Viva Emptiness (Reis)

Katatonia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Peaceville UK
• ASIN: B0006NCWH0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,103 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Regarded by many, including the band themselves, as Katatonia's finest album, originally released in 2003, this is a special digipak reissue. Peaceville. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing, June 1, 2004

By 

opy666 (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viva Emptiness (Audio CD)

Being bored to tears of the American music scene, listening to pretty much only Tool, I came across Opeth last year and immediately bought all of their CDs and have listened to little else for many months. Since then I have been scouring the internet, when I had a chance, hoping to find another Opeth. This has proved far more daunting that I originally thought it would. I have searched for, and listened to, internet samples of scores of bands and just have not found anything that compares to the brilliance of Opeth and Tool. Don't get me wrong, I have found several solid bands in genres such as death metal, gothic metal, power metal, black metal, etc, etc...whatever you want to call them, mostly from northern Europe. But nothing as addictive as the two afore-mentioned bands. But last week I came across Katatonia and thought I had seen an Opeth member wearing one of their T-shirts so of course I had to check them out. I went out and bought Viva Emptiness and it is all I have listened to for a week now. I am a big Cure fan, especially their more depressing stuff, like Pornography and Faith and Disintigration. I liken this to the Cure on steroids. Meloncholy Metal? Whatever you want to call it, it is awesome stuff. Jonas' voice is perfect and the music is fantastically dismal yet dense and catchy at the same time. Check this group out. I must warn though that I have listened to a lot of their stuff now and really only like the latest releases that sound more like this CD. I don't really care a lot for their older death metal material. It is OK but nothing stellar in that genre...and the death vocals are kind of weak in my opinion, but of course after listening to Opeth all other death metal style vocals sound weak I guess. If anyone can growl like Akerfeldt, I have yet to hear them.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Katatonia are like Tool meets Venom with a little Pink Floyd thrown in there, March 13, 2008

By 

Michael Pardi "mikeonis" (Los Angeles, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Viva Emptiness (Reis) (Audio CD)

Katatonia is probably THE most unique band in the underground metal scene, I wish these guys could get more recognition than they do. Their style is a mix between heavy and somber, slow and mid-paced, with mainly clean vocals and mainly distorted guitar, but they use the clean guitars a lot more often than their peers. There is some incredible songwriting on this release, lots of dual guitar work but not what you'd expect. They are as progressive as Tool or Dream Theater, heavy as Venom or "...Puppets" era Metallica, somber like Opeth or Pink Floyd, but also sometimes catchy like Black Sabbath, CKY, Black Label Society or Lacuna Coil. If you like ANY of the bands I mentioned, or bands like Perfect Circle, Rush, even Korn, Godsmack or Disturbed, you will definitely like Katatonia!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Katatonia : "Viva Emptiness", July 10, 2004

By 

Masked Jackal (Ft. Lauderdale, FL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viva Emptiness (Audio CD)

This is the first Katatonia release I've purchaced. I am very impressed. "Viva Emptiness" has a very emotional feel to it, and the songs really grow on you. Iwas very sceptical at first listen, but over time, I've come to appreciate this, and hold it in very high regard....

There is no doubt that Katatonia knows how to attract various listeners of different Metal styles. I've been a metalhead for over 20 years now, and I've experimented with almost every scene from Maiden to Rush to Opeth to Motely Crue to The Cure. I'd have to say that Katatonia is a great blend of all types, and if you have an open mind towards different types, you should find "Viva Emptiness" not only unique, but very enjoyable...

Enjoy....