LAST FAIR DEAL GONE DOWN

There is a particularly morbid and even depressive quality to the music of Katatonia's fifth studio album 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', a peculiarity that characterizes this album much more than any other release by the band, an omnipresent melancholic, dark aspect in the way the album has been conceived and constructed that has never been replicated on the following releases, quite heavy and dark in their own respect, too. However, this release marks an important stylistic shift for the band, as the Swedish outlet led by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström swiftly move away from their earlier death-doom and goth tropes towards a more alternative metal direction, with a sound that preserves the gloominess of early Katatonia but the music is given a more contemporary spin. I could imagine how the brooding sounds of this release might have been influential to an extent to Porcupine Tree or eventually Anathema and Pain of Salvation and what they were doing later on in the decade (all of this is in the domain of speculation, of course).

Being the band's fifth album, the sound and production of 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' are apparently more mature and professional and while Katatonia had been toying with alternative metal on preceding albums, it is this one that truly encapsulated and portrays their new direction. The result is an incredibly solid, diverse and intricate album, much more streamlined and experimental in a way, too, marking what would become the first really solid lineup of the Swedish metal act. The personal themes of the album, linked naturally to band leader Jonas Renkse's experience in life, further allow each song to have a more distinct character as each track becomes a little story on its own, either fictional or reflecting Renkse's personal problems. All this results in an incredibly intense and melancholic album, a cathartic experience that could rarely be replicated by another album or artist. On an album where each track is a highlight by itself, particularly strong and memorable pieces include the opening track 'Dispossession', 'We Must Bury You', 'Teargas', 'Tonight's Music', 'The Future of Speech' and 'Sweet Nurse'. A powerful and emotive release by Katatonia that stands as one of their finest moments.