Album Review: Katatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
When it was announced that co-founding member and ever-present guitarist, Anders Nyström, had departed Swedish legends, Katatonia, after nearly thirty-five years with the band, brows were furrowed as to how long-time musical partner, Jonas Renkse, would fare as the sole hand on the tiller. If stories are to be believed, Anders wanted to take Katatonia back to its more doomy roots, while Jonas wanted to push on in the direction the band have been following since 1998’s Discouraged Ones.
Maintaining the rhythm section of Nilas Sandin and drummer Daniel Moilanen, which have provided the foundation for the band since Fall of Hearts, Jonas has been swift in recruiting a new guitar duo to take the band forward. Nico Elgstrand had been a touring member since before the band played their sets at Damnation 2023, and Sebastian Svalland has been part of the set up since June 2024.
However, for the first time, the weight of the Katatonia legacy is now solely in Jonas’ hands; but, after a dozen records, it certainly ain’t his first rodeo, and Nightmare as Extensions of the Waking State is proof that the Katatonia legacy is assured under his custody.
As good as both City Burials and A Sky Void of Stars are, this new album feels as though things have been turned up a notch, and you get the feeling that this is Jonas’ most personal record yet. Lead single, Lilac, has the dichotomy of being achingly morose at times, while revealing in the uplifting guitars; the skipping, asynchronous beats and soul-searching vibes give the effect of it being a moment of change for the band, when the past had been untethered for a better word, and they are free to pursue other areas.
The combination of heavy drum and wistful guitars, completed by a lush vocal line at the beginning of album opener, Thrice, show the band still operate in that space where light and shade meet; at times it comes across as some of the most aggressive work Katatonia have recorded in a while, at others the ambience of the track carry you away on waves of serenity.
More aggression can be found on Temporal, where a heavy riff and screaming guitars sit in direct opposition to lilting melodies and progressive nature; Winds of No Change enhances the gothic sounds of The Liquid Eye by turning everything up, through dark atmospherics and Hammer Horror style aesthetics, even down to the “Hail Satan” of the chorus.
It’s fair to suggest the focus on Nightmares… will settle on Jonas and his choice of guitarists, but that would be to overlook the stellar contributions from Daniel and Nilas. The progressive nature of Departure Trails would be fractured were it not for the anchoring function of the bass; in fact, the work of Nilas across all ten songs here, is an exemplar of the less is more consideration of composition. Warden finds the pair in perfect harmony, giving the rest of the band the space to construct a hook-laden bridge and a humongous blast of a finale.
Props to Nico and Sebastian for having the fortitude to step into the sizeable shoes left by Anders’ departure, but whether it’s the loose jamming feel of The Light Which I Bleed, the pounding chugs of Thrice, or the playfully tripping moments in Warden and elsewhere, theirs’ is a marker laid down to signify the beginning of Katatonia’s next phase.
To show Jonas has lost none of his adventurous nature, Efter Solen finds him giving a rare Swedish vocal, with synth-rock project, Korda collaborator Joakim Karlsson; it’s an ambient piece that brings many of the record’s ideas to a finishing point.
The final track is In the Event of… and gives some explanation of the lengthy album title and its artwork when it is considered to be the result of a decade-old nightmare that had festered in Jonas’ imagination. Sharp guitars and throbbing bass carry the song from the outset; wild bends and demonic soloing up the tempo and bring it to a crescendo, before marking time on both the tune and the record.
It doesn’t seem like it’s been two-years since Sky Void of Stars was released and much had happened in the Katatonia camp in the meantime. But such is the unbridled creativity of the band that Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State feels like it could have been years in the making.
As with all Katatonia’s records, it’s one that will grow and give up its secrets over time and repeated exposure. With a new album and a December tour, it seems Jonas and company are moving full steam ahead.
