| Reviews for Katatonia (Swe)'s Jhva Elohim Meth... the Revival |
| God is dead and shall forever be! - 75% |
| Written by Sean16
on June 7th, 2006
|
| Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival is above all a very cold, haunting and puzzling release. The whole “package” itself is misleading: an odd esoteric title, a pentagram in the logo, evil nicknames of the musicians, and songs called Without God, Palace of Frost or The Northern Silence. Admitting it’s possible to find someone who’s never heard of Katatonia before, this person would most probably mistake this album for being what it’s not. Now if one looks beyond all the “evil” wrapping, this EP is not really different from the works of early Paradise Lost and the likes, what is generally known as death/doom metal. Katatonia only made it a bit more aggressive, especially in the vocal department, where Lord Seth (a.k.a Jonas Renske, the same Renske who a few years later will deliver so annoying pop-ish vocals) always sounds like he was fighting against, well, the whole world, ever shouting, growling and groaning in the most desperate fashion. To be honest though, he’s never been one of the greatest vocalists ever, and the way he seems to spit anything he says may get on some of the listeners’ nerves, but at least he fits well with the music. So concerning the music in itself, Katatonia took their distance from their death/doom masters first by making it sound more technical, almost progressive sometimes with complex structures and occasional solos, sometimes reminding more of My Dying Bride. Without forgetting the addition of more atmospheric elements like the rain samples of the Crimson Tears outro or, more important, the discrete but ever present freezing keyboards played by Day Disyhrah/Dan Swanö which, more than all the aforementioned evil gimmick, give a black-ish feeling to this work. What prevents me from hailing this release as a true masterpiece is that, after all, this remains only an EP. There is one track here which undoubtedly overwhelms any other: the seven minutes long Without God, slow, majestic but disturbing tune which reaches its climax in one of the best bass solos to ever show up in metal history. The thing is, this song is also included on the godly Dance of December Souls, in a very similar version. The specialist may argue that of course, this earlier work shows rawer production and punctual variations as in the bass solo, but the overall length, structure and lyrics are all untouched, what eventually give this EP version nothing more than historical value. Without considering the Prologue and Epilogue, the two other genuine tracks are fully enjoyable but can’t hold a candle to the material on Dance of December Souls as well. Palace of Frost sounds like a shorter and less inspired version of Without God, and The Northern Silence, while being more innovative with punctual clean vocals experiments and acoustic guitars which create an eerie feeling, is unfortunately too short (3:59) to be considered as a serious death/doom tune. This EP is nonetheless an excellent, though short, work which remind us of the great band Katatonia once was, but again, giving it more than a 80 would imply giving a 100 to Dance of December Souls, of which this is only a nice foretaste. |
| Perfection...Black/Doom Metal Dawns - 100% |
| Written by adastra318
on December 11th, 2005
|
| This album marks the dawning of a new genre, that being Black Doom Metal. At the time of its release, it must have sent shockwaves through the Doom Metal community. This was an epic album, breaking all traditional bonds in likeness of early Sabbath or Pentagram, and left a permanent imprint all its' own. From the instant Katatonia set loose this CD, they've been referred to as nothing less than Gods among Doom Metal fans, and I am no exception to that rule. This five track offering lets us take a first look at the early days of the legendary band we know today, Katatonia. Now, I for one am usually not a fan of the short, meaningless introduction tracks that have come to be all too popular. However, "Midwinter Gates" (formerly entitled "Midwinter Intergates" on the original demo) is a quite interesting prelude on acoustic guitar with an atmospheric backdrop that shifts with a jolt into "Without God"; but that’s in a good way, don't misunderstand me. It leaves a certain sign of unpredictability from the get-go, a characteristic so many bands seem to have carelessly tossed aside. Each track has strategically placed time, tempo and mood shifts done with grandeur and ease. Every riff, every word, and every drum fill is accomplished through tremendous walls of emotion. It's more than safe to say you'd have a hard time finding a group with as much feeling anywhere else. Blakkheim, now known as Anders Nystrom, has displayed that he is more than capable of wielding his guitar or his bass. He displays true mastery, and a sense of unique manipulation with his instruments rights from the start of Katatonia's career. I've found myself often playing the song "Without God" whenever I pick up a guitar, just because I hold the simplistic, yet captivating riffs so close to my heart. I love it for its brilliance, and it shows that you don't need technical over the top guitar solos to be held as a true master of an instrument. This is a quality that I, myself, have just come to accept and realize not long ago. My appreciation for guitarist such as Nystrom has grown hundred-fold in the past few months. I've finally learned that originality rises above technicality. Some of his passages on guitar, as in "Palace of Frost" here, are some of the most depressing, weeping guitar riffs ever invented. They are also in a way very haunting, but most of all you'll find them to be unforgettable. Another prime example of his genius is the bass-line approximately 53 seconds into "The Northern Silence". This is without a doubt, one of the best and most unique I've yet to come across. Also, another notable feature of the songwriting on that track is the acoustic guitar which is placed perfectly beneath the heavier overtone of the electric guitar which soars over it in all its splendor. There are many things you may notice on this album, but one thing you're sure to find is the attention to detail. I feel it necessary to compare this trait to the feature I love so much about Arcturus. Every time you listen to this CD, you seem to hear something you hadn’t noticed or heard before. Some things you wouldn't even recognize until the fourth or fifth time through, which I find amazing and extremely interesting. Once you hear everything that lies beneath the surface of this album, combined with already astounding skin layer of this masterpiece, you have one hell of a CD. "Crimson Tears" closes this CD wonderfully as well. As I said before, I'm not usually a fan of intro songs, or outro songs for that matter, but these two are just absolutely necessary here. They bring the CD a new meaning and feeling, as if you enter and exit a realm all its own, a place where Katatonia just play, and you just listen. The fact that there are only three members for this recording only heightens my respect for them. Each member for this album played two or more instruments for this CD, showing how versatile each member truly is. It's funny to see how each member used an alias as many Black Metal band members usually do. Anders Nystrom is "Blakkheim" (which is full-time alias he uses in Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renske is "Lord Seth", and Dan Swano is "Day Disyrah". To be honest, I'm not sure if that is part of Sawno's name, because in the credit information, it states, Day Disyrah (Swano) does all keyboards. I've never heard it mentioned other than this album, so I thought it was cool little fact I didn't realize before. It throws in the Black Metal aspects, or 'ties' if you will, that have been what appears to be forgotten among so may of their fans. I often wonder, has there ever been a greater duo than Nystrom and Renske? Over and over my answer comes with a resounding 'no'. These two have been at it for 14 years now, and are still perfect together. They are just as dynamic in every aspect with one another, musicianship obviously at the forefront of that list though. When you throw a name like Dan Swano as well, who is someone with more than enough experience to show, with over 20 bands on his resume, you have one hell of a fucking band. So, fans of later Katatonia, are advised. THIS IS NOT THE NEW KATATONIA, this is Black Doom Metal is the truest and most perfect of forms. Don't mistake me for saying new Katatonia is bad, they just aren't the passionate Doom-metallars they once were. So if you're looking to unearth the darkened and distant past of Katatonia, you've come to the right CD. (Jason Carnage) |
| Interesting debut... - 85% |
| Written by WitheringToSerenity
on March 29th, 2004
|
| Katatonia's debut EP is without a doubt an excellent piece of dark, extreme music with amazing melody and atmosphere. Defies easy classification(please dont make me laugh with more black metal comparisons. closest style is doom) and consists of excellent melodic riffs of Blackheim with tortured dark screams of Jonas Renske. Also employ keyboards which help to create a surreal atmosphere at times on this album. Melodic and memorable yet dark, punishing and extreme at the same time. The intro and epilogue set are excellent atmospheric pieces to open and finish the album. Especially the Crimson Tears epilogue, very beautiful piece with an endless stream of water flowing majestic keyboards. A true sound of beauty. One thing I wish this EP had was more songs. Without God is still easily one of Katatonia's best, but Dance of December Souls version was much better production, better vocal performances and overall the better of the two. Palace of Frost contains more excellent guitar harmonies courtesy of Blackheim and painfully growled vocals from Jonas Renske. Northern Silence Jonas experimented with clean vocals dubbed with his unique extreme vocal approach which ended up a great idea. As well as the inclusion of acoustic guitars blended with traditional extreme riffs. Most of these ideas would be further expanded on the masterpiece Dance of December Souls, but this is still one excellent debut which set the blueprint for that masterpiece. Dance of December Souls fans will not be disappointed by this album and I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys majestic beauty mixed with more extreme aspects of music. |