Forgive me, for a moment, while I take some time to explain that sitting down to write this piece was difficult. I stopped and started several times and that’s not counting the amount of days I spent just thinking about writing a review. You see, Katatonia are an institution and I felt that trying to describe their music was a task that deserved reverence, that I had to do justice to their creation. That seemed insurmountable. For a month I opened and closed my laptop, wondering if I could even begin another longform written piece about an album. It’s been a while. Depression is wild. I’m sure Katatonia’s frontman and lyricist, Jonas Renkse can relate. In his words there is darkness, overwhelming at times, yet there are tiny slivers of hope in the realisation that you are not alone that allow a small handhold to climb out of the abyss. Still, it’s taken some time to get even that first paragraph out of the way and now its done, the pathway towards the end becomes slightly clearer.
Sky Void of Stars is a stunning entry in the Swedish band’s vast catalogue, one that has been evolving from the death/doom of their beginnings to the progressive/gothic rock of the modern day. While the sound of the band has changed over time, the lyrical content and general downbeat aura has stayed within the gloom, one that Jonas Renkse has cultivated and curated into a world that has taken on its own life. Motifs from older songs/albums are placed to link to the past (twins, birds, the crows on the album cover) to ensure a continuity throughout the lore while the highly polished production allows for each instrument, voice included, to shine.
It has to be said, that this is the best Renkse has ever sounded. Classically a shy frontman, if you’ve seen Katatonia live then you may have memories of Jonas covering his face with his hair for much of the time, this album has him finding his voice fully. It’s been said before (probably by me), of course, but this feels like a refreshed and reenergised vocal performance and because of that, Sky Void of Stars has several moments of genuine awe. “Impermanence” is one such case and is, vocally, the highlight of the album. Elsewhere, there are moments of true joy – not because of the subject matter, because that is rarely joyful in the case of this band, but in that it is so beautifully presented that you cannot help but smile at it. Which is weird, when you think about it. To be happy at these songs of death and loss, but that is the magic of Katatonia.
And they are magic. Each element combines in such a way as to envelop you in the shadows, weighing you down with utter melancholia and occasional dread for the bittersweet memories that their music dredges up from your own past. Thoughts of walking away and turning to the night are conjured and as the album moves towards the finale of "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall", each song represents its own step on the road to letting go and takes you further from the person you once were. Sky Void of Stars is made to be listened to in the transient light of night turning to day, (or day to night), with rain hitting the windowpanes, obscuring the outside and creating intricate patterns against backlit walls. This is Katatonia.
