Viva Emptiness (half-speed master)＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

The Swedish kings of gloom and doom return with perhaps their mst balanced outing yet. Two years after Discouraged Ones marked a turn from the dark metallic mayhem of earlier records uch as Dance of December Souls and Brave Murder Day, it was 2000s Tonights Decision and 2001s Last Fair Deal Gone Down that carved out the uniqueness in their sound. Here are equal parts dark gothic pop, crushing heavy rock, textured keyboards, lithe pop melodies, beautifully crafted songs with unique dynamics and sculpted sonic environments to surround them, and bleak, even morose subject matter. While its true that fans of the bands earliest material may not return to the fold with Viva Emptiness, those who have arrived since Discouraged Ones will be even more enthralled. The major difference between Viva Emptiness and its immediate predecessors is that the band has brought a more rockist edge to even out the textural soundscapes. This one is definitely heavier -- check out the bone-crushing intro on Will I Arrive or the bridge on the refrains on the album-opener Ghost of the Sun. Vocalist Jonas Renkses delivery is clear and deeply expressive of the bands atmospheric music and stays well within its tenor range. Guitarists Anders Nystrom and Fred Norrman complement each other well in that both are well-versed in swirling, shaded enormous guitar sounds and neither overplay; they join together to create a warm, fuzzed-out wall of noise that is equal parts devastatingly edgy yet warm and full of melodic invention. (This is gorgeously displayed on Burn the Remembrance and Complicity.) The rhythm section of Daniel Liljekvist on drums and Mattias Norrman on bass is fatter and meatier than any in heavy metal -- the stuttered stop-and-start of Walking By a Wire offers a rounded foundation that gives up none of its thudding power in an otherwise angular yet restrained tune. The other thing that sets Katatonia apart from all of its peers with the possible exception of Liverpudlian quartet Anathema is the bands lyrics. Virtually every track here will have the listener entering into a dialogue with Renske as he offers observations on everything from questioning the right to continued existence to revenge to determination to grief to alienation to political and social dystopian catastrophes, and even to glimmers of hope in the wasteland. Viva Emptiness is a dynamically jarring and intellectually demanding yet musically accessible journey to the dark side and back, full of glorious riffs, complex harmonic sensibilities, and a vulnerable yet ultimately powerful brute force. ~ Thom Jurek