KScope – Released 9 September 2013

So, is it possible to improve on perfection?

When I reviewed Katatonia’s ‘Dead End Kings’ album a year ago (q.v.) it got a well-deserved five star rating and made it into my best five albums of the year, such was the magnificence of its juxtaposition of thunderous riffage and gossamer-like tranquility.

As a fan of the lighter side of progressive rock, imagine my delight to find that the band had decided to strip away the more strident elements of the album and emphasise the quieter side of things.

Gone are the slabs of doom-laden electric guitar. Gone are the pounding drums. Gone are the occasional raucous vocals.

In their place appear delicate piano, gently strummed ethereal acoustics, heartfelt vocals and dreamy keyboards which sound like a whole orchestra turned up at the studio.

Make no mistake, Katatonia have taken a real risk here. The album features every track from ‘Dead End Kings’ in the same running order and it would have been easy for it to fall into the ‘just another re-mixed album’ elephant trap.

The fact that it doesn’t is basically down to three things – the quality of the original songs, the stellar musicianship and the vision of the band to recognise the potential.

Nothing has been lost in transition – the tracks are just as mesmerising, the stories told just as powerful, it’s just that the whole thing has been drenched with a dark mist of melancholia – taking what were already poignant, angst-ridden songs to a whole new place.

The opener, ‘The Parting’ lends itself beautifully for the transition to become apparent and by the time follow-up track ‘The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here’ has finished it’s obvious to anyone that the band has made a fabulous job of it.

‘Buildings’ is the track that perhaps most starkly indicates what has been achieved here – the original being a dense, heavy piece with thrashing metal guitars, pummelling drums and almost death-growl vocals, transformed into a thing of dark, forbidding beauty with fragile, skeletal piano figures and picked acoustic guitar.

Everyone wondered after ‘Dead End Kings’ – how could they possibly follow that? I think it’s fair to say that no-one expected this.

It is a dark, dense and inexorably bleak piece of work, and I use the word piece advisedly as the album must be listened to in its entirety, but it is also strangely uplifting in its stark beauty and almost impossible fragility and a deserved triumph for a band willing to take a risk.

So, is it possible to improve on perfection? The answer has to be – yes, in spades.

*****

Review by Alan Jones

 

---

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

---

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

---

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

---

---

Popular (last 10 days)

---