Dead End Kings

Katatonia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2012)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Peaceville UK
• ASIN: B0088TI9EO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,107 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2012 album from the Swedish Metal band. A continuation of 2009's inspired and acclaimed Night Is The New Day, as well as a leap forward into the unknown, Dead End Kings sees the quintet conjure yet another milestone in audio melancholy and angst. Amongst their most poignant and ambitious material to date, Dead End Kings was recorded at Ghost Ward Studios and The City Of Glass. Anders Nystr”m and Jonas Renkse took care of the album production themselves, while David Castillo, well known for his previous alliances with Katatonia, as well as Opeth and Bloodbath, was the man behind the album mix. Dead End Kings sees the recording debut of guitarist Per Eriksson for the band, together with recently recruited bassist Niklas Sandin. Additionally, Frank Default joins once more on sampling and atmospherics duties, while there is a very special guest appearance by Norwegian vocalist Silje Wergeland of Dutch legends The Gathering/ex Octavia Sperati.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Royalty of modern rock music August 28, 2012

By Jack

Format:Audio CD

Katatonia is one of those bands I just can not possibly get enough of. They have pretty much ruined rock music for me just by showing me how inferior all the other bands really are that I once loved. Now I am by no means a true "metal fan". I hate rock/metal music where the majority of the vocals are screamed, growled or grunted. If the singer isn't actually "singing", then it won't be for me (which is why I have always had to go to more mainstream rock bands or else female fronted bands such as Within Temptation, Autumn or Lacuna Coil to get the type of vocals that I love). Most male fronted bands outside the mainstream market usually have far superior music, but yet are fronted by a vocalist that I just do not like and therefore it has been extremely difficult for me to find a band who has a vocalist whom I love just as much as the musicians backing him. But Katatonia manages to work magic and make the darker music I crave accessible by having one of the most melodically soul soothing and beautifully haunting vocalists I have ever heard. And (unlike the mainstream bands) the music is just as engaging as their singer which creates a truly special sound that I can only describe as a "perfect balance", to where every band member provides equal talent. Needless to say, after their two latest masterpieces The Great Cold Distance and Night is the New Day (and since exploring their entire "clean vocal" era back discography) it should be no surprise that this was one of my most anticipated albums in years. And it does not disappoint (for the most part).

This album contains all of the critical sounds that first made me fall in love with Katatonia. Jonas still sings in his mesmerizingly captivating numb/defeated and downright sorrowful (yet ever-so-soothing) voice. Daniel still lays down some of the most hypnotic rhythms I have heard in drumming since Tool's Danny Carey and Anders still seems utterly incapable of composing a single "bad" song or guitar riff/melody that I don't love to some degree (an exceptionally rare skill). This album also welcomes two brand new faces to the band after the unfortunate departure of the Norrman brothers. And they can deliver the goods when the times come (I was especially impressed with a nice guitar solo in 'Lethean', which is not common in Katatonia). Quite honestly, if you played this album for me without telling me first that the Norrmans were no longer in the band, I would have had a hard time picking up on that fact on my own. Songs like 'First Prayer', 'The Racing Heart' and 'Buildings' have some of the most powerful chorus hooks Katatonia has ever created and really the solemn, brooding atmosphere just bleeds from all of these songs. Everyone involved succeeded in creating (for me at least) Katatonia's 7th stunning album in a row (something even my beloved Tool or even Metallica have not been able to accomplish) and that alone is worthy of some major respect.

So with that being said, are there any negatives? Well that depends. I do feel that there could have been a few more heavier songs in the vein of 'Dead Letters', 'Buildings', 'Hypnone' and 'Lethean' on this album. A lot of the songs I feel rely too much on mellotron instrumentation during the verses to where a few songs even sound similar to one another due to the same formula and structure being used where the verses are softer electronic beats with a heavier chorus hook (usually done only twice in each song...much like on their last album). It's not a bad thing because I love the somber, atmospheric sound of the mellotron, but I also miss some of the more "organic" songs from their older albums where they didn't rely so much on the electronic elements in nearly all the verses. Also, while I feel Jonas has greatly improved (even perfected) his vocal style over the last three albums; you truthfully will not hear many new harmonies or techniques offered in his vocals on this album either, as he sings pretty much exactly in the same tone that he did on the prior two releases (which again isn't a bad thing but I wouldn't mind hearing what else his voice can do). The guest appearance by Silje Wergeland from The Gathering and Octavia Sperati brought some welcome variety to the vocals which added an ethereal and positively chilling result to the song 'The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here'. I had always wanted to hear Jonas sing with a female vocalist and this song finally delivered on that desire.

Overall, with those (very minor) "qualms" out of the way, it is next to impossible for me to rate this album as anything less than a perfect 5 out of 5 due to the fact that there are just not that many bands still out there who can deliver top quality albums over and over again the way that Katatonia has. Also, the fact that they offered the strongly recommended, complete version of Dead End Kings (Special Limited Book Edition) with all 13 studio session tracks included (something that I wish ALL bands would do), was extremely important to me and therefore only helped to make this an album that has so much good to offer that it far outweighs any petty complaints I could conjure up. In addition to the aforementioned two extra songs 'Second' and 'The Act Of Darkening' (which displays quite a different style for Katatonia), the "Book Edition" also offers a gorgeous hardcover book filled with album artwork, a 5.1 dvd mix as well as two vinyls of the main 11 songs. Now, is this my top favorite album by Katatonia? It is far too early for me to answer that just yet. But one thing to me is certain: I truly believe that Katatonia are indeed the "dead end kings" of rock music that they claim and that they have completely proven that they are more than deserving of their crowns.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Night is the New Day part deux is here! August 28, 2012

By Justin W

Format:Audio CD

I can't even describe it for someone who has never heard them, but if you fell in love with Night is the New Day -- you will not be disappointed! I think Katatonia realized it was the greatest achievement of their lives musically, given how much everyone ate it up, and proceeded to create an album that -- while entirely fresh -- is every bit as wonderful and genius as their past success. All the songs of these two CDs could be interchanged between albums and nothing would be out of place, it is the same wonderful, dark, haunting, musical feeling. If you are a metal fan who sometimes feels not in the mood for so much thrashing... this is the perfect medicine for your dark soul. It is to metal as chill is to trance.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Viva Emptiness meets Night Is The New Day? August 28, 2012

By David Parker

Format:Audio CD

A lot of the advance reviews of Katatonia's latest pretty much hit it square on the head for me: a solid follow-up to the stunning "Night is the new day", but a little too much of the same approach, too much of the time. Still relying on the mellower side of the band, those hoping for a heavier follow-up (a la "The great cold distance") will be slightly disappointed. While a few songs rely on the heavy chording of the earlier albums, for the most part, this is not only a mirror image of the composition of "NITND", but is even more reliant sonically on the prog direction taken on the latest efforts from soul/tourmates Opeth. And while Jonas Renske's vocals still hinge on the distant, mournful approach found on all their latest albums, a newer take on the singing would have been welcome. Perhaps the loss of the two founding Norrman brothers is part of the reason this album sounds a bit too similar to the last, not having their long-time creative input. But still, this IS Katatonia, one of the most creative and challenging "metal" bands out there now, and even the "same ol' same ol'" with them is better than 90% of what's out there. And on subsequent listens, I may change my mind entirely!!