Katatonia
Dance of December Souls
[No Fashion]
8 tracks, 53:33
Katatonia hit the scene in 1991/1992 with their excellent "JHVA Elohim Meth" demo, combining Black Metal with slow and melancholic doom. The full-length "Dance of December Souls" appeared a year later (almost simultaneously with the release of the demo on CD). The song "Without God" is the only demo track that made it to the album, although in a rerecorded version.
Soundwise it's very sparse, airy and distinct - the demo was 'looser' and heavier. The drums are almost too dry but are very well done in the My Dying Bride 'so slow you can get yourself a beer between the hits' style, the bass is quiet but plays some interesting lines, some quiet synth is used occasionally following the guitar/bass melodies, but it's primarily the guitars propelling the music here. Blackheim has a very distinct style of riffing, although I noticed a slight At The Gates melodic influence. On the later albums all his riffs and melodies basically sound the same and the songs revolve around only one melodic idea but it's a lot more varied here, ranging from his trademark four note dirges to more percussive riffs and fast arpeggios, creating a wider and more epic scope. The slight Black Metal influence on the demo is almost non-existent on "Dance of December Souls": the general song writing is reminiscent of My Dying Bride and similar bands: long, narrative compositions ranging from slow to very slow, with frequent breaks and tempo changes. The atmosphere is depressive, every riff just oozes with melancholy, and the very well done throaty rasped vocals (by Jonas Renske and yes, he is the corpsepainted "Lord Seth" of the demo) fit in perfectly. While not anti-aesthetic by any standard, it's not a directly accessible work, mainly because of the complex compositions. Compared to the other albums which are very 'song based' and where every composition stands on its own, the order of the songs is carefully chosen here: it's as if a painful tragedy slowly unfolds itself during the album, building up to the best track on the album, "Tomb of Insomnia", with the short last track "Dancing December" serving as a sad, compact but still fully developed outro.
I can only recommend this album very much, although it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. It's a real grower, and has proved its sustaining power in the six years it's been in my collection.
© 2000 sybren
Katatonia hit the scene in 1991/1992 with their excellent "JHVA Elohim Meth" demo, combining Black Metal with slow and melancholic doom. The full-length "Dance of December Souls" appeared a year later (almost simultaneously with the release of the demo on CD). The song "Without God" is the only demo track that made it to the album, although in a rerecorded version.
Soundwise it's very sparse, airy and distinct - the demo was 'looser' and heavier. The drums are almost too dry but are very well done in the My Dying Bride 'so slow you can get yourself a beer between the hits' style, the bass is quiet but plays some interesting lines, some quiet synth is used occasionally following the guitar/bass melodies, but it's primarily the guitars propelling the music here. Blackheim has a very distinct style of riffing, although I noticed a slight At The Gates melodic influence. On the later albums all his riffs and melodies basically sound the same and the songs revolve around only one melodic idea but it's a lot more varied here, ranging from his trademark four note dirges to more percussive riffs and fast arpeggios, creating a wider and more epic scope. The slight Black Metal influence on the demo is almost non-existent on "Dance of December Souls": the general song writing is reminiscent of My Dying Bride and similar bands: long, narrative compositions ranging from slow to very slow, with frequent breaks and tempo changes. The atmosphere is depressive, every riff just oozes with melancholy, and the very well done throaty rasped vocals (by Jonas Renske and yes, he is the corpsepainted "Lord Seth" of the demo) fit in perfectly. While not anti-aesthetic by any standard, it's not a directly accessible work, mainly because of the complex compositions. Compared to the other albums which are very 'song based' and where every composition stands on its own, the order of the songs is carefully chosen here: it's as if a painful tragedy slowly unfolds itself during the album, building up to the best track on the album, "Tomb of Insomnia", with the short last track "Dancing December" serving as a sad, compact but still fully developed outro.
I can only recommend this album very much, although it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. It's a real grower, and has proved its sustaining power in the six years it's been in my collection.
© 2000 sybren