Katatonia
The Fall of Hearts
Release Date: May 20, 2016
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Neo-Prog, Prog-Rock, Scandinavian Metal
Record label: Peaceville Records
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Album Review: The Fall of Hearts by Katatonia
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Katatonia is only one of many bands that began with their roots in blackened death metal and transformed their sound into one that is not only instantly recognizable but adheres more closely to moody, melodic progressive rock. The Fall of Hearts, the band's tenth studio album, directly extends the line that began with 2003's Viva Emptiness and carries straight through 2014's Dead End Kings. That said, it also presents a new musical direction.
Based on rating 7/10
When Katatonia released Night Is the New Day in 2009, it earned a well-deserved view from the wind-chilled mountaintop. For two decades, the Swedish doom band worked its way to a trilogy of masterful albums: Viva Emptiness (2003), The Great Cold Distance (2006), and Night Is the New Day. Before this, the band was—and possibly still is—best known for 1996’s Brave Murder Day, a staple in the annals of death doom.
Based on rating 3/5
More beautiful sadness from the progressive/metal Swedes. PR lines like “the bleakest of metaphysical winters” and “mankind’s inevitable demise” don’t exactly scream ‘party time!’. They do, however, indicate the kind of depth and gravitas at work in the brooding Swedes’ 10th studio album. .
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