Album Review: Katatonia, Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State

Written By Justin Bauer, OOTB Publications

There’s such technical quality here that doesn’t overshadow the songwriting that I must admit there hasn’t been anything Katatonia has done that hasn’t impressed me.

Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State (Napalm Records) is such an appropriate title for an album by a metal band, and yet their music conveys such a beautiful nightmare.

The production offers such clarity and the mix is so well-balanced that this record is successful at taking the listener on a journey.

While thinking on this record, “atmosphere” is the term I keep returning to. There’s an unsettling tension strung throughout the entirety of the album that can’t be denied.

The melodic highs and technical metal has been offered up on a bed of pressure. The anxiety of a bad dream carried over to consciousness is tactfully conveyed in the mix with atmospheric synths and strings that stimulate that bit of your brain that tells you something’s wrong. With the beauty of Katatonia’s compositions, that eerie feeling is a testament to the quality of their craft.

Melodic heaviness is so tastefully done that the opening track successfully whets my appetite for more with opening track, “Thrice.” Clean vocals admit, “You’re the drug in my bloodstream,” before later stating the desire to, “Let go of the confining shackles.” With this, I’m just as invested in the lyrics as I am the music itself.

The lead guitars on “The Liquid Eye” are so slick you’ll lose your balance when they hit your ears. What’s noteworthy here is the dynamic range that Katatonia inhabits deviates from modern rock and metal in that there are quiet parts of the experience that are done with purpose. There’s an emotional range here that can’t be reached when the mix is in-your-face the entire time, and I appreciate the depth offered in these songs.

“Wind Of No Change” has the ceremonial circumstance of a church choir over distorted guitars, before the lead vocals come in. More thematic elements of a nightmare come through the lyrics in the line, “you’re the flicker on a dead screen.” The low tempo of the conclusion has the feeling of a sacred death march.

“Lilac” has this rhythmic bounce that is catchy beyond measure, in addition to its complexity. That’s the crowning achievement of Katatonia is their technical skill doesn’t overshadow the quality of their songwriting.

A personal favorite deviates from the norm, which says something, as there’s an unpredictability woven throughout this record, is “Efter Solen.” This soft and slow piece of music is just keyboards and vocals through the halfway point of the song. Electronic drums and rhythmic tracking pick up and carry it through to the end, and is a haunting breath of fresh air before the conclusion, “In The Event Of,” which returns to form with a melodic metal bounce that goes the distance.

These songs are rich with complexity. I’m sure to be haunted by Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State for quite some time.

This record by Katatonia is a worthy addition to their extensive catalog and will satisfy fans who’ve been around as well as be a perfect introduction to their work for an unfamiliar crowd.

Get Album

https://lnk.to/KAT-NAEOTWS

https://napalmrecordsamerica.com/katatonia

Tracklist

1. Thrice

2. The Liquid Eye

3. Wind of no Change

4. Lilac

5. Temporal

6. Departure Trails

7. Warden

8. The Light Which I Bleed