Katatonia - "Sky Void of Stars"

Promising darkness and delivering a void without WiFi

I mean, I already knew I love Katatonia's style. And a title like "Sky Void of Stars"? That's a 10/10 album title.

However, Katatonia is very much a single-vibe band. It's a *good* vibe - little bit of prog metal, little bit of doom metal, keep it low-key yet intense. But the composition of each track varies only mildly. So over the course of the 50-minute, eleven-track album, it all kind of blends.

And that's not what you want, generally. For a song to really hook you, it needs to stand out. The only one that really does is "Opaline".

So this album is great for background music or just jamming when you're busy with other things. There's not a bad moment on it. It's also got great lyrics if you're into dark poetry - I mean, check the opening stanza of "Drab Moon" (honestly just picked a song at random):

Pale beats the heart of this bystander
Shutting down, fog on lens
A drab moon to match my lowering standards
Suspended in deceptive light

The lyrical writing is solid. Musically, though, the composition needs something more. Especially because Soen also does pretty much the same exact vibe and each song feels truly unique and catchy.

Rating - Green