★★★★★
"Unquestionably, "Sanctitude" is one for the Katatonia fanatics (or for your non-metal head friends and family who like less heavy offerings), and not for those who just like the heavier stuff." Following "Last Fair Day Gone Night," Katatonia is already back with another live offering: "Sanctitude." This live CD/DVD outing comes from the melancholic Swedish band's tour in support of "Dethroned & Uncrowned," a re-working of the "Dead End Kings" album that goes in a less heavy and more prog rock...
- www.metalunderground.com
2015-04-15
★★★★★
When Stockholm's Katatonia first appeared in the early 90s, they were very much a continuation of the English doom-death scene and the early efforts of bands such as My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Anathema. Like those bands - and also countrymen such as Opeth - their evolution would take them away from their growlier, cavernous beginnings in favour of something considerably cleaner, more concise and more accessible.
- recordcollectormag.com
2014-01-30
★★★★★
Their 2012 effort, , is an album rich in textures and atmospheres, and it's those nuances Swedes Katatonia decided to explore on their latest release. isn't Katatonia unplugged -- more like defanged, featuring the full track listing from that earlier recording, subtracting only the metal factor. The most obvious result is in the way Jonas Renkse's vocals shift even more to the forefront, supported by intertwining harmonies and orchestration of varying types...
- exclaim.ca
2013-09-10
★★★★★
was perhaps the most satisfying musical moment of last year, not only because musically it was such a noteworthy album but because it was so monumental for Katatonia. They had been searching for the sound captured there for years, and it was so liberating to hear everything come together in an album that was, for the first time in a while for the band, a complete package...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2013-09-04
★★★★★
Not too many bands get to album nine. However, a look into the world of death metal/darkwave sees acts having longer careers than standard. In part that's because there tends to be less fannying around with big international record labels. Secondly death metal is a well-documented lifestyle over mere entertainment. It's not a case of disposable fun but musical partnerships that endure. But Katatonia are no longer black/doom metal...
- drownedinsound.com
2012-08-30
★★★★★
"Just in time for the gloomy fall season, the album fits the bill for quiet contemplation of life, death, and loss while the leaves die and the snow starts to fall." Over the last 20+ years, Sweden's Katatonia has morphed from a doomy death metal outfit to a depressive rock group, and then into something that splits the difference, while still only using clean vocals...
- www.metalunderground.com
2012-08-30
★★★★★
Release Date: August 27, 2012 Dead End Kings continues Katatonia's gloomy musical path by treading in familiar ground. Sounding similar to past two releases The Great Cold Distance and Night is the New Day, Dead End Kings takes the best of both albums and throws in some lighter Prog for good measure. At first listen the album comes off as a letdown, featuring some slower melodies and a song or two that doesn't quite take hold with the listener until the fifth or sixth listen...
- absolutepunk.net
2012-08-30
★★★★★
Despite being into their third decade, gloomy Swedish progressive metallers Katatonia are still producing fine work. 2009's Night Is the New Day was heralded as the band's finest ever album, and with prog's increasing influence evident across the more facile end of the metal spectrum, this band is doing better than ever. Dead End Kings marks another progression for this outfit - in terms of album structure, anyway...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2012-08-30
★★★★★
Sound: Katatonia formed in Sweden in 1991, and began working on their own type of metal, and in the process went through a lot of changes. Their first releases are thought to be an early form of what would come to be known as the genres gloom and death metal. Of course, with each release they've drifted away from their original sound. While their music is still dark, it is only metal in the loosest sense of the word at this point...
- www.ultimate-guitar.com
2012-08-30
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