Customer Reviews

Brave Murder Day / For Funerals to Come

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the album where Katatonia nailed the sound of their dark, depressing metal. As far as I can tell, they have done nothing better than _Brave Murder Day_, before nor since. I also find it quite accessible compared to their other works.

This is an album truly greater than the sum of its parts. Distant, simple production, elementary guitar melodies and riffs that would probably look very dry on paper, drums and bass that are entirely bereft of frills and serving the purely utilitarian purpose of rhythmic anchor -- overall, it would seem like rather basic, amateurish stuff. And yet the end results are really amazing. Firstly, the atmosphere of this album -- generated by the melodic quality of the riffs, the dreary production sound, cold sterile rhythm section, and despondent sludgy walls of guitar -- is incredibly arresting. It is the synaesthesia of gray, which is coterminous with its sense of being "rainy day" music (listening to this album is greatly complemented by proper environment). Also the songs are perfectly executed through their structure. Songs tend to be relatively long, usually 6+ minutes, flowing through 'movements' rather than verses and choruses. Usually a key theme is repeated to resolve the song and bring a degree of added emotional clarity. The whole album is characterized by its highly economical, mood-intensive arrangements. Even though different sections may not be related to others musically, the overall emotional flow and mood-sustaining arc makes it very effective. In "Brave", the beginning and end of the piece is a riff that is almost overwrought and 'washing,' and yet when it returns at the resolution of the song it is haunting and powerful both because of its familiarity and because of the sense of resolution it brings. The starry 4/4 sprinkled guitar notes of the middle section, melodic metal frame, and the intense performance of Mikael Akerfeldt all enhance the power of the song's flow. Of course, it is also very important that Akerfeldt does the growled vocals on this album. The album is about 80% growling and this is possibly the best vocal performance of Akerfeldt (from Opeth, by the way, if you don't know) that I have heard to date. Tormented, emotive, and raw, he is integral to this album's success. The other songs aren't really worth describing entirely, since they are basically just variations on the theme, so to speak, but they are all effective, especially the distinctive loud-soft dynamics of "12" (although it's a bit of overkill on the last riff there). One track is notably different: "Day", where the band makes one of the most hypnotic metal 'ballads' out of relatively pedestrian Pod-ish guitar effects, basic chord progressions, a singer who sounds like he's about to keel over and die, and a dry static drum machine beat. "Endtime" uses some voice samples effectively, backed by ashen, somber arpeggios.

I have the version of _Brave Murder Day_ which also sports the EP _For Funerals to Come..._, which is an excellent complement to the main cd. "Funeral Weddings" and "Shades of Emerald Fields" are epic, melodic, and dreary. Unfortunately they have a few cheesy Iron Maiden-ish riffs that don't totally gel with the band's mood, but for the most part it works beautifully. The EP's title track is a mellow piece with clean electric guitar and some subtle background synths. "Epistel" is a basic noise experiment.

_Brave Murder Day_ is a fine accomplishment. If you don't like the growly vocals though, one might prefer to stick with Katatonia's albums from _Discouraged Ones_ forward (no growls, more 'gothic' sounding).

While I a normally listen to more technical music than Katatonia, such as Meshuggah or Cynic, I felt that, theoretically, minimalism could be also employed for powerful artistic expression. When I got this album I realized that my theory had been proven, and I am very grateful for it. I love the simple, straightforward playing nearly all in eighth notes because it lends an amazing continuity to the album. However, while the playing is minimal, the songwriting is not. Granted, riffs are repeated several times, allowing you to feel immersed in their plaintive churning, but songs on Brave Murder Day can be found full of interesting key and tempo changes. The song structures themselves are also not at all standard, except for "Day" which is not radically standard, but relatively normal compared to the others. From what I have heard of Katatonia's other albums, I have a feeling this will be by far my favorite, mainly because of the amazing presence of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. His voice could be categorized as death metal, but he uses it as a beautiful texture to layer over the instruments. He can hold a growl for a very long time, fading into amazing waves of white noise. As opposed to expressing singleminded fury, his singing sounds very sorrowful and vulnerable. I would recommend this album to anyone, especially if they were feeling very depressed, because although sad, it lends consolation in the fact that someone had to be at least as depressed as anyone else to create an album of such despondent majesty, and they can share your feelings.

Some fans were extremely disappointed after Katatonia decided to explore more alternative yet equally dark areas after releasing the Sounds of Decay EP (which was basically the counterpart of Brave Murder Day). I personally believe after creating a masterpiece like this, there was nothing left for them to achive in this genre, so they decided to pursue more depressing music with all clean vocals, distinguishing themselves from hundreds of other bands. It would be best to think of Katatonia in two phases: their earlier doom-death period with albums like Dance of December Souls and Brave Murder Day as well as several EPs, and their more recent starting with the release of Discouraged Ones. Both eras of the bands are amazing, though I feel Brave Murder Day will always remain as most people's number one album.

For their second full-length album, the band decided to enlist the help of their friend Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth to do the vocals, since Jonas Renkse was unable to produce any harsh vocals at the time. I've always argued that Brave Murder Day contains Mikael Akerfeldt's best vocal peformance (outside Opeth that is), as he's never sung with so much pain and emotion before or after. He sure has improved a lot over the years, both as a growler and clean singer, but his vocals on this album are unparalleled.

The album starts with the 10-minute "Brave", perhaps the most definitive Brave Murder Day song. Grey guitar lines slowly dissolve during tense, mournful passages thanks to the distant, simple production of Opeth's and Katatonia's earlier producer Dan Swano. The whole album is laced with repeated key themes, which show little variation on the following songs, giving the impression that they are just parts of a huge composition a la Edge of Sanity's Crimson (also featuring Mikael Akerfeldt as a guest). The growls on the piece are low and sound extremely tortured, climaxing during the line that says, "Wherever you are I am not". That is possibly Mikael Akerfeldt's longest and most emotional scream ever recorded. Add to this Blackheim's haunting guitar melody that keeps churning forever. Thus, a doom-death metal masterpiece is complete. "Murder" is perhaps the most simple cut on the album. Only half as long, slowly strummed guitar chords and a repetitive melody bring the piece an added clarity while Akerfeldt delivers the lyrics with utmost conviction.

"Day" features Jonas Renkse's clean voice from start to finish. Since Renkse played the drums on Brave Murder Day, they decided to use a static drum machine for this particular song. The guitars are repetitive in a hypnotic fashion. Granted Renkse has come a long way as singer over the last years (particularly from Last Fair Deal Gone Down onwards), his vocals on this track are very emotive and the "Let's stay here for a while" chorus is infectious. On the final track "Endtime", Renkse and Akerfeldt sing together, with Akerfeldt doing the growls (do I have to repeat you've never heard him growl like this before?) and Renkse the clean vocals. Mostly acoustic, the song bears effective guitar waves and a solemn, gloomy pace. On the other hand, "Rainroom" has a nice yet dark acoustic interlude and a very powerful guitar theme. "12" is the album's most progressive number, and in many ways similar to the first two Opeth albums, particularly Morningrise. The Dan Swano influence is impossible to overlook here, as the songs goes through several movements, ignoring any conventional songwriting formulas. The intro of this song is simply fantastic: utterly dark, it even destroys the smallest glimpse of hope. Huge, cascading doom riffs explode only to reinvent themselves with ever-changing chord progressions (though it's all done so subtly that you may not understand anything upon first listen).

If you get the re-release of Brave Murder Day, you'll also hear the For Funerals to Come EP, consisting of four tracks, featuring original singer Jonas Renkse. This is a great EP with some great songs, but Renkse's harsh vocals simply pale in comparison to Akerfeldt's, both on this album and its successor: the Sounds of Decay EP.

All in all, this album is easily a milestone in doom-death and quite possibly the favourite album of most Katatonia fans.

As the title of this review states. And proclaim this to be true emphatically. What Katatonia achieve on this record with just guitars, bass and drums is nothing if not brilliant. The atmosphere is dark, gloomy and amazingly beautiful. My Dying Bride, Solitude Aeturnus and bands of that ilk are truly excellent, but BMD crushes them all. Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals are angry, sorrowful and brimming with despair. The guitars weave in and out with each other in complete pain. This music has a cathartic effect on me, which can be a good experience, in that, it helps to release the mental and emotional heaviness that we all feel from time to time. One of my top 10 albums of all time. Get this now!!

First heard Katatonia in late 97 after this came out in the U.S. for the first time shortly after I first heard Opeth, and wanted it cause it had Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth, also Bloodbath) contributing the death vocals to go with Jonas doing clean vocals for the first time. A transitional release between Dance... and Discouraged Ones, this is still the first of many classics, with everything from from the beautiful acoustic "Day" to the more brutal but equally great "Rainroom" and "Endtime." A must for newer Katatonia listeners to check out. Go Sweden... again.

This is, hands down, Katatonia's best. Not only that, I would go as far as saying that it could possibly be one of the best that doom/death metal has to offer.

Mikael Akerfeldt's (from Opeth) performance on this album is simply incredible. Definitely one of the best in his career.

Brave Murder Day is one of the most depressing works of art ever to be released. Saturated with deep emotion and very heavy production. The amazingly poweful vocals tear at your soul and leave you crying... begging for more. The album includes a large dose of gothic influence, yet is one of the most original things you will ever hear. This album is not for shallow people, nor is it for those looking for something to get them excited and feeling happy.. This is an album to listen to.. and it will take your emotions out of your body, and examine them before your very eyes. The addon "For Funerals to Come" is an another brilliant MCD and it is great they attached it to the CD... Some term it "Funeral Metal".. but just know it is also dark and depressing, in an equally superb way.

What's this? Metal that never once tries to sound 'tough'; it's melancholic, forlorn in that windswept black metal way that feels like so cold, but with the none of the "evil" or the posturing. It's a thick, textured wall of sound, but there is no real aggression. Rough, raw, and low budget but strangely restrained... the band never plays faster than mid-paced, the playing is subdued, simple and tasteful, almost as if out of respect for some kind of loss or death.

If you liked the youthful, emotive, overwhelmed feeling of the first two Opeth records, you must have this immediately. Rarely do such sensitive, romantic artists (with not a violent bone in their bodies) end up creating metal. This album is simpler than "Morningrise" or "Orchid", though, and also even more rainy in feeling. The fat is trimmed off, but it's no less of a cathartic experience. It's really amazing what they can do with a few simple chords strummed in a straight ahead 4/4 rhythm. Beautiful, haunting leads appear often as well. The album is driven by the sound of the guitar. The distortion is warm and thick, but never harsh, and envelops you like the womb. Mikael Akerfeldt of the aforementioned Opeth handles the harsher vocals. His performance is pushed to the back of the mix, which is perfect for this kind of music. His hollow mid-frequencies growls have the same pained immediacy they had on "Morningrise", and with this he easily compensates for anything he might have lacked in polish and throat control at this time in his career.

The reverberant, chorused ballad "Day" foreshadows the melancholic alt rock the band has made ever since they abandoned metal with 3rd album Discouraged Ones. Their later, non-metal material really does possess the same mood as this early material, and it's obvious the band had already been exposed to the gothic, chronic depression of The Cure and others at this point in time. These days, though, the band often takes the easy way out with tired verse/chorus/verse song structures. On "Brave Murder Day", the songs average between 5 and 10 minutes, and develop through many beautiful harmonized sections. Because of this "Brave Murder Day" may always be the band's most mature and ambitious statement, and their crowning achievement.

The heavier tracks are all stylistically similar, which in this case is a good thing, as it nicely creates a strong sense of unifying theme. All the tracks are solid. There's the eerily nostalgic supernatural fire and beautiful clean guitar tones of the closer "Endtime", the plodding relentlessness of the 10 minute "Brave"...

In conclusion, this is a fantastic album that crosses several subgenres, from symphonic black metal to melo-death to melancholic alternative rock. If you like your metal more emotive and sentimental, need an album for the Fall months or just can't get enough of Opeth's "Morningrise", you need this album. Really, anyone who appreciates metal that goes for musicality rather than sheer speed or brutality should check it out. It's a true gem. 5 stars.

With this release Katatonia went away from their Doomy roots and released a more simple album(really simple) but retaining the sadness and bleakness they had in the past....the music is simple with the lead guitar ala Paradise Lost taking the main sound....and i have to say that it works perfectly....the guitar sound breads lethargic harmonies and sometimes leave a hypnotizing mark on the listener....
even though the sound in this simple is weak(the production could be better) i think it was strategically made to sound this way...the sound helps the atmosphere to get more bleak and more sad...the vocals are all death metal and are done by the singer from Opeth..this guy makes the best death metal vocals for sure...only one track break this rule with clean vocals done by Jonas Renske...a masterpiece to be listened in rainy autumn days...
1.Brave-this track is a good opening track cause bassicly shows all the album has to say...the guitar work is surely impressing..10/10
2.Murder-a shorter track with a straight forward riff that rocks...again the guitar work is impressing and the vocals are cool...10/10
3.Day-this is something that will surprize you...cause it is a really sad song sung with clean vocals..the lyrics are outstanding...it has a gothic feel...but works soo nice..9/10
4.Rainroom-this track sounds more like the first two...but breeds more despair with it's faster riffs 9/10
5.12-this is a more doomy track...but is gets better and better at the end....even though is my least favourite on this album...works nice..7/10
6.Endtime-this track has one of the most beautiful guitar work i have ever heard...a really cool track,again more doomy..the intro is sooo sad and beautiful.... 10/10

finally this album is an elegant way to express emotional decay......it's a cult album and a classic among the european fans ....of course who love sad music...
my advice is to buy it...but you could listen to it first.....

This is it. It's Katatonia's finest moment in what is a fantastic musical career. I think it's the album where they really found their perfect sound and clicked as a band. Everything the band released previously, while very good, had moments of awkwardness and imperfection. Everything they've released since, while fairly incomparable due to its difference in style (the "Sounds of Decay" EP excluded) simply cannot match this album for emotional depth and exquisite beauty.

Every time I put "Brave Murder Day" on it captivates me. The band utilizes minor keys consistently to grasp at my emotions and beautiful harmonies that make me feel like weeping with happiness. They use hypnotic repetitious themes to get under my skin, and then various interludes and slight changeups to hold me in a state of trance-like rapture.

Blackheim and Fredrik's guitar work is absolutely awesome. Their mid paced riffing and lead work is what makes "Brave Murder Day" work so astoundingly well. They manage to create an extremely dark and desperate mood, without ever plodding into boredom territory. Borrowing Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth for vocal duties, whom I consider to be one of metal's best vocalists, only adds to the brilliance with his tortured guttural outbursts taking their previous sound to a totally new level. Jonas' drumming deserves mention also. While he never reaches high levels of technicality, he proves that less is more when it comes to death / doom metal, adding minor double bass sections and cymbal variances regularly, yet at all the right times to be effective.

If you have even the slightest tendencies towards doomy death metal, then "Brave Murder Day" is a completely essential album, sitting at the very top of the genre alongside My Dying Bride and Saturnus. It also stands as one of my very favourite albums of any genre...ever! Future Katatonia albums would travel a different path (one less aggressive, yet still filled with loss and despair), which I can only see as a fairly decent decision, as it would be futile to even attempt to make a better album in this style than "Brave Murder Day".