City Burials

Last updated

City Burials
Katatonia - City Burials 2020.jpg
Studio album by
Katatonia
Released24 April 2020
RecordedOctober–November 2019
StudioSoundtrade Studios, Tri-Lamb Studios, The City of Glass (Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre Progressive metal, [1] doom metal, [2] heavy metal [3]
Length48:32
Label Peaceville
Producer Jonas Renkse, Anders Nyström
Katatonia chronology
The Fall of Hearts
(2016)		City Burials
(2020)		 Sky Void of Stars
(2023)
Singles from City Burials
  1. "Lacquer"
    Released: 30 January 2020
  2. "Behind the Blood"
    Released: 19 March 2020
  3. "The Winter of Our Passing"
    Released: 22 April 2020

City Burials is the eleventh studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. The album continues the progressive rock direction used in recent albums while returning to some of their earlier metal instrumentation. Three singles were released in promotion of the album; "Lacquer", "Behind the Blood", and "The Winter of Our Passing".

Contents

Background

The album is their first in four years, since their 2016 album The Fall of Hearts , after entering a one-year hiatus in 2018. [4] The band cited guitarist Roger Öjersson being hospitalized by a serious back injury at the end of 2017, and a number of other undisclosed issues, for the band needing to take some time off and "re-evaluate what the future holds for the band." [5] In February 2019, the band announced their return, [6] and a year later, they announced City Burials and released its first single "Lacquer". [7]

Talking about the hiatus in an interview, vocalist Jonas Renkse explained: "We felt that we needed to recharge and get some perspective. Basically we did a lot of touring from previous albums and by the end of that, the last few gigs, I think we all felt that we were pretty sick of being away from home for such a long time. There were a lot of different reasons for doing this, but in the end, taking a few steps back to evaluate what you want to do next and have some time off is very healthy." [8]

Release and promotion

The album was released on 24 April 2020. The release date announcement came with the release of its first single "Lacquer" on 30 January [9] Two more singles have been released, along with music videos, for the tracks "Behind the Blood" on 19 March, [10] and "The Winter of Our Passing" on 22 April. [11] "The Winter of Our Passing" music video was animated by Costin Chiroeanu. Jonas Renkse states: "The letting go of what once was of great importance, now reduced to just another loss. Let's bow before the flame we've all deserted. But thank you for listening." [12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Blabbermouth.net 8/10 [1]
Distorted Sound6/10 [13]
Metal Injection9/10 [14]
Metal Storm 8.0/10 [15]

City Burials was met with positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek stated, "City Burials is not a reinvention, but it does contain periodic re-engagement with the steely dynamics of heavy metal. Along with excellent songwriting, and Renkse's greatest career-high album-length vocal performance, energize Katatonia, who remain vital and creative in their third decade." [3]

Johnny Sharp of Louder Sound (Metal Hammer) wrote an unrated track-by-track review detailing many of its songs. For example: "'Heart Set To Divide' delivers the kind of slow-building, emotionally charged pomp-prog that Katatonia have increasingly perfected over the course of their evolution from the swamps of early 90s doom metal. But we're also soon reminded that they've lost no teeth in their old age, as 'Behind The Blood' roars in with visceral force, wrapped in crackling, kinetic fretwork from (relatively) new boy Roger Öjersson. That track's intensity is then lifted further with a windswept tragic hero of a chorus, ending with the dramatic admission, 'I can feel you pierce my heart'." [16]

Accolades

Publications' year-end list appearances for City Burials
Critic/PublicationListRankRef.
Consequence of Sound Top 30 Metal/Hard Rock Albums of 202022 [17]
Louder Sound Top 50 best albums of 202040 [18]
Loudwire Top 70 Rock/Metal Albums of 2020N/A [19]
Metal Hammer The 50 best metal albums of 202035 [20]

Track listing

All songs written by Jonas Renkse.

No.TitleLength
1."Heart Set to Divide"5:29
2."Behind the Blood"4:37
3."Lacquer"4:42
4."Rein"4:20
5."The Winter of Our Passing"3:18
6."Vanishers"4:56
7."City Glaciers"5:30
8."Flicker"4:45
9."Lachesis"1:54
10."Neon Epitaph"4:32
11."Untrodden"4:29
Total length:48:32
Japanese edition bonus track [21]
No.TitleLength
12."Fighters" (Enter the Hunt cover)3:37
Total length:52:12
Limited mediabook edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Closing of the Sky"5:26
13."Fighters" (Enter the Hunt cover)3:37
Total length:57:31

Personnel

Katatonia
Other musicians
Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for City Burials
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [22] 10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23] 41
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [24] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [25] 6
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [26] 8
Polish Albums (ZPAV) [27] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [28] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] 12

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katatonia</span> Swedish heavy metal band

Katatonia is a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to add more band members for live performances, though outside of the band's founders, the lineup was a constantly changing, revolving door of musicians throughout the 1990s, notably including Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth for a period. After two death/doom albums, Dance of December Souls (1993) and Brave Murder Day (1996), problems with Renkse's vocal cords coupled with new musical influences led the band away from the screamed vocals of death metal to a more traditional, melodic form of heavy metal music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonas Renkse</span> Swedish musician

Jonas Petter Renkse is a Swedish musician in the bands Katatonia (1991–) as lead vocalist, founder, songwriter and formerly as drummer ; in Bloodbath (1998–) as bassist, founder, songwriter; and in Wisdom of Crowds (2013–) as co-vocalist.

<i>Brave Murder Day</i> 1996 studio album by Katatonia

Brave Murder Day is the second studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released on 1 August 1996 by Avantgarde Music. The lead vocals on the album are provided by Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, as Katatonia frontman Jonas Renkse was medically unable to perform screamed vocals anymore following health issues that arose from performing the band's debut. It was also the band's first album with second guitarist Fredrik Norrman.

<i>Discouraged Ones</i> 1998 studio album by Katatonia

Discouraged Ones is the third studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released on 27 April 1998. This is the only Katatonia album with bassist Micke Oretoft. It is also their last release with Jonas Renkse on drums; on future releases, he was the band's lead vocalist and contributed additional guitar work. According to Renkse, Discouraged Ones had sold roughly 20,000 copies as of 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anders Nyström</span> Swedish musician

Anders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim, is a Swedish musician.

<i>Last Fair Deal Gone Down</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Katatonia

Last Fair Deal Gone Down is the fifth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released in 2001 by Peaceville Records. The release was the first of a series of four albums done by the band with a stable line up of Jonas Renkse, Anders Nyström, Fredrik Norrman, Mattias Norrman, and Daniel Liljekvist, after years of lineup and role changes with prior albums.

<i>Viva Emptiness</i> 2003 studio album by Katatonia

Viva Emptiness is the sixth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released in 2003 by Peaceville Records. On the album's tenth anniversary in 2013, it was re-released, featuring a new mix, mastering and additional keyboard arrangements.

<i>The Great Cold Distance</i> 2006 studio album by Katatonia

The Great Cold Distance is the seventh studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released on 13 March 2006. The album was recorded and mixed at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro between May and August 2005.

<i>Live Consternation</i> 2007 live album by Katatonia

Live Consternation is the first live album and video by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released in both CD and DVD format through Peaceville Records on 28 May 2007. The double album features a live performance recorded at Germany's Summer Breeze Open Air festival, on 17 August 2006. The artwork was designed by Travis Smith and is close to the visual concept for The Great Cold Distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">October Tide</span> Swedish death/doom metal band

October Tide is a Swedish death/doom metal band that was created in 1994 by Katatonia vocalist Jonas Renkse and then-Katatonia guitarist Fred Norrman. Norrman revived the band after leaving Katatonia in 2009.

<i>Dead End Kings</i> 2012 studio album by Katatonia

Dead End Kings is the ninth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It was released on 27 August 2012 in Europe and 28 August in the United States through Peaceville Records. Like all Katatonia releases, the album was written primarily by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band went through a number of lineup changes, making the album the first to feature bassist Niklas Sandin, the only album to feature second guitarist Per Eriksson, and the last to feature drummer Daniel Liljekvist.

<i>Still Sucks</i> 2021 studio album by Limp Bizkit

Still Sucks is the sixth studio album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, released on October 31, 2021, through Suretone Records. Work on the album began in 2012, but the album lingered in development hell for the next nine years. The album's lead single "Dad Vibes" was premiered at the end of a performance at Lollapalooza on August 2, 2021, and officially released on September 30, 2021, marking their first brand-new material to be released for seven years.

<i>The Fall of Hearts</i> 2016 studio album by Katatonia

The Fall of Hearts is the tenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It was released on 20 May 2016. The album, mostly written and produced by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström, was the first to also feature new members Daniel Moilanen and Roger Öjersson. The album moved in a more progressive direction than prior albums, and was generally well received by critics. Two singles were released in promotion of the album, "Old Heart Falls", and "Serein".

<i>Kocytean</i> 2014 EP by Katatonia

Kocytean is the ninth EP by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. The album was released on April 19, 2014, as part of the 2014 iteration of Record Store Day. The release consists of a collection of six B-side songs from their prior three albums at the time – The Great Cold Distance (2006), Night is the New Day (2009), and Dead End Kings (2012). While given a limited release, it was still generally praised by critics.

"Serein" is a song by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It is the second single off of their tenth studio album The Fall of Hearts. The song title alludes to the concept of raining without clouds being visible.

"Old Heart Falls" is a song by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It is the first single off of their tenth studio album The Fall of Hearts.

<i>The Sin and the Sentence</i> 2017 studio album by Trivium

The Sin and the Sentence is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 20, 2017, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Josh Wilbur. The album is the first to feature fifth drummer Alex Bent, who replaced drummer Paul Wandtke. With the release of the album's title track, this album would also mark the return of frontman Matt Heafy's screaming vocals since the band's 2013 album Vengeance Falls, which were completely absent from the band's previous album Silence in the Snow due to an injury which caused Heafy to blow out his voice.

<i>To Drink from the Night Itself</i> 2018 studio album by At the Gates

To Drink from the Night Itself is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 18 May 2018 via Century Media. The album is the first to feature guitarist Jonas Stålhammar and the first without co-founding guitarist Anders Björler, who had departed from the band in March 2017.

<i>Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic</i> 2020 album by The Ocean

Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic is the eighth studio album by German post-metal band The Ocean. It was released on 25 September 2020 and is the second part of a concept album series exploring the Phanerozoic geological eon, the first part being Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic, which was released in 2018. The first two track titles each reference a period of the Mesozoic era, whereas the remaining six each reference a period of the Cenozoic era.

<i>Sky Void of Stars</i> 2023 studio album by Katatonia

Sky Void of Stars is the twelfth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It was released on 20 January 2023 and was generally well received by critics.

References

  1. 1 2 Gorania, Jay H. "CD Reviews - City Burials Katatonia". Blabbermouth.net . Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. ↑ Cordova, Daniel (24 April 2020). "THE WEEKLY INJECTION: New Releases From TRIVIUM, KATATONIA, and More Out Today - 4/24". Metal Injection. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Jurek, Thom. "City Burials - Katatonia". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Katatonia Announce 'Short-Term Hiatus' While They 'Re-Evaluate' the Band - MetalSucks". Metal Sucks. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Katatonia Re-Evaluating Future, Announce 'Short-Term Hiatus'". Loudwire . Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Katatonia End Hiatus, Announce Night Is the New Day Anniversary Tour". MetalSucks. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "KATATONIA Streams New Song 'Lacquer,' New Album In April". Metal Injection. 30 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Interview: Inside Katatonia's Hiatus, Comeback Album 'City Burials' + Jonas Renkse's Quarantine Projects". Loudwire . Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "Katatonia Return From Hiatus With New Song 'Lacquer' + 'City Burials' Album". Loudwire.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  10. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (19 March 2020). "Katatonia Share 'Behind The Blood' From Upcoming Album 'City Burials'". Invisible Oranges . Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (22 April 2020). "Katatonia Share New Song; New Album Out This Week". Invisible Oranges . Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "KATATONIA Releases Animated Music Video For 'The Winter Of Our Passing'". Blabbermouth.net . 24 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  13. ↑ Moar, Jack (23 April 2010). "ALBUM REVIEW: City Burials - Katatonia". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Album Review: KATATONIA City Burials". Metal Injection. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Katatonia - City Burials review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  16. ↑ Sharp, Johnny (23 April 2020). "Katatonia - City Burials review". Metal Hammer . Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound . 9 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Louder Sound . 17 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  19. ↑ Divita, Joe (30 November 2020). "The 70 Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2020". Loudwire . Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "The 50 best metal albums of 2020". Metal Hammer . Future plc. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "City Burials Katatonia CD Album". CDJapan. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Katatonia – City Burials" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Katatonia – City Burials" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "Albumit 18/2020". IFPI Finland . Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Katatonia – City Burials" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  26. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 18. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  27. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Katatonia – City Burials". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Katatonia – City Burials". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.