by: Amit Peled
It’s not everyday that you see a band that has been active for almost 35 years. People change, members quit, personalities clash, salaries (as well as the recording industry) evaporate, the audience’s taste and trends change, touring takes a toll on your personal life, and the list of reasons to stop being a band goes on and on. That’s why it’s so inspiring to see a band, and not just any rock band, but a heavy unique sounding ensemble that comes from black and doom metal, that manages to prevail through all of these challenges and continue to develop. The Stockholm based band returns, with some serious changes in its lineups as well, but with a new album in hand which is, very fittingly, a thing of nightmares.
To quote Jonas Renkse, the group’s vocalist and main force behind the album: “Looking at the sky, you could see flashes of fire behind dark clouds. And there were chains coming from the sky. The last line of the song is, ‘Mothers waiting in rows for the shadows of their children.’ I could see fences, a place where you would keep people captured, and mothers standing there, waiting for their children to come back.” This gloomy set up gives us the tone for the album.
The music has a steady slow pulse, throughout the music. The album grows and evolves to its full form track by track with some interesting twists and turns but has a predominant tone which feels wide, minimal, and very cold. All of which are compliments when put into the context of this album and its subject matter. The use of synths and electronic textures, goes beyond a production device and functions as a critical part in the band’s tone. It’s much more than a ‘goth’ decoration (which might be valid if the year was 1997), to me it’s as vital to the music as much as the guitars, bass, and drums.
One more priceless component which gives Katatonia their unique tone is something that many bands, and prog bands especially, tend to overlook and that is – Space. The music works so well because it has space to exist and echo in. The same could be said about Jonas Renkse vocals which always fit in with the music and vice versa. This space is what makes Katatonia so heavy and gives their music the platform to exist on.
“Thrice,” the opening track, ushers us right into this nightmare. Massive riffs with tall layers of strings are finely balanced together. The bashing drums are cement like guitar riffs are heavy and work together, a perfect example to the superb work of bassist Niklas Sandin and drummer Daniel Moilanen and their support of the music.
Renkse’s voice carries an ominous tone that manages to deliver long and gentle melodic lines on top of the violent guitar riffs as can be seen on the track “The Liquid Eye”. The balance between intense metal playing along with the gentle keyboards and chord changes creates a very unique blend that makes the music seem contained and controlled between bigger bursts of energy. There are some vocal similarities to Tool’s Maynerd Keenan, maybe even more so to his work with APC. But Katatonia’s music moves and breathes in a very different way which makes it very unique to listen to. Tool won’t can’t compose a tune like ‘Wind of no change’ with a dark demonic choir chanting between the verse, but Katatonia does, and with satanic hooks, no less!
Their first single off of the album “Lilac” shows the same controlled restraint in the verse along with a bed of synths supporting the vocals. These crash against the main riffs and choruses of the song. There’s another moment around the song’s bridge which echoes APC’s “Vanishing”. I’m not mentioning these similarities because these songs are two similar but rather the opposite, it’s very refreshing to see a band that could take their love of those great groups and find their own voice in the genre.
Guitar players Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland make a fantastic debut as the new guitar department in the band. “Temporal” is a fantastic example of heavy riffage, tasteful lead parts that are sparse yet very powerful, great guitar solo work. Just as crucial as the lead parts, there are terrific interesting tones throughout the verse that are dirtier or more mellowed out and these work terrifically with the music. It’s also worth mentioning the drums which were recorded at a converted church in rural Sweden by Tore Stjerna (Mayhem, Watain, Tribulation).
Honorable mentions within the nightmarish realm of doom and fire:
My personal favorite track was ‘Warden’, which has a terrific melodic hook that opens the songs and brings us into the tune, the repetitive drum and bass pattern on the verse serves as a great bleak supportive basis for the melodic lines, which give way in turn to the electronics and than to a massive chorus. It’s a great development of a tune which gets better part by part.
“Efter Solen” which translates to english as “After the sun” is sung in Swedish which feels like it manages to connect even deeper with Renkse’s voice. The track is built on a landscape of vocal parts that swim in reverb and delay with a keyboard and electronic basis to the song. This works as a great palette cleanser after the heavy drums, bass, and guitar work throughout the album. There’s a rich harmonic development which slowly develops from one part to another into a rhythmic synth pattern which feels just as intense as a full band.
This deep dip is the last breath of air before we arrive into the album’s closing track “In The Event Of.” Before I tell you about how heavy the track is, I’ll tell you that there’s a Mellotron on it which immediately gives it extra points in my book. The track eclipses to its massive ending with a line that echoes a bit of Metallica’s opening line in “Battery.” It’s wonderful to see that connecting thread. And yes the track is extremely heavy and reminds us of the band’s roots.
Katatonia has a long catalogue of music which I encourage you to explore to see the musical trajectory they’ve made from their more doomy days to their current sound (Go and listen to “Funeral Wedding” from 1995 just to realize we’re talking about the same band). Sure, there were a million other bands that played heavy music and have made a couple decent albums, but how many bands kept that momentum? How many dared to evolve their sound? How many stayed together for decades and decades? Maybe a handful. Katatonia emerged from those challenges with a deep, morbid album that feels as vital and relevant as anything in their past catalog.
Released on June 6th, 2025 on Napalm Records
Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State tracklist:
1. Thrice
2. The Liquid Eye
3. Wind of no Change
4. Lilac
5. Temporal
6. Departure Trails
7. Warden
8. The Light Which I Bleed
9. Efter Solen
10. In the Event of
Jonas Renkse / vocals
Nico Elgstrand / guitar
Sebastian Svalland / guitar
Niklas Sandin / bass
Daniel Moilanen / drums
