Katatonia and Saturnus albums in close proximity oh my....

Katatonia are such a weird band for me, in that at first I was almost lukewarm towards them, but since then I've been consistently falling deeper and deeper in love with their music with each passing day. So much so, that they have already become one of my all time favorites and I adore every record to bits.
So telling me that there is a new Katatonia album on its way is like telling me that I'm going to gain a new friend this coming January.

Also, look, they did a song called 'Birds'. After so many covers and logos containing the likenesses of our feathered friends (in various states of wellbeing, admittedly), birds will be finally getting a fully deserved sonic tribute. Yay to that

Loved the song that stops so abruptly. Still long way for the album.

Katatonia has officially become an indie rock band, and I'm not the least bit mad about it.

The video contains a hint about the listeming environment.

Perhaps not indie precisely, I find it in the vein of lighter metal/gothic bands, without intricate structure that requires more attention. Granted, it does offer a distinct Katatonia guitar sound to it. Good car musak for the coming season on the northern hemisphere (too bad the release date is past that season) after the first listen. If the rest of the album is like that, good, I call that sensitivity growing with their listeners.

Doesn't sound much like Katatonia for me
But we're getting a new album, Cool

Written by Ozejames85 on 27.10.2022 at 10:19

Katatonia and Saturnus albums in close proximity oh my....

Saturnus haven't provided a release date...right?

After couple of latest releases my expectations have been somewhat scaled down. It is very nice to hear those famiiliar sounds, but it's getting less and less exciting with every release. No surprises here, just an old formula with some slight deviations.

Great points. This is also a bit on the linear/poppy side of things. Oh, and man, those drums are dull AF after the brief bit of mild variants following the song's opening. Still, always interested in hearing new Katatonia.

Written by Jeeers on 27.10.2022 at 20:22

After couple of latest releases my expectations have been somewhat scaled down. It is very nice to hear those famiiliar sounds, but it's getting less and less exciting with every release. No surprises here, just an old formula with some slight deviations.

Agreed. It all feels a little flat and predictable. I felt the same about "Behind the Blood" and almost all of City Burials. It's still Katatonia, but it's missing the atmosphere and intention of their other releases over the last 20 years.

Written by Ivy Patterns on 27.10.2022 at 14:44

Katatonia has officially become an indie rock band, and I'm not the least bit mad about it.

As long as they release quality stuff, I don't care what genre they play. All "real fans" will probably be appalled when I tell you that old Katatonia is boring and sloppy. Their revered debut is simply terrible, as is Discouraged Ones. Brave Murder Day has some good moments, but it's quite weak too. The band became really interesting on Viva Emptiness and have remained so until today. I'm glad to see that the new album apparently will continue that trend.

I'd rather listen to the The Great Cold Distance

Big time Katatonia fan here. The artwork is kinda lame imo. This thing with the birds is getting exhausting.
The song reminds me a bit of Serein bit worse than that.
Its a cool tune, but kinda "empty". I miss the times when the songs had more weight and layers to it. This simplistic approach makes the band sound like Placebo and such.

The artwork looks terrible and comic-y childish?

Written by Obsidiann6 on 29.10.2022 at 10:27

The artwork looks terrible and comic-y childish?

Not to mention the album title...it's an excerpt from teenage breakup poetry

Written by MetalManic on 29.10.2022 at 14:15

Written by Obsidiann6 on 29.10.2022 at 10:27

The artwork looks terrible and comic-y childish?

Not to mention the album title...it's an excerpt from teenage breakup poetry

Aren't these things label driven these days? The band write the music, the label take care of everything else in making it into a marketable product.

The album cover seems reminiscent of the whole cyberpunk fad (a.k.a. Bladerunner for the masses), trying cater to younger audiences perhaps?
I don't see a connection between the title and the artwork. I dunno, air/light pollution theme, jumping on the climate change bandwagon?

Great song

Written by pthread on 30.10.2022 at 08:56

The album cover seems reminiscent of the whole cyberpunk fad (a.k.a. Bladerunner for the masses), trying cater to younger audiences perhaps?
I don't see a connection between the title and the artwork. I dunno, air/light pollution theme, jumping on the climate change bandwagon?

I think the cover art is pretty cool. The title might refer to how you don't see any stars when in the city, the cover art makes sense then.

Written by Litvin on 28.10.2022 at 14:38

I'd rather listen to the Brave Murder Day

Fix'd that for you

Written by Netzach on 11.11.2022 at 15:44

[...] how you don't see any stars when in the city, the cover art makes sense then.

My point was it's a daytime cover, with the typical themes Katatonia used in the past (rain?) when you wouldn't normally expect to see any stars.
I don't like the cover, it looks like too gamelike, CGI, someone said a comic book look. These things come and go out of fashion while a band should be above it all and shoot for something timeless. But the music sounded promising.

When I was a kid I had a couple of friends, older than me, who were listening to Katatonia. I couldn't get it at that point. I was trying by force but just couldn't enjoy it. So it happened that at one point, few years later I was depressed, some things came up and hit me pretty hard. And I still had Tonight's decision on my phone. That's when their music naturally revealed itself to me.
Later I met a girl that suffered from depression, was on antidepressants. She didn't like metal, but for some reason she had Katatonia in her playlist and was actively listing to it.
What I'm trying to say - metal or not, you have some special requirements to fulfill before this band opens to you. But once that truly happen, they're just the greatest.

I seem unable to dislike a song from this band.
My first interaction with Katatonia was their "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" (2001) album and their music has since been some kind of solemn soundtrack to my entire existence.