ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Air – Katatonia

Swedish melancholic metallers KATATONIA are well known for their impressive live performances over the years in all different types of venues and scenarios and due to the cancellation of shows this year, the time has arrived for the band to unleash their own lockdown collection of tunes.  

With the band unable to tour their latest highly regarded opus, City Burials (their first album in four years) KATATONIA have taken it upon themselves to perform a streamed show in May which was accessed globally by fans. The set is now being released as an album that adds to the bands already impressive back catalogue. 

Recorded from Studio Grondahl in Sweden, the 88-minute show is a love letter to the fans who were dying to see the band make a comeback to the stage after their announced hiatus a few years prior. Guitarist Anders Nystrom said this about the show, “Due to overwhelming demand, we are proud to confirm that our lockdown Livestream from Gröndahl earlier this year will now see a physical release where you can re-experience the #20 most wanted songs exclusively voted by our fans from all around the world. This very special evening of May 9th will forever serve us as a memory of something equally weird as fantastic, so it feels essential to make it available as something you can touch and own forever.”

Starting their career as a band more involved in the death metal scene, much like OPETH, the band has manoeuvred into the lighter side of things over the years creating some of the most beautiful and haunting music to come out of Scandinavia. They have since thrived on their ability to transfer their studio tracks over to a live setting with some actually sounding more at home acoustically as shown on previous live DVD Sanctitude.  

New track The Winter Of Our Passing nestles in nicely between older stalwarts Deliberation and Ghost OF The Sun. Anthems Soil’s Song and July remind everyone of the brilliance of The Great Cold Distance era and vocalist Jonas shows off his velvet, brooding tone in cult favourite Unfurl. The band are incredibly tight throughout and show off their musicianship throughout thanks to some smooth production and a stellar mix.  

My Twin thunders through with purpose as if they were playing in front of thousands as they should be while everything eventually comes to a close with the captivating Behind The Blood, showing once again that the band’s hiatus allowed them to return refreshed and it’s exciting to wonder what the band will unleash upon us next.  

KATATONIA have once again shone with a live performance that mirrors the majestic and solemn beauty of their studio work but sadly lacks the excitement factor of previous live releases and they never stray too far from the originals. It’s a great place for newer fans to start though due to their greatest hits setlist and the three new tracks on show from their latest album City Burials fit perfectly at home with their older heavy hitters.  

Rating: 7/10

Dead Air is out now via Peaceville Records. 

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