Katatonia – Night Is The New Day

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Already lauded by Opeth main-man Mikael Åkerfeldt as “possibly the greatest ‘heavy’ record I’ve heard in the last 10 years”, Katatonia’s newest disc is probably their grandest most epic piece to date. Listening to this album is like listening to Opeth expand their softer side towards its limits, building Katatonia’s own sound with new layers of detail. Strip away the death vocals completely and sacrifice none of the grandiosity or dynamic, sweeping soundscapes and Night Is The New Day, easily Katatonia’s masterpiece, is the result. Jonas P. Renkse’s voice is very similar to Åkerfeldt’s melodic tone and the music here moves through every mood and feeling either band has ever touched upon, and more. Night Is The New Day is one of those rare albums where the tracks really do form a complete, and breathtaking, piece of music at different times full of emotion, intelligence, complexity, simplicity and above all passion. The appearance of Enter The Hunt‘s Krister Linder on closing track Departer, with his impossibly pained, soft voice, adds the final touch of sadness to what is a sombre record that manages to be surprisingly uplifting purely by being so involving and expertly crafted. By the end the feeling of having experienced something complete and genuine is very, very real.

Written by Andy Lye
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