Peaceville UK
2003
Viva Emptiness
About This Album
The kings of Swedish heavy rock and doom and gloom pop return with perhaps their strongest outing yet. Two years after its last release, Katatonia has issued the most balanced, forward-looking record of the band's career. While Discouraged Ones established a niche for the group in the U.S. and marked a turn from the dark metallic mayhem of earlier records Dance of December Souls and Brave Murder Day, it was 2000's Tonight's Decision and 2001's Last Fair Deal Gone Down that carved out the uniqueness of the band's sound. Here are equal parts dark gothic pop, crushing heavy rock, textured keyboards, lithe pop melodies, beautifully crafted songs with unique dynamics and sculpted sonic environments to surround them, and bleak, even morose subject matter. While it's true that fans of the band's earliest material may not return to the fold with Viva Emptiness, those who have arrived since Discouraged Ones will be even more enthralled. The major difference between Viva Emptiness and its immediate predecessors is that the band has brought a more rockist edge to even out the textural soundscapes. This one is definitely heavier -- check out the bone-crushing intro on "Will I Arrive" or the bridge on the refrains on the album-opener "Ghost of the Sun.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,6,9,10 and 13)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.