V

"V" is the fifth full-length studio album by Swedish progressive rock act Paatos. The album was released through Glassville Records in 2012. It´s the successor to "Breathing" from 2012. After returning from a successful tour supporting Riverside, Paatos went into the studio to begin recording what would become their fifth full-length studio album, but something went wrong and only four tracks were completed and the band split-up. The four new original compositions are featured on "V" along with a remix of one track from each of the four preceding album releases. So eight tracks and a total playing time of 37:58 minutes were the end to Paatos career.

Stylistically the new tracks continue the dark, heavy, and melancholic female led progressive rock style of the preceding releases, albeit maybe slightly harder rocking. It´s details though and this sounds very much like what came before and there´s still great diffences in dynamics between a relatively heavy and hard rocking track like "Desire" and the lighter and more uplifting "Cold War". Just as an example of the diversity of Paatos.

Remix tracks have never been something I could bother with, but the four remix tracks on "V" are stripped down and subdued versions of the original tracks (except "Your Misery" which is quite upbeat and energetic), which actually add another dimension to them. They aren´t necessarily better than the originals, but they are interesting enough to stand on their own. "V" is still a bit of an odd release as it ends up being a release which is somewhere between an album release and a compilation release, but aren´t really neither. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.