 |
| "Old Heart Falls" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Katatonia | ||||
| from the album The Fall of Hearts | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2015 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde rock | |||
| Length | 4:22 | |||
| Label | Peaceville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Katatonia singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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 . [1]
"Old Heart Falls" was released as the first single from Katatonia's tenth studio album, The Fall of Hearts . [2] [3] It was released on March 30, 2016, almost two months prior to the release of its respective album. [4] A music video was released for the track on the same date. [5] The video was centered around a man typing out the song's lyrics on an old typewriter. [6] Guitarist Anders Nystrom described the idea behind the video:
Knowing we didn’t want another ‘font circus’ with all these words and letters competing in Olympic acrobatics, we decided to make it extremely simple but also very real...30 years ago when we were active in the underground tape-trading scene, there were no computers around, so we had to write all our letters by hand, or when feeling extra motivated, we used a typewriter...I clearly remember writing letters on a typewriter with a ribbon directly to paper created a special feeling that no computer would ever emulate. [6]
The music video was created by Lasse Hoile, frequent video collaborator with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. [6]
Billboard reported that Renkse described the song as "lush textures, distinct dynamics, and memorable chorus", but that it wasn't meant to represent the sound of the entire album, which was not released at the time of the song's release. [7] AllMusic described the song's composition as containing "modal melody and syncopated dynamic structure, offers fat crescendoes and dropouts as swirling Mellotron strings, keyboard-simulated vibraphones, and a layers of reverb is cinematic in scope." [1] Lyrically, the song was noted for its said lyrics, with outlets like MetalSucks noting the lyrics appeared to be "full of lamenting one’s heartache and wondering why the world allows such agony to exist." [8] Encountering sorrow, and leaving behind one's dreams, are repeatedly alluded to over the course of the song. [9]
The song was generally well received by critics. In their dedicated song review, MetalSucks praised the song, but conceded that its lyrical content was "his song is super, super sad...sadder than Edgar Allan Poe", and that the music video accentuated the song's themes even further. [8] Similarly, Metal Injection, alluded to the song's gloominess, but concluded that "At no point should you even question if this song is going to be on repeat for the rest of the day, and if it's going to be stuck in your head for the next week. You know it will be, and you know it is." [10] Yell Magazine described the song as "tragically beautiful". [11]
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.
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.
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.
Tonight's Decision is the fourth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released in 1999 by Peaceville Records. It was reissued in 2003 with two bonus tracks.
Anders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim, is a Swedish musician.
Dance of December Souls is the debut studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It was released on CD in 1993 by No Fashion Records and LP by Helion Records, released in the US in 1999 by Century Black. In 2004, record label Black Lodge reissued the album with all new artwork, but the band has stated on its website that it does not support this release for personal reasons. In 2007, the album was reissued, this time under Peaceville UK with a blue version of the original cover and all five songs from the Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival EP appended as bonus tracks. In 2010, Svart Records released a double vinyl version, which also included all songs from the EP.
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.
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.
Jhva Elohim Meth is the debut EP by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, self-released in 1992.
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.
"Tonight's Music" is a song by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia, released in 2001 as the only single from their fifth studio album Last Fair Deal Gone Down.
"My Twin" is a 2006 single by the Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It was the first single off the band's seventh studio album, The Great Cold Distance. Charlie Granberg was in charge of directing the single's music video. The single charted at no. 9 on the Finnish music charts.
Brave Yester Days is the first compilation album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It contains the material from Katatonia's older era, mainly consisting of death/doom material, and a few alternative rock songs.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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".
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.