Band:	Katatonia
Album:	The Fall Of Hearts
Style:	Alternative rock
Release date:	May 20, 2016
Guest review by:	The Massenger

01. Takeover
02. Serein
03. Old Heart Falls
04. Decima
05. Sanction
06. Residual
07. Serac
08. Last Song Before The Fade
09. Shifts
10. The Night Subscriber
11. Pale Flag
12. Passer
13. Vakaren [CD/DVD and deluxe edition bonus]
14. Sistere [LP and deluxe edition bonus]
15. Wide Awake In Quietus [digital and deluxe edition bonus]
16. Night Comes Down [Judas Priest cover] [Japanese edition bonus]

Another amazing, depressive, Swedish band returns after four years with a new album entitled The Fall Of Hearts, a name which automatically guides the mind to a repeat of the last album, Dead End Kings, and a continuation of Katatonia's way after Brave Murder Day. Brave Murder Day is one of the best classic doom/death metal albums of all time, and I believe the band was playing every song under The Rain Without End! But after this album, Katatonia's style changed little by little, and that harsh vocal sound, furious like a demon's frustration, has now changed to a beautiful, yet doleful butterfly; it seems like that was the final goal from the beginning. Undoubtedly, four years was enough time for the band to release a new challenge for their fans' ears.

The Fall Of Hearts is unlike Dead End Kings in every way, a fact shown to us upon confronting the different layers of sound and many innovations. At the beginning of the previous album, we heard violins, cellos, and an introduction like a dusty breeze, but in this album, there is no beginning! It's more of a continuation. "Takeover" surprised and worried me - surprised because of the innovation, and worried because of the chances of this process actually continuing through the album. But Katatonia's tenth album was to continue this process after all, and track by track, it got better. Each song is approached like a beautiful butterfly, one-by-one in surreal space, and often imparts a morphine-like relaxation. Katatonia's new album has manifested as a new birth certificate for the band; it's powerful progressive rock with depressive elements, all in support of the nine previous Katatonia albums.

Regarding the type of lyrics, I'd say it's depressive, grey, and emotional, and I refer you to part of the lyrics to "Residual," which I very much like:

"And I'm ready to go
If you're already there
Saw your trail in the snow
Did you find the way to freedom?
It's the last day I'm here
Can you hear the sky fall down,
Collapsing over ravaged ground?"

In paying close attention to these tracks, we hear many death metal riffs that Nyström brought from Bloodbath, and the best bass solo of the always-wonderful Sandin. All of these sounds, given substance by the best melodies and kept in-time by drums matching the unique vocals of Jonas Renkse, just like 20 years ago, made a praiseworthy album for us - meeting yet another challenge for the future of the band.