Search - Katatonia :: Dance of December Souls

Excellent

Twitch | 03/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I finally was able to get my hands on this cd and I must say it's one great album and I love their sound which is literarily unpresent on their later efforts. They deffinately achieved a lot with December Souls but at the same time, I was a little disappointed as it's not as doomy and dark as their "elohim meth" mcd which came before "dance" album. Some of the songs on that mcd don't even appear here that's why i'd rather give it four and 1/2 stars if that was an option. This is easily their best full length album. Later works are not that striking."

A Very Good Doom / Black Metal Record

Twitch | Atlanta, GA | 04/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Katatonia has always been about creating some of the most depressing and thought provoking music released, but unlike their modern stance - which is in the same genre as early Mogwai and Anathema - their earlier years were full of head on black metal magic with a strong and palpable doom sound. 'Dance of December Souls' is a landmark release for this genre, some how defining it. The aggressive growl present on this album is excellent, one of my personal favorites, also the death growl that accompanies several of the tracks is great as well - I personally wish that the singer did not depart from Katatonia. The guitars seem to be there to only texture the songs, it goes from your simple every-day riffs to a completely unexpected array of complexities. Probably the defining sound on this album comes from the bass. It seems to wrap around your body while listening to the album in its entirety, seemingly strangling you while at the same time comforting you. The songs are all incredebly heartfelt and wholy depressing, but always seem to get you to head bang and think at the same time. Granted, the lyrics are not close to as great as they are now, even at some points cheesey, but I personally think that they match perfectly with the record. The standout tracks are "Dancing December" and "Without God" (my personal favorite). 'Dance of December Souls' is easily Katatonia's best work right behind 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', a classic and a must listen to fans of doom."

A wonderful doom / death experience.

Ben Stubbs | Australia | 06/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Katatonia's debut full-length album takes off where their earlier EP "Jhva Elohim Meth... the Revival" ended. With a similar sound (yet superior production) and song structures, this is doom / death metal in its earliest form. Everything that impressed about the EP was expanded upon with "Dance of December Souls". 8 tracks of utterly desperate, tortured despair that is both morbidly crushing and exquisitely beautiful at the same time.



Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride can be heard in early Katatonia, and yet they most definitely captured their own sound. Lord J. Renkse's vocals are somewhere in between the black metal style and the more guttural death metal growl. He manages to sound both formidable and yet very human and vulnerable at the same time. But it's the keyboard and guitar work of Blackheim that make these early releases so special. His constantly stirring riffs and melodies are simply stunning and his atmosphere accumulating yet fairly uncomplicated keyboards are no less genius. Highlights for me are the two 13 minute tracks ("Velvet Thorns (of Drynwhyl)" and "Tomb of Insomnia") which give the band enough space to branch out creatively while holding to common themes.



While I find "Dance of December Souls" to be a wonderful album, it does not reach the heights that "Brave Murder Days" would do just a couple of years later. It is also worth mentioning that fans of the modern day Katatonia, being anything from 1998's "Discouraged Ones" onwards, may not find this to their liking as it's a far heavier, rawer form of metal. That's not to say you shouldn't check it out, as all the common Katatonia ingredients are in place, just cooked at a somewhat more extreme temperature. I personally have remained a fan from the very beginning right through to today, even though the band have dramatically transformed during that time.



If you like doom / death metal such as the bands mentioned earlier then this album is a highly recommended purchase."