Katatonia - Dance Of December Souls and For Funerals To Come...
Release: 1993 and 1995Label: Avantgarde Music
DEEK: The death-doom style has had many incarnations over the years. Even when the style came to the forefront in the early 1990ties the way the bands played was different. America had Winter who basically played a more down-tuned and slower paced death metal style that formed into death-doom on their 1991 release "Eternal Frost". England's Decomposed and America's Dusk followed a similar trend. England's Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride had a very atmospheric approach to their death/doom style, especially when My Dying Bride released their 1992 masterpiece "Turn Loose The Swans". And Australia's diSEMBOWELMENT had a sick (and still unique 12+ years later) mix of grind, death and doom for their legendary 1993 full length "Transcendence Into The Peripheral". One thing those early death/doom acts had, though, was a strong death metal background, especially on early demos. But there was another death/doom band that rose then, a Swedish band Katatonia. This band focused on one thing: DOOM. While the other death/doom acts delved heavily into the death style, especially in speed at points, Katatonia had a completely different approach.
The brilliance that is 1993's "Dance Of December Souls" has become a standard in the death doom realm. The album has a thin, straining sound to it, much different than the bands mentioned above. The atmosphere is that of an abandoned house on a lake, just dark and haunting, yet beautiful. It was also more experimental, progressive if you will. In all of the songs there are passages that sound intricately designed, giving the listener's ears a fantastic blanket of sound, one that was complex yet simple enough to grasp. The vocals, oh god the vocals. Easily some of the most tortured vocals I've ever heard. You can hear it, how Jonas Renkse strains to get the words out with the cross between death metal and black metal scream. Jonas' drumming was perfect for the sound. You can even hear the guitarist Anders Nyström's slides on the strings, giving the album a raw, pure effect.
The first song I heard from this album was 'Gateways Of Bereavement' on a CD-R given to me a few years ago. Before the intro was over I knew it was going to be something different and great. 'In Silence Enshrined' has a particular beauty to it that's unexplainable. And with a driving beat that's not forceful makes it even better. The bass drum that opens 'Without God' took a step forward, going at a faster pace than the rest of the band, or the other percussion parts for that matter. "YOUR FUCKING GOD IS DEAD AND SHALL FOREVER BE!" screams Jonas with a passion at the end, closing the song with soft yet pure and harsh intensity. 'Elohim Meth' is a typical mid-album interlude, and that is the only somewhat flaw of the album. One of the few true epics of the band's early days, 'Velvet Thorns' remains one of the band's best songs they recorded. The ending has great use of soft vocals with the music. 'Tomb Of Insomnia' is the other epic of the album and arguably the best of their epic songs and maybe even the best of their death doom material. The parts that starts at 3:42 and 9:06 are just beautiful, some of the most musically satisfying sounds the band has ever recorded. The closer, 'Dancing December', has a repetitive, epic feel to it that makes it a great ending to a near flawless album. The atmosphere is what set this album apart from anything else: this was haunting to those that wasn't expecting it. It even laid a soundtrack for funeral doom bands to follow in the future.
The "For Funerals To Come" EP that followed later, though more of a stop-gate between releases, also had brilliance in it. The opening song, 'Funeral Wedding', has an intro melody that is practically unmatched today. It's a very melancholy melody until it gets to a mid-paced run right into a light guitar solo. There are several melodies in here that are just so beautiful, you could listen to it and almost think there's a few different songs in one eight minute setting, making it one of their most varied songs. A great song. 'Shades Of Emerald Fields' has a more death metal oriented style to it, making it a very unique songs among these first 12 songs of their release career. The final two songs, the title track and 'Epistel', make for a strange, moody ending to an era that saw a revelation.
These albums were a template for epic death/doom and funeral doom for the future. It also set the foundation for what was to come in 1996 and 1997 ("Brave Murder Day" and "Sounds Of Decay"). I know I didn't say much about the music, but these are truly releases that need to be heard to understand anything about the music. "Dance Of December Souls" and to a lesser extent "For Funerals To Come" have given death/doom an image that it should have had in the first place: slow, moody, hallow and haunting. A true classic in the true sense of the word.
AvNatten: Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden and formed in the early 90ties Katatonia have unleashed quite a few albums of melancholic music that has evolved through different genres. In the early days Katatonia, whose name is derived from a state of delirium set forth into creating cold, dark, depressive metal that would touch the darkest places within your soul.
In 1993 Katatonia released their first full length album under the title of "Dance Of December Souls". By mixing parts of death, black, and doom metal the band created an eerie dreadful beauty that will leave you spellbound and entwined within its dark branches as they close in around you. Many astounding elements are showcased on this album including an impressive tortured growl that has just the right levels of aggression to get the points within the lyrics across, but it also has a haunting eerie quality that could echo down vast corridors. The bass creates a world of its own with a thick rumbling of notes that envelope you with a warmth that is crushing. Blackheim's guitar work is an array of melancholic riffs and melodies that thickly swirl about in a heavy haze that settles around you. The acoustic passages fit perfectly as well and compliment the other instruments. The drumming which fits the doom and gloom pace, picks up a bit of speed once in a while and provides a good foundation for the rest of the instruments and vocals to be laid upon. The song structures are rather simple but the band has added so much dimension and atmosphere to their work that they created something entirely their own, that many bands would later draw inspiration from.
Following this album the "For Funerals To Come" EP was released in 1995. The opening track 'Funeral Wedding' continues with the sorrowful soundscapes but shows more emphasis on the dreadful growling vocals that convey more emotion and variation this time around. 'Shades Of Emerald Fields' picks up the tempo a bit but remains close to the formula's used for the tracks on "Dance Of December Souls". The songs are propelled forward by Blackheim's superb guitar play which is truly admirable. The remaining two tracks contained on this EP are a bit different but every bit is just as drenched in atmosphere, 'For Funerals To Come' is for the most part an instrumental but with an evil sounding voice speaking of darkness and winter, and 'Epistal' which is a droning mix of sound effects and a backwards rasp.
These two discs offer some of the finest tragic art ever to be brought forth by using music as a medium. The soundscapes draw you in like a velvety cocoon and hold you there while the sorrow and beauty washes over you. Originality and innovation are two key components of these discs, and although both are more than a decade old they still can be seen as worthwhile additions to any fan of dark music's CD collection.
Tordah: When you talk about the big acts in the doom metal genre Katatonia is well known as one of the biggest and most influental bands of the 90ties. "Dance Of December Souls" is one of those unforgettable doom albums which portrait a very bleak and tortured atmosphere. The mix of black, death and doom metal turned out to be a successful concept and few bands have dared to try and copy Katatonia's sound despite its immense popularity among doomsters. The music is driven by the tragically beautiful guitar melodies and black-ish screams by Jonas Renkse. He does a great performance and convincingly sounds like a person full of hate and anguish. Interesting to note is that Renkse also did all the drumming on this album. The production of the album is far from the heavy sound that modern doom albums have, but the fact that you can so easily pick out every instrument at any given time gives the album a strange hollow and doomy sound. The guitars sound distant and emotional - like a constant cry of hopelessness. The thundering drums echo their way through the songs while the bass steadily keeps the tempo. Keyboards and acoustic guitars are used sparingly and come in every now and then to enhance a passage with another melody on top or take over the lead. This is an album where the main focus is put on letting the melancholic melodies control the music and guide it further into the dark. Good song-writing and an amazing ear for creating sad and emotional melodies makes this one of Katatonia's best creations and a landmark album in the doom metal genre.
The "For Funeral To Come" EP is an interesting piece of music that contains one of my all-time favorite Katatonia songs, 'Funeral Wedding'. This is such an amazing song in every possible way. Progressive doom metal anyone? There's so many amazing parts in this song and the way they flow into each other is just brilliant song-writing. There are tempo changes, ethereal acoustic passages, beautiful guitar-leads, bass-lead interludes, brutal and heavy ending - this song has it all. 'Funeral Wedding' is a 9 min journey that can't be described with words. The song could be interpreted in so many way that I won't try to do it here. Simply a masterpiece. The other real song on the EP besides the two short instrumental tracks is 'Shades Of Emerald Fields' which is very good as well with the first appearance ever of clean vocals in Katatonia's music.
The thing that will always be remembered from "Dance Of December Souls" is the immense atmosphere that is created with a very minimalistic approach. Never once does one instrument drown out another and never does it sound chaotic. In fact, I think this is one of the "calmest" albums you can find. It has that doomy laid-back feel to it that makes you forget about time when you listen to it. "For Funerals To Come" is also worthy of the classic status due to the fact that it contains one of Katatonia's best songs ever. Two true doom metal classics in every way possible.
Anders: The Swedish masters from Katatonia have received a lot of praise during the years, since their birth in 1991, where they delivered harsh death/doom laced with black metal elements, up to this very day, where most of the metal world is eagerly waiting for the band's new album "The Great Cold Distance". The band has been through an enormous development since the early days, as the band today, delivers melancholic modern gothic rock. I personally first got caught in the universe of Katatonia with their 2001 album "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", but got positively surprised when I later checked the band's back-catalogue out again, some albums I before found a tad boring.
"Dance Of December Souls" is the perfect soundtrack for cold and dark winter nights. The depressive guitar tone rips through the night as a razor and reminds one of why one is sitting in the dim lights all alone. The bleak and gripping atmosphere on the album touches deep and puts one in a trance-like state. Only to be awakened once in a while by the ugly screamed growl from Jonas Renkse. The guitar work from Anders "Blackheim" Nyström is amazing, enchanting and touching. The rhythm section is pretty tight, and the deep notes are delivered in a gripping and atmospheric manner. The compositions are really well-made and don't leave much to be wished for. Even the thin production doesn't bring the material or the atmospheres down, it actually compliments the bleak and depressive color the music have. A more or less flawless album the Swedes made, and it stands out this very day today as an unique experience.
Like Tordah, one of my favourite tunes from Katatonia is found on the MCD release "For Funerals To Come", it is 'Funeral Wedding' as well. A beautiful and melancholic track, fusing together the old death/doom style, with the more soft and breathtaking style to come. The musicianship and atmosphere displayed on that track is amazing, and one is nailed to the speakers, for the duration of the track, a really hypnotizing piece of music, 8:38 minutes of eargasms. This MCD also starts to incorporate the more rock-influenced elements into the once so grim and harsh universe of Katatonia, progressive elements and a glimpse of the clean vocals, which soon would give Jonas Renkse a lot of praise. A great intermezzo, together with the split EP the band made with Primordial, before they unleashed "Brave Murder Day" upon the world.
"Dance Of September Souls" is an amazing album, and a classic in its own means. It has never gotten the acknowledgement it has deserved, as it has been the case for many of the early death/doom releases, back then the 3 big English bands Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, took almost all the praise and press. Though Katatonia has always been there and delivered atmospheric doom metal in their own manner.
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