progressive" are definitely warranted and substantiated claims.

I am a bit sick of everybody pointing at Brave Murder Day and Viva Emptiness as automatic winners of their discography and dares you to think any different. Have you listened to these albums 30, 50 times? or just half a dozen? After a decade of listening to this band, I can tell you personally they are both great initially but don't necessarily "age the best", especially VE (the most "catchy" album). Play this album 10-15 times and you may feel very differently. Or not. But when it comes to subjective opinion let's just all agree to disagree - I'm 100% against trying to convince someone to love or hate something anyway.

Still not near Great Cold Distance, but not bad.

^ The MelancholiaC guy up here got a damn point.

Tried to love it more, but cannot...
"Serein", "Sanction" and "The Night Subscriber" are good, the rest is just okay...
2016 is lame so far...

This has easily become one of my favourites of the year so far, which to be fair isn't difficult as its been disappointing compared to last year. I admit, this takes 10+ listenings at least to start to fully appreciate. More progressive and loads of small details to be found make this my favourite Katatonia album in a long time.

Written by MelancholiaC on 02.06.2016 at 08:21

Katatonia have always been the epitome of a polarizing band - is there even any point in debating or just pointing swords at each other any this point?

But if you think they're sounding the same on this album, then you're just stopping at the overall impression and really not engaging with the nuances; everything is different - structure, arrangement, how melodies are utilized, but they may be lost to the casual listener (or ears that have been desensitized by over-indulgence in extreme metal haha). So "surprising" and "progressive" are definitely warranted and substantiated claims.

I am a bit sick of everybody pointing at Brave Murder Day and Viva Emptiness as automatic winners of their discography and dares you to think any different. Have you listened to these albums 30, 50 times? or just half a dozen? After a decade of listening to this band, I can tell you personally they are both great initially but don't necessarily "age the best", especially VE (the most "catchy" album). Play this album 10-15 times and you may feel very differently. Or not. But when it comes to subjective opinion let's just all agree to disagree - I'm 100% against trying to convince someone to love or hate something anyway.

This is probably the most accurate post regarding Katatonia I've seen. I think that the people complaining about them making the same album over and over again are either a) not listening attentively enough or b) hearing what they want to hear. The mood and style of their music has been in constant evolution since, really, the beginning, and The Fall of Hearts is just the next step of that. If you put on this album and then TGCD immediately afterward, the difference would be staggering.

I'm definitely at odds with the majority when it comes to Viva Emptiness; it's a good album, sure, but to me lacking the emotional depth and sustainability of their more modern works. I actually see these past three albums (along with Tonight's Decision) as the peak of the band.

As you can probably tell, I'm more than satisfied with The Fall of Hearts. I'd say that it's precisely where I wanted the band to go after DEK: more progressive tendencies, the return of NitND's rather dark mood at times, longer and more intricate songs, etc. Even though it's their longest record yet by some distance, it never drags. It ain't perfect ("Last Song Before the Fade" drags it down a bit, to be honest) but the majority of its tracks are top shelf stuff. That a band with this much longevity is still delivering material as consistently great as this is something to behold, and I hope they never throw in the towel.

Although this album seems similar to their recent output, it's quite different. But it's not so apparent after one listen. This album is much more nuanced and intricate. Also, and above all, the songs are much much better, placing "The Fall of Heart" in the upper parts of Katatonia's catalogue.
I don't think one-two listens will let anyone form such an opinion. This album is one of those that do not reveal all their goodness quickly.

Cannot stop listening ... Much better than before !!

I think this album is really nice after these years Katatonia proved thas its not goin to go down like many of our favorite bands and it has the ability of improvise in its genre which i think made it more popular and still be Katatonia in the mean time

Written by Daniell on 07.06.2016 at 16:34

Although this album seems similar to their recent output, it's quite different. But it's not so apparent after one listen. This album is much more nuanced and intricate. Also, and above all, the songs are much much better, placing "The Fall of Heart" in the upper parts of Katatonia's catalogue.
I don't think one-two listens will let anyone form such an opinion. This album is one of those that do not reveal all their goodness quickly.

I agree wholeheartedly, I was hyped af for the album since I'm a huge fanboy and I thought my fanboyism was clouding my judgement, but this album is definitely better than the former 2 albums to say the least. Jonas and co apparently reached the balance they were aiming for since they stated introducing prog elemnts in their songwriting. It ebbs and flows, balanced aggression and extremely impressive vocal performance from Jonas.
God, I love this album!

Edit: Those leads on The Night Subscriber <3

Katatonia - The Hall of Farts

I guess I should listen to this at some point. It's hard to want to though.

Old Fart Halls.
Last Fart Before The Fade.
The Fart Subscriber.
Farter.

I love the new music, much like the former album but slightly improved yet again. However, I cannot rate it over 8 because of the crappy way they exploit bonus tracks. Make sure I can buy an edition of the album that has all your damn tracks on it physically and DEFENITELY do not keep any of your work unavailable for certain regions. -2 points for that.

I dont have any problem with that this has become a pop band as long as it sounds this good. Its even so that the softer songs here is the best ones, as the more uptempo tracks are a bit too generic.

As it always is with Katatonia albums, this record needs at least three good listens to appreciate it in its entirety. Still, I can already say that The Fall of Hearts sounds like the most progressive album the band made up to date, and it sounds mighty good. It won't likely trade places with Viva Emptiness as my favourite disc, but still it has a potential to come close to that.
So far my favourite tracks are Takeover, Shifts, The Night Subscriber, Passer and the bonus track Vakaren (I love hearing Jonas sing in Swedish).

It is nice to see Katatonia transcend their past with an extremely progressive yet nevertheless faithful, depressive release. I've listened to this album over ten times now and I am still peeling back new layers each and every time. Their best yet.

Halfway through, a dramatic improvement over the tedious Dead End Kings. They sound to actually have some drive and inspiration here. There's something about modern Katatonia that means I can't feel any kind of passion for it, only reserved approval, but this is some of their better stuff in a few years

Edit: Okay finished it - this is actually rather good, their best in a while

Written by musclassia on 31.07.2016 at 20:09

Halfway through, a dramatic improvement over the tedious Dead End Kings. They sound to actually have some drive and inspiration here. There's something about modern Katatonia that means I can't feel any kind of passion for it, only reserved approval, but this is some of their better stuff in a few years

Edit: Okay finished it - this is actually rather good, their best in a while

It truly is one of those albums that gets better the more you revisit it

Written by drummercrm on 03.08.2016 at 06:15

It truly is one of those albums that gets better the more you revisit it

True. This caught me by surprise, as I'm not a fan of anything they did after Viva. Hated it at first, but now I'm really enjoying it.