It is an often overlooked but undeniable fact that up to the present day, Katatonia is on a phenomenal creative run; arguably one of the best in Metal music, in general. Since 2006’s The Great Cold Distance (and arguably even before this), Katatonia have been consistently put out near classics up to 2016’s excellent The Fall Of Hearts, with even 2020’s hiatus ending City Burials (all Peaceville) standing shoulder to shoulder with such works. Firmly returned from a brief absence, 2023 sees the band’s second album since this return, on a new label home for the first time in their career.

Characteristically for a latter-day Katatonia album, Sky Void Of Stars (Napalm Records) foregoes a drawn-out build and opens instantly with Jonas Renske’s unmistakeable haunting croon and instrumentation in full flow on ‘Austerity’ which proves to be a quick highlight from the first listen. On initial plays, however, much of the album does not seem to grab you as quickly as this opening and it doesn’t prove as memorable throughout its duration. Instead Sky Void Of Stars requires a greater amount of time to fully showcase itself and with further listens it reveals further dynamics and increased depths throughout, snapshotting previous directions throughout.

 

 

After ‘Austerity’, the following brace of ‘Colossal Shade’ and ‘Opaline’ offer contrasts that will be familiar to fans; from the heftier, doom metal-laden former to ‘Opaline’s’ more brooding and melodic sensibilities, before ‘Birds’ highlights the band’s gothic/post-punk streak with the band’s familiar haunting tones throughout as examples.

 

It needs to be highlighted that Sky Void Of Stars is not the immediate rewarding experience throughout that much of their previous albums have been and that it requires several plays for it to begin to bloom. The melancholy is, of course, a striking trait of the band but some of the album’s more down-tempo efforts require a greater sense of immersion to fully embrace them further.

 

Ultimately (and perhaps unfairly), it is hard to escape that Sky Void Of Stars does not reach the heady heights that Katatonia have been consistently hitting for over two or their three decades, but this is far from a bad album by any means. In fact, it becomes a rewarding listen overall with some strong moments which are unfortunately shadowed by a consistent record of greatness.

 

Buy the album here:

https://lnk.to/KAT-SkyVoidOfStars

 

7 / 10

CHRIS TIPPELL