Katatonia – The Fall Of Hearts – CD Review

I recently discovered a new word, “frisson”. It’s used to describe the goose bumps and chills you get when listening to certain music. That overwhelming rush and tingle where the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck stand up and shout “yes! musical drugs!” Well, that 7 letter word is epitomised with Katatonia’s, ‘The Fall of Hearts’.

The first track “Takeover” wastes no time hooking you and pulling you into Katatonia’s heavy, soaring world of masterfully crafted songs. It’s slick, solid, dynamic and built with the wealth of experience that Katatonia have amassed thought out their long career. As each of it’s 12 tracks end and the next begins, it becomes apparent that this album is very special. There are proper honest to badness riffs, mixed with frisson inducing vocal hooks and clean, crystal clear melodies. The Fall of Hearts is progressive but still accessible to the less proggy inclined. It’s often hauntingly melodic but with enough meat on it’s bones to satisfy even the most riff hungry of Metalheads.

We don’t often get to use descriptive words like “beautiful” when we’re referring to rock and metal. To be honest I’m not even 100% sure it’s permitted in the Heavy Metal Introductory Handbook but this album is exactly that, beautiful!

If you ask me at the end of 2016, what the soundtrack to my summer was? I’m certain it’ll be this album.

ALBUM INFO.

Record Label.
Peaceville.

Release date.
20/05/2016

Track listing.
 1.      Takeover [07:09]
2.      Serein [04:46]
3.      Old Heart Falls [04:22]
4.      Decima [04:46]
5.      Sanction [05:07]
6.      Residual [06:54]
7.      Serac [07:25]
8.      Last Song Before The Fade [05:01]
9.      Shifts [04:54]
10.   The Night Subscriber [06:10]
11.   Pale Flag [04:23]
12.   Passer [06:25]
13.   Bonus tracks teaser incl. – Vakaren (CD/DVD & Deluxe Edition) / Sistere (LP & Deluxe Edition) / Wide Awake In Quietus (Digital & Deluxe Edition)

Score 10/10