THE FALL OF HEARTS

This is a very welcome turn (incremental development, some will argue) in Katatonia's career. Melancholy is still the main vehicle but a great dose of "Opeth-ism" just moves them out of the usual direction and places them in the more "adventurous" category. Far proggier than previous releases, The Fall of Hearts is captivating at nearly every moment. Layered mid-tempo (and far more often chopping) guitar playing, enchanting vocals on narrative mode, carefully placed keyboards, the album asks far more difficult questions that any in their recent past. Interestingly, the majority of the titles were composed by the two founding members but the addition of a new guitarist and drummer seems to have added a spark to the execution. Renske seems to have this gift of detaching his vocal melodies from the rhythm section which is proving the real winner ingredient.

Whether in shuffle or in order, all the tracks generate a beautiful harmony and balance, bringing a feeling of cohesion. At the end of the record, it all sounds like one piece and song titles don't matter. The slight oriental twists and addition of snippets of death/black metal atmosphere (e.g. Passer, reminiscent of their early days) provides a flavour of unexpected. Further to Opeth, the listener can discover resemblance to Tool and Soen. Picking out favourites is difficult and often a good sign. Invest without hesitation.

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