ALBUM REVIEW: Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State – Katatonia

It is hard to be a band known for being a master of multiple musical directions, conscious that whatever you do it would divide a portion of your fans. This has been the challenge troubling KATATONIA, the Swedish masters of melancholia who have shown they can do it all – from the death-doom of their early days, via gothic-tinged alternative metal and onto their layered progressive metal of today. Back with Nightmares As Extensions of the Waking State, the thirteenth album in a rich catalogue, they continue to weave this challenging tapestry of continuity through constant searching.

Opener Thrice pulls an instant switcheroo, baiting you in with a heavy downtuned chug, until three seconds later replacing it with a soft ambient verse. This gives an early clue to the collage-like nature of the album that awaits. Thrice packs an enormous amount of ideas in less than five minutes, switching from one to the next with little prior warning. It also seems to address the elephant in the room – the departure of co-founder Anders Nyström under less than amicable circumstances – with references to the protagonist being both the “divider” and “provider”, and “letting go of the confining shackles”. The two leaders’ differences over the band’s direction resolved via a separation, frontman and songwriter/producer Jonas Renkse is here to reaffirm: this is (and has been for a while) his band.

The Liquid Eye is a typical ‘second song’ in the Swedes’ modern albums, with an energetic chorus made to enter straight into their concert setlist. Things get more unusual in Wind of No Change, a spine-tingling ode that juxtaposes devilish chords and Wagner-esque choirs with the gentlest of verses where Renkse sings soft praise to Satan. It shows that after so many years, KATATONIA still have the capacity to surprise. Elsewhere on Warden the interplay of drums and guitars paints an interesting rhythmic illusion that makes you wonder where the ‘one count’ is. The added moments of eclecticism freshen the sound, but are rendered through a mostly familiar filter – in many ways, the album continues the direction undertaken from 2016’s The Fall Of Hearts onward.

Sonically, as musically, Nightmares delivers everything we’ve come to expect from modern-day KATATONIA. A thick, crystal-clear production boasts sharp guitars and beautiful synth ambiences. New guitarists Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland chip in with some ripping leads such as in mid-paced stomper Temporal, or the beautiful layered arpeggios of lead single Lilac. As Renkse himself admits, Nightmares is a more guitar-based record than the last few, in part to make their transition into the line-up smoother. Towering above it all, of course, is his velvet voice, as rich and melancholic as ever. He sounds at his fragile best in one of the more experimental tracks on the album is Efter Solen, a rare foray into Swedish-language song for Renkse. Elsewhere he heightens the sense of drama in the powerful climax of In the Event of, whose apocalyptic ambience and dirty bluesy solo close the album on a high.

One thing you can’t accuse KATATONIA of is scrimping on ideas. If there is a criticism that can be levied, it is that it comes at expense of the glue that binds songs together. A section change will often not be announced by more than a choked cymbal or a sudden fade-in. As a result, songs can feel fragmentary, with their sections able to be swapped interchangeably, and their hinges – intros, transitions, outros – a little rusted. This docks the album a few points on being able to drill itself inside your head as neatly as some of their noughties offerings, requiring plenty of listens to get comfortable with the lay of the land.

Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State continues the direction that the collective led by Jonas Renkse were already pursuing, with another record bursting with progressive ideas, dark moods and melancholic melodies. Fans of the past three albums will be happiest, though all will find something to like. While the packaging is a bit more challenging than their best achievements, the KATATONIA of 2025 still has plenty of greatness to offer.

Rating: 7/10

Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State is out now via Napalm Records.

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