Date: 2020
Total Τime: 48:33
Label: Peaceville Records
Twelfth album by the Swedish pioneers of the depressive and melancholic Metal genre. A band that had started on more Doom / Death trails but from the “Dance Of December Souls” of 1993 and onwards, various things have changed.
I am mainly referring to the change of musical direction. The new millennium, at least from “Viva Emptiness” onwards, brings them closer and closer to being a Dark Rock band. In fact, more recently, and especially in the previous “The Fall Of Hearts”, we witnessed them introducing a lot of Progressive elements, and being very reminiscent of OPETH. Of course, the melancholy and depression that characterizes them in their music, still always accompanies most of their work.
“City Burials” is a release that unfortunately can hardly be described as a Metal one. And here we see exactly this “Dark Rock / Goth” tag being quite accurate. Usually one expects the bands that have lightened their sound and start introducing progressive elements, to continue down this very path. So compared to its predecessor, it has a more straightforward mood in various places, and it is definitely not as progressive as we expected (in some songs, not at all). For example, it contains two clearly light rock / jazz songs, “Lacquer” and “Vanishers”, which even contain some pop elements. You will also find such spots scattered throughout the album and the fact that we can hear them in the heaviest tracks on the album makes an impression out of it. It is definitely something they have been slowly introducing from their previous jobs, but we did not expect it to be so straightforward, putting 100% aside their more Metal past (at least in these songs). On the other hand, it contains some heavier tracks, for example the opening “Heart Set To Divide” or “Behind The Blood”. The prog moments have not completely vanished and are scattered here and there, as well as the prog riffs, as in “Neon Epitaph” and in the last song of the album, “Fighters”, which is one of the best moments of the album and is the most varied song (as well as an indicative progressive metal modern track), which I would definitely recommend you to listen to. Also, there are some electronic / ambient points, for example in “Flicker” but you can find them elsewhere too.
One of the downsides of the album is the fact that the listener will probably feel that its long duration is not justified by its quality. You may just feel bored at many times. Certainly, the fact that some pieces remain soft concerning their musical direction is not a negative. But many of them lack the quality they need. On the other hand, the production is fantastic, Jonas Renkse is an amazing singer, like the other members of the band, but no matter how technically perfect and emotional guitarist Anders Nyström is, in many ways, the guitar doesn’t even play a particularly significant role.
Either on more progressive directions or not, this Dark Rock road chosen by KATATONIA is definitely the one that will be explored in the future by the Swedes. If you were expecting a more Death / Doom album, or even a “Viva Emptiness”, you will definitely be disappointed. If you listen to “City Burials” again, you will find several nice moments, but you may find yourself feeling a little bit bored.
Rating: 6.5/10
Editor: George Kourou
Related Link: Katatonia – Official Page
