:: Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

Katatonia

With the release of their seventh album ‘The Great Cold Distance’ (March 2006) being universally hailed as a masterpiece, and extensive touring throughout most of the year opening the band up to a broadening fan base, it’s safe to say that 2006 has been Swedish depressive rock act Katatonia’s most successful to date. In celebration of their phenomenal success, Peaceville Records have bought out the rights to Katatonia’s back catalogue, with plans to re-master and reissue the albums over the coming twelve months.

The first album to be given the deluxe treatment is the band’s second full-length effort ‘Brave Murder Day’ from 1996. Although 1993’s ‘Dance Of December Souls’ had Katatonia placed squarely within the death metal genre (With traces of doom and gothic elements presented here and there), ‘Brave Murder Day’ was something different altogether, with the band (Who at the time consisted of vocalist/drummer Jonas Renkse, guitarist/bassist Anders Nyström and guitarist Fredrik Norrman, with Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt helping out on lead vocals) clearly broadening their horizons sound wise to focus more on their doom/gothic elements instrumentation wise, leaving the death metal influence purely to the vocals. The epic ten-minute opener ‘Brave’ is one of the best examples of Katatonia’s new sound, with a strong and repetitive groove bringing out the subtle textures and moods from the guitarists, while Åkerfeldt’s harsh growls only adding to the bleak musical tapestry. From here, ‘Murder’ stands out with its constant shifts in moods and tempos, while Renkse’s clean vocals on ‘Day’ (And his brief appearance on ‘Rainroom’ and ‘Endtime’) serves as a precursor to the direction the band would later pursue and develop further. Finishing up the album is the slower and more experimental ‘12’, which pushes the distance between gentle atmospheric passage and death like doom to the extreme.

Also included on this re-release is the group’s long out of print follow up EP ‘Sounds Of Decay’ from 1997. With Åkerfeldt guesting on vocals once again, the three tracks (‘Nowhere’, ‘At Last’ and ‘Inside The Fall’) are very much an extension of ‘Brave Murder Day’, and fit perfectly side-by-side ‘Brave Murder Day’. Packaged in digi-pak form, and boasting a revamped booklet (There’s extra artwork and insightful liner notes explaining the details behind the recording of the album from Nyström) and an undeniably fuller sound (Having finally being mastered after ten long years), ‘Brave Murder Day’, now more than ever, is an essential purchase for both early and latter day era Katatonia fans.