Sounds of Decay

In 1997, Sweden's Katatonia seemed to be at a bit of a crossroads in their career. On the one hand, they already had classic deah/doom records like 1993"s "Dance of December Souls" and their 1996 opus "Brave Murder Day" under their belt. On the other hand, history has shown that this band didn't like to repeat themselves too much at this stage, which would be proven by the release of their 1998 EP "Saw You Drown". "Sounds of Decay" would go on to be their final Death/Doom release, and what a release this is!

As soon as we hit the play button, we are immediately greeted with a short drum fill that leads into one of the most powerful and memorable songs of Katatonia's death/doom catalog. "Nowhere" is a bona fide death/doom classic in every sense of the word. The emotion emanating from the lead guitars is almost overwhelming, yet the guitar parts remain very catchy and highly memorable. Though not quite as busy as his work on earlier recordings, Jonas Renkse's drumming perfectly supports the majesty of the guitar parts. To top it off, we get an amazing and moving vocal performance, courtesy of Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt. There is just something about Åkerfeldt's mix of growls and screams that is so perfectly fitting to the rest of the music. Lyrically, this is not exactly complex, but oh so relatable to anyone who has dealt with clinical depression.

"Everything is real
but I'm not here
I've lost my strength
somewhere, nowhere
Used to care about weather, used to plan the days that came
Used to try and watch you, used to know my name..."

"Nowhere" needs to be heard to be believed. Amazingly, the other two tracks featured on this monster of an EP keep up the same quality. One might be able to argue that this EP appears to be leftover cuts from the "Brave Murder Day" album, but I respectfully disagree. Though they are comparable to the metal tracks from that album (ie a bit more uptempo with usage of a lot of single kick rock type of drumming), "Sounds of Decay" sees the band taking this formula to another level of doom and gloom.

To be quite honest, I feel like my words really don't do justice for these songs. Chances are, if you are familiar with Katatonia's death/doom metal era, then you already know this like the back of your hand. In my humble opinion, this EP is an absolute master work of the genre and is mandatory listening for death/doom fans everywhere.

Katatonia have put out a lot of interesting EPs throughout their career, but the earlier ones are most revealing, since they fill in some of the gaps that were left when the band took massive leaps between full-lengths. Sounds of Decay is highly interesting in this sense, because it represents the moment between the hypnotic, emotional, and unique Brave Murder Day and the rockier, depressing Discouraged Ones. Sadly, it is not at all interesting for those who are not ardent followers of Katatonia.

The sound here is quite close to Brave Murder Day, with the same repetitive, long riffs that focus on the atmospheric or emotional shifts between notes rather than any kind of rhythmic variation. In fact, the similarities go deep enough for the band to have released the album and this EP on one disc when Peaceville were reissuing the back catolgue. It is this version with remastered sound that I own, which is why I will say nothing of the original production. There are some slower riffs and perhaps a smattering of more traditional doom riffs here, but the elements that defined BMD are still all present, whether that be the longish songs, strict 4/4 timing, lack of variety in the rhythm section, or the presence of Mikael Akerfeldt on (slightly distant) harsh guest vocals. The main difference is the atmosphere, which was hazy and thick on BMD, though here it is a little clearer and less mysterious, though the music sounds heavier.

This lack of atmosphere might be my imagination (or Katatonia's, which I will come to in a moment), though I argue that it is caused by the guitars. They are a little bolder in the mix and have less reverb than on BMD and are more jarring as a result, which is definitely a bad thing for this kind of music. Katatonia have never relied on a crushing guitar tone, and with the kind of melancholy and abandonment that the songs attempt to capture, not to mention the surreal isolation that the cover image from the film Begotten suggests, this tone is too worldly to fully suit the band's ideas. However, this would not be much of a problem if there were more than 3 interesting riffs on the EP. Nystrom's melodies are solid for the most part, but the riffs feel like a forced version of the style developed on BMD, with no imagination or forethought except "these notes make a creepy contrast". As a result, they end up being quirky and distinctive but boring.

To analyze any particular song is fairly pointless because there is barely any difference between them - my Itunes just shuffled this EP, played 2 songs, and I couldn't guess which one I hadn't heard. All 3 songs have strummed harmonic/disharmonic chord patterns, slower sections, and a more doomy passage or two, but there is very little in the way of hooks, nor do the vocals hold the attention. 'Nowhere' is perhaps the strongest song and has a nice, uplifting surge of guitar leading into the chorus (does it have a chorus? I don't really know), though it may be because it's the first song that I remember it better. On the other hand, this release is not entirely without merit and it is possible to listen to it as atmospheric, almost ambient, background music, but for a 19 minute EP to feel long is really not a great achievement, even if there isn't much else that sounds like it in the metal pantheon.

There isn’t much to say about this EP. Like Brave Murder Day it stands somewhere between the death/doom metal of Katatonia’s earlier works and the depressive rock of Discouraged Ones and its followers. It actually seems that these three six-minutes-calibrated tracks are remains from the Brave Murder Day sessions, even if I don’t know to what extent this is true. On a sidenote it is puzzling that, while this EP represents the last step of this band before definitely falling into mellow so-called suicide rock, there are no clean vocals on it, while there were a decent amount of these on Brave Murder Day.

The first song Nowhere is a slow, dark track which can stand the comparison with almost anything on Brave Murder Day. A well-chosen, almost catchy opening doom riff, Mikael Akerfeldt’s harsh vocals sounding more lively than usual, and a welcomed semi-acoustic break make it a fully enjoyable track. The drumming itself sounds a tad more aggressive and more inspired than on the previous album, looking further than the standard rock beat Katatonia will later use. And paradoxically this track ends up sounding far closer to actual death/doom metal than to the melodeath vibe of BMD, what isn’t a bad thing.

The two other tracks are by contrast pretty much insignificant. At Last is not very different from Discouraged Ones rock songs, saved that Akerfeldt’s harsh vocals have been stuck on it, the result being a rather flat and monotonous piece of work. Inside the Fall is a patchwork of mediocre rock parts and slower doom moments exhibiting a very repetitive and annoying lead guitar, a forgettable song even if it slightly redeems itself at the end. I’ll eventually only remember the title – because it embodies THE FALL of Katatonia.

One (very) good song and two fillers which combine to make an eventually unnoticeable EP. Goodbye, Katatonia.

Highlights: Nowhere

The 1996 death/doom classic "Brave Murder Day" was the result of Katatonia going into the studio with a blank page. The result was an influential doom/shoegaze hybrid with a strange, obscure vibe. This follow-up EP feels like a more deliberate version of the same musical ideas. The production is stronger and the songs feature more traditional songwriting. Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt is still on board on vocals.

As usual with Katatonia, the strength lies in dark atmosphere. The guitar melodies are simple, yet instantly strong and memorable. Some of the shoegaze influence from ”Brave Murder Day” has been replaced by old school melodic death metal moves. Dreamy moments occur, but the songs on "Sounds of Decay" have a way heavier drive.

It's evident that this is where extreme metal Katatonia ends and later becomes the blueprint for side-project October Tide. The opening riff to ”Nowhere” sounds like a ballsier version of their 1997 debut. There are also several hypnotic clean guitar parts that remind me of it.

The strength in these songs, aside from the bleak atmosphere, lies in the strong hooks. All three songs have excellent riff and vocal hooks. I can't really pick a favorite and I usually listen to the whole EP at once. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s vocals are much more powerful and less whispery this time around.

An interesting aspect of “Sounds of Decay” is how simple it is. There are no additional electronics and no clean vocals. I don’t even think most guitar melodies are multi-tracked. Jonas Renkse once again plays the drums, doing nothing more than keeping a steady beat. Lyrically, the band has moved away from the cryptic "Brave Murder Day" themes to more straightforward concepts of isolation and loneliness.

While this isn’t anywhere near as groundbreaking as ”Brave Murder Day”, all three songs are well-written death/doom classics. It’s a worthy last extreme metal output before Katatonia started their clean vocal era.

Originally written for deathdoom.com

Sounds of Decay is an EP which settles between the old Katatonia and new Katatonia, namely between Brave Murder Day and Saw You Drown EP (which already features only Renkse in the totally clean vocals). Sounds of Decay is a mixture of the two with songs which lengths fall between the lengthy BMD-songs and the more compact DO-songs.

The three songs on Sounds of Decay are quite un-Katatonialike. The melancholic melodies are there but in a somewhat different form than usual in Katatonia. They aren't melancholic in the usual sad Katatonia way but more like in Murder with that distressed, deranged way. The songs don't flow as well as usually with Katatonia and when the tempo slows down, things bog down a bit too much. It gets boring. But when the tempo picks up and the riffs and drums are more rocking, this EP really shines. A good EP but I wouldn't shell out much money for this release.