Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down

Y’know, it’s funny to me that I can have albums sitting in my collection for months, nay . . . years, before I recognize their brilliance. Waveriders, I have a hidden gem for you, specifically if you like your music dark, moody, and dipped in a healthy coating of depression, and draped in a heavy layer of gothic fabric. Katatonia’s Last Fair Deal Gone Down has been in my collection for a few years by now, though originally released in 2001 through Peaceville, and for some unknown reason, it didn’t immediately resonate with me. Maybe I was too happy when I received it, maybe my life was too good and shining with optimism. That’s not to say that my life has changed all that much now, but there is an air of uncertainty surrounding me these days that makes my perspective a little on the darker side. So . . . maybe that’s why this album suddenly makes sense to me, why Last Fair Deal Gone Down has inexplicably spoken to me more than the cheery and shimmering hits of the summer. I don’t know . . . it’s always a mystery. That’s one of the reasons I write these things!

For those not in the know, I stumbled on Katatonia a number of years back with the release of their impeccable Viva Emptiness album, an album filled with such darkness and somber violent intent that I fell in love with the band and haven’t looked back. The band’s music has depressive tones to it and there are many times that I imagine a cartoonish storm cloud lingering over my head threatening to douse me in cold rain. The emotions are turbulent, the mood dampened, however, tucked somewhere in these dreary tunes is this wandering ray of hope that we, as human beings, must cling to if we have any inclination to return to a world of sanity. The musicianship, especially in the guitar work, has an effervescence to it, in that, one guitar will lay down a foundation of sustained distortion while the second guitar comes along and adds flourishes of single note texture that creates a sweeping contrast of mood. In the meantime, the rhythm section holds a steady circling pattern for the guitars to work their magic. Oh . . . and let’s not forget the vocal work of Jonas Renkse . . . otherworldly. The man has a way of conveying his despondency that sends chills through my being.

Ultimately, I think what makes Last Fair Deal Gone Down work so well is the way the band crafts their songs with a combination of compelling melodies and heavily aggressive rock. Face it, without the haunting melodies, the songs would come across as one dimensional. “We Must Bury You” starts off with this morbid tale about the protagonist kicking the crap, and ultimately the life, out of somebody. Dark, right? But the lyrics that make up the verses don’t carry the emotional impact without the melodic chorus and the plaintive croon from Renkse as he recites, “We must bury you” . . . almost with a sense of panic, a need to hide the crime of the murder. One can almost imagine the scenario as this group of guys are standing over a broken and beaten body, not so much speaking the words, but communicating with their eyes and thoughts that the body must be disposed . . . somehow. And then, the second verse and the remorse, the begging for forgiveness . . . fuck! Dark and powerful! Follow that song with “Teargas” and Christ! Tracks three and four are an emotional rollercoaster! That sudden burst from the band as the guitars lay down a texture passage through the darkness . . . the sheer intensity that suddenly evaporates into the Renkse led vocal work. I love how his voice steadily gets stronger through the verses and then, by the time we get to the chorus, explodes into a haunting melody of sadness and personal tragedy of love lost.

“Tonight’s Music” is pure dark magic! The soft guitar work that opens the track is so fragile and is reflected by the vocals as they creep into the mix . . . like Renkse is well aware that if his vocals were any louder that the riff would be damaged. What Katatonia do probably better than any other collection of songwriters is they balance the light moments with dramatic movements of heaviness, and this song is a perfect example of that. The verses are so fragile, so vulnerable, but then it’s like the cracks suddenly begin to appear and spider web across the mind’s eye as the chorus erupts. So filled with passion and emotion, so vibrant and charismatically expressive. But, that’s not to say that the band can’t rock out heavily throughout a track either. “Clean Today” is a heavy guitar driven psychotic breakdown waiting to happen. Bitchin’ drum work, elaborate guitar textures, and vocals that are more filled with confidence, one of the lone moments where the sun seems to want to break through the dense fog rather than submit to its captivity within the clouds of despair. 

“The Future of Speech” is one of those dramatic moments in rock sound where the keyboard textures create wondrous soundscapes for the guitars, bass, and drums to wreak their havoc. The vocals are superb throughout . . . evoking physical reactions and that voice! Man . . . just beautiful! Then there’s Passing Bird” . . . I’m not even sure what to say about this track. It’s just one of those songs you have to hear, and then it’ll become a part of you. You’ll sing about the girl with the black hair and the black dress. The vocal works is fantastic and something that you’ll have to key into, not because you necessarily want to but because you’ll be forced to. The power of the vocals allows the guitars to play a more subtle roll, but then . . . then they explode and surprise the hell out of you coz’ they just seemed to linger in the shadows. Almost like you forgot they were in the song because you were so keyed in on the lyrics and the melody, but when they do jump out of those shadows, there’s no forgetting them. It’s that complimentary roll that all of the instruments play with one another that keeps the music ultimately interesting.

Every song on Last Fair Deal Gone Down is a keeper, there’s not a throw away track on the album. If you’re one of those new found Katatonia fans and you’ve been on the fence about this album for any reason, please . . . I hope my words will suffice as a fair assessment that you should have very little to no doubt that this record will be a welcome addition to your life. I don’t necessarily think that you need to be in some dark place to get this album, to truly understand it . . . you simply need to have a greater understanding of your own emotions. The songs are crafted around the listener and their ability to feel, and each song has the ability to move the listener to tears, send the listener to an inner place of reflection. For those hoping for more a hard rockin’ album, eh . . . Last Fair Deal Gone Down doesn’t rock in the traditional heavy metal sense, however, that’s not to say it’s not heavy. It’s texturally heavy, it’s emotionally heavy, it’s not necessarily sonically heavy. Again, really wish I had found this album earlier in my life. It’s too good to go through life without.

Of final note, apparently this is the 10 year anniversary of the albums original release, so you should be able to find a deluxe re-issue package of the album here, there, or wherever. Sage advice: Go out and buy it.

--Pope

Buy here: Last Fair Deal Gone Down
Buy here mp3: Last Fair Deal Gone Down - 10th Anniversay Edition
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Katatonia - Night is the New Day

With the clouds hanging low in the sky and rain in the air, I sit in my candle lit office; needle of my beloved turntable poised in anticipation over the spinning vinyl platter of Katatonia’s latest release, Night is the New Day. I pause for a brief moment to reflect on the bleak weather and the perfect backdrop for the music that will soon fill the air with its brooding and ominous weight. Can you believe my luck? Gloomy and miserable weather to go hand in hand with the new album from one of metaldoms darkest and most moodily complex units! The Metal Gods are surely looking down on me in favor!

Admittedly, I’m a rather new fan of Katatonia, having only discovered them on the Viva Emptiness album. But, in so many ways, I feel like I’ve been following this band, and they’ve been a massive part of my life for decades. Maybe I simply relate to the heartache, the mental torment, the pain that they’ve espoused over their past releases. Maybe a part of me really likes lurking around in the gloom of my candle lit office. Or, maybe, just maybe, I like being depressed. I don’t know all of the reasons, and nor do I claim to want to. What I do know is that Katatonia has released a demon of an album that propels the listener into a primal state of self deprecation at the same time that it’s sending that same listener to a place where the soft light of hope softly burns. Even while I sit in near darkness and let the detuned chords wash over me, bathing me in sheer moments of melancholy, I marvel at the complexity of the musicianship and song composition.

Night is the New Day opens with the majestic “Forsaker.” The song is balanced artfully between beautiful and brutal, namely by the guitar work of Anders Nystrom and Fredrik Norrman. While one guitar is shimmering elegant clean toned passages through the left speaker, the other is bombarding us with wave after wave of detuned distortion. The contrast of the two moods created by these uber-talented guitarists is the yin and yang of Katatonia, but it’s the tormented performances of vocalist Jonas Renkse that defines the band’s sound, at least of recent years. The rhythm section of bassist Mattias Norrman and drummer Daniel Liljekvist may have the toughest job of all. These two have to keep the groove throughout the countless mood swings and abrupt time changes . . . and they do a masterful job at that. “Forsaker” is the epitome of the Katatonia composition. Huge musical movements countered by subtle instrumental textures, all powered to the touch the soul by soaring, though tortured vocals.

The sprawling epic-ness of the Katatonia sound is carried on through “Onward Into Battle,” dark and filled with melancholy. There are no wasted notes as the band seemingly adds a piece of their individual beings into the performances. With every verse, you’re gripping onto every word in hopes that with the combined strength of every listener that everything will work out for the better. The instrumental break near the midpoint of the track is filled with so much drama . . . the band very easily could have inserted a simple start/stop break, but instead, they chose to add huge chords of synthesizers to accompany the guitars, creating a short but utterly fantastic movement in the music. It almost has a progressive vibe while rooted in classical composition, while still retaining a full on gritty metal approach. It’s truly an amazing break! Listen to the wide array of effects that the guitar duo uses throughout this track and become amazed at the virtuosity that they employ in their craft.

“Liberation” and “The Promise of Deceit” are the two tracks that see my return the most frequently during this initial auditory exploration because of the superior musicianship and the bands ability to plant seeds of fantasy in my mind. In particular, the chorus vocal melodies in “Liberation” send chills across all of my emotions. Filled with equal parts sorrow and hope, Renkse’s voice should be a national treasure of the great country of Sweden. Note the guitar work on these two tracks, as well. Both songs are filled with great ambient moments from one guitarist, beautifully textured approaches of clean tones, and then shift into monstrous distorted tones that are mixed with a great technique of palm muted attacks and wide open sustained chords. The combination makes for an intriguing listen. “The Promise of Deceit” is oppressively heavy and ultimately creepy, awash in darkened tones, it’s the kind of song that would be playing in your head as you wander dazed through an empty old house, seeing aged pictures of people that you think you recognize as those you once loved. Man . . . the imagery that these guys convey through their music is always a welcome treat!

“Ashen,” despite being one of the heavier songs on the album, has a ton of accessibility due to the bands great use of melody. Now, I’m not talking the sickly sweet type melodies that make us retch while listening to pop radio. I’m talking haunting melodies that grip you in a real way. Melodies that actually feel like a weight has been placed on your chest and that you want to cry because these same melodies bring back a million memories that are filled with pain. Melodies that actually mean something. Dancing between the rich melodic works, the guitars pummel away with tastefully palm muted and somewhat aggressive passages. The off time drum patterns are a nice touch! You never know exactly where Liljekvist is going, but it’s always someplace of greater interest than most. Note the soft pitter-patter of what sound like fingers rapping across a desk in the early moments of the track. Again, nice touch of texture that may not necessarily move the song along, but it becomes a place of interest.

I hate to say that Katatonia can do no wrong, but everything that I’ve heard since Viva Emptiness has been nothing but pleasure to my ears. When Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt said something along the lines that Night is the New Day is the best heavy album that he’s heard in the last ten years, I certainly paid attention. Is it the best heavy album that I’ve heard in the past ten years? No. It is most certainly one of the best albums that I’ve heard in the past year and will undoubtedly make my year end Top 10 List because Night is the New Day is absolutely amazing. The musical moments contained within the grooves of this album are mighty and definitely deserve the recognition of the masses. The darkened tones of the albums material are real. If the subject matter isn’t real, then Jonas Renkse is one hell of an actor, because he conveys the torture and pain of his emotions like we were witnessing it happen first hand. And what I’ve found possibly the most interesting aspect of this album, and those before it, is that even though the subject matter and the musical tones are dark and brooding, the music isn’t depressing. Though it works well to be played in a darkened room merely lit by candles, I never feel the need to look for a loaded gun or a bottle full of pills. These are songs of inner strength and a firsthand description of one man’s ability to handle said struggles. Night is the New Day is simply a captivating listen and will require more than one listen to grasp the full weight.

-- Pope JTE

Buy here: Night Is the New Day

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