Katatonia - Koko, London - Friday 6th May 2011 (Live Review)
Monday, 16 May 2011
Written by Ben Bland
One of metal’s most remarkably consistent acts over the years, Swedish titans Katatonia have become the latest act to jump on the ‘it’s an anniversary – let’s tour an album in full’ bandwagon. Whilst I’m certainly partial to bands I like playing albums I really like in their entirety, I must confess that the novelty factor awarded to such events is becoming somewhat lessened by the amount of bands taking to doing so. At least Katatonia have done something a little different, having elected to play the album they want to play rather than the one that is best known.
The great thing about Katatonia is that they have their sound. Katatonia sound like Katatonia and, although they have barely deviated from the template for over a decade now, this does mean that the band can be described as an impressively unique metal act. Others have tried but nobody else sounds quite like them. Their melodic doomy prog concoction can be seen to have reached, if not its peak, then its purest form on 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', the album they unleash upon Koko this evening. Although it seems apparent that there are plenty in the crowd who are more familiar with more recent Katatonia records, the fifty minutes or so that take up the 'Last Fair Deal' set flash by in what seems like just a fifth of that time. In fact, things are on course for a spectacular gig.
Sadly the band then ruin everything a bit by having a break...and when I say break I mean that it seems like they have all gone backstage to watch an episode of 'Dad’s Army' or something. They disappear for about half an hour, totally killing off the momentum they had already managed to build. Thus, when they eventually return the atmosphere is utterly flat. The decision to take such a length intermission is only made more bizarre when you consider that the band is recording the show for a DVD release. Surely they want their fans to look as visibly mental as possible. Instead they get a select few headbangers and one or two clumps of people who occasionally jump up and down a little bit. The majority just stand there casually nodding or, in line with a trend that seems to strike all too many shows, talking. Furthermore the band has a lack of truly dynamic stage presence. Guitarists Anders Nyström and Per Eriksson walk about a bit but always seem a little bit awkward. Eriksson also spends a good deal of time going off to the side of the stage to grab a beer or sort stuff out with his tech, something which becomes a little distracting. Meanwhile frontman Jonas Renkse stands almost perfectly still throughout the set, aside from some committed windmilling. Essentially Katatonia may have reached twenty years as a band but it doesn’t seem that they are quite comfortable enough on stage to put on a truly masterful show.
This is a huge shame because Katatonia don’t do anything wrong performance wise. Despite the usual Koko sound gremlins, everything sounds huge and as perfectly polished as it does upon record with most of the band’s delightful subtleties coming through. Thankfully frontman Renkse, who gave up regular growling a long time ago now, gets through the harsh vocals of the excellent 'Brave' in accomplished fashion, and then goes on to nail his clean vocals throughout the rest of the set as always. Meanwhile guitarists Nyström and Eriksson overcome a couple of technical glitches to provide the crushing melancholy that holds all of Katatonia’s finest moments together on the likes of 'I Break' and 'Forsaker'. All in all the work of the five band members should contribute to a special gig but things just don’t quite work out that way. To be honest this is partly because the Katatonia sound becomes a little wearing over the course of such a lengthy set, although it’s also partly because of the aforementioned lack of atmosphere. Katatonia may be one of the finest metal bands of the last twenty years in the studio but sadly live they still leave a little to be desired. This 20th anniversary set is a good one but unfortunately not quite the great one that it should be.
Katatonia setlist:
Dispossession
Chrome
We Must Bury You
Teargas
I Transpire
Tonight’s Music
Clean Today
The Future of Speech
Passing Bird
Sweet Nurse
Don’t Tell a Soul
Brave
Nephilim
My Twin
I Break
Right into the Bliss
The Promise of Deceit
Wait Outside
The Longest Year
July
New Night
Dissolving Bonds
Forsaker
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The great thing about Katatonia is that they have their sound. Katatonia sound like Katatonia and, although they have barely deviated from the template for over a decade now, this does mean that the band can be described as an impressively unique metal act. Others have tried but nobody else sounds quite like them. Their melodic doomy prog concoction can be seen to have reached, if not its peak, then its purest form on 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', the album they unleash upon Koko this evening. Although it seems apparent that there are plenty in the crowd who are more familiar with more recent Katatonia records, the fifty minutes or so that take up the 'Last Fair Deal' set flash by in what seems like just a fifth of that time. In fact, things are on course for a spectacular gig.
