Album Review: Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars

Katatonia records are one of the most unique experiences in metal. When you sit down to one, you know you're going to be enveloped in a wash of melancholy no one else can match. There was a record that made my top ten list last year which hit upon similar themes and tones, but no one can make metal that lives in the shadows cast by the moon quite like Katatonia.

That being said, not every version of their musical ennui will be for everyone, even if you are inclined to their view of the world. I was quite enamored of "The Fall Of Hearts", with its cold progginess, but I was less fond of "City Burials", with the extra layers of electronics that came bubbling closer to the surface. The great thing about a band that is always changing things up is that the next album can be the one that finally wins you over. And with the singles leading into this album, Katatonia had me on high alert.

"Austerity" opens the album with a jarring sensation, as if the record started a few seconds later than it was supposed to. That surprise shifts our anticipation, and leaves us more vulnerable to how epic the chorus sounds when it kicks in. It is Katatonia at their absolute best; melodically gorgeous while emotionally devastated. If there was one thing I had been wanting from Katatonia, it was a more direct punch. This start more than delivers on that front.

"Opaline" is another track that is able to pair sparse arpeggios with a monstrous chorus that is the swell of depression as it pressed against our eyes, turning our vision into a dark blur of indecipherable emotions. In moments like that, Jonas Renske has outdone himself in building the perfect canvas for his one-of-a-kind voice. Early on, Katatonia has taken their identity and wrapped it around songs that are more engaging, and dare I say more energetic, than ever before. They crest like the wave we are holding our breath to survive.

The bands dips back into their doom roots a bit with "Drab Moon", but they show us how doom can be done right, as they pump enough melody into the proceedings that the song never gets bogged down in the sludge of a riff. There is always a song lurking there. "Author" adds in some nifty guitar work, taking some of the sound from Soen, a band who has borrowed much of the feeling Katatonia is known for. It all comes full circle on "Impermanence", where Soen's Joel Ekelof joins Anders for a dramatic, doomy affair. Hearing them together shows how similar the two bands can be, even though they are unmistakable for one another. It's akin to when you take two pieces of fabric you thought were both black, you put them side by side, only to discover they are several shades apart.

What was that I was saying about the next album potentially being the great one? Yeah, that's what we're dealing with here. As much as I liked "The Fall Of Hearts", and even some of the albums that came before that one, Katatonia has made what my eyes see as their masterpiece. Cold, but with heart. Mechanical, but with grace. Heavy, but utterly beautiful. "Sky Void Of Stars" is the Katatonia album that finally distills their essence into the perfect blend of metal and emotion.

Katatonia has delivered a nearly flawless journey through metal's haunting countryside, and the bar by which all of 2023 will be judged.