REVIEW: Katatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State

It’s a beautiful spring. Trees sway in the cool breeze while the sun looks down happily upon the earth. The insects feed off of the flowers, the birds feed off of the insects, and they make merry in their nests back on the trees. It’s warm and wonderful. It is not the kind of environment you would associate Katatonia with, that’s for sure. For nearly three decades, these Swedes have specialized in weaponized melancholy. From their early doom-laden dirges to their sleek gothic makeovers of the 2000's, the band has been less about stylistic boundaries and more about sustained emotional weight. Even though they’ve changed their styles more than a chameleon at a disco - well… at least until 2006. Since then, they've settled into a lush, sorrow-soaked identity that’s been soundtracking breakups, spiritual crises, and long walks in the rain ever since.

Originally helmed by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström, Katatonia’s core has now shed one of its architects. Anders has bowed out, presumably as he harkened back to the time when they were a far heavier band. Now, it’s just Jonas Renkse steering this melancholy ship. The departure marks the end of an era, sure, but Katatonia was already evolving into Jonas’ personal baby. And this baby? It’s come in the form of a deer on fire next to a telephone tower, it’s Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State (gesundheit).

With that title alone, expectations are strangely opaque. The lingering question is: “will they permanently return to their heavier roots?”

The short answer: No.

The long answer? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MisZzZzELSw&pp=ygUOa2F0YXRvbmlhIGJhbmQ%3D

Instead, Katatonia have doubled down on the windswept melancholy they’ve refined since The Great Cold Distance, adding just enough distortion to get their heavy puritans cautiously optimistic without scaring off fans who discovered them through ‘My Twin.’

To their credit, this one is notably heavier than 2023’s Sky Void Of Stars - right off the bat the opener, ‘Thrice’, launches from a synthy prelude into some pretty crushing riffs. It kind of feels like some of the better late-era Dream Theater offerings. The lyrics are classic Katatonia: “The nightmares shut out/Behind the curtain for now/We’re running through a field of evening grass". It’s dark, it’s moody, and it sets the tone beautifully. ‘The Liquid Eye’ is another strong example of the album’s architecture; interweaving heavy passages with more soft, restrained movements. The dynamics move briskly and confidently.

Then comes ‘Wind of No Change’, a title likely to leave the Scorpions scratching their heads as to what happened to their wind. It’s a meditation on the desolation of modernity, complete with a choral arrangement belting out “hail Satan” over a dark, stomping riff. Before you take it too seriously, it also delivers the fabulously deadpan line: “And lord Jesus/Or what’s his name again”. Satanic flourishes aren’t Katatonia’s usual domain, but when a track hits this hard, you let it slide. Excellent song. ‘Lilac’ veers into progressive territory, its arrangement punctuated by moments of subtle silence behind the vocals which lend the track a lighter touch. The guitars, meanwhile, can’t seem to decide whether to erupt or withdraw, giving the track a simmering tension like a pot boiling over. Fans of modern-era Katatonia will more than likely find much to appreciate here. The following track, ‘Temporal’, opens with a standout riff layered over warm synths and a melancholic guitar line that soars across the mix. It’s a highlight; bittersweet, cinematic, Katatonia at their most refined. The solo, though brief, cuts like an ice-cold knife through the heart. It serves as the album’s centrepiece: that baroque candelabra in the middle of the table that everybody seems to be talking about.

The second half kicks off with ‘Departure Trails’, which unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its predecessors. It’s atmospheric, yes, but at the same time it feels weighed down by a mild case of filler-itis. Then again, there’s probably someone out there for whom this is their song, and the rest of the world “just doesn’t understand” it like they do. The next track ‘Warden’ blends in so well with ‘Departure Trails’ that it sounds a bit like they’re the same song at first. It distinguishes itself with a stronger chorus and a few sanguine guitar flourishes. Credit is also due to the drumming, which ranges from tight rock beats to more restrained, jazz-tinged phrasing, nuanced and unpredictably expressive. ‘The Light Which I Bleed’ carries a whiff of Peter Gabriel’s So if Gabriel leaned more into overdriven guitars. The chorus is deviously catchy, and the instrumental layers grow richer with repeated listens. As for the lyrics, gloomy as all hell: “I’ve come to pay you again/The worthless currency of being.” Sheesh.

Then there’s ‘Efter Solen’, sung entirely in Swedish. And that’s not even the strangest thing about it - it’s fully electronic. In an album leaning slightly heavier than usual, it’s a bold swerve, and somehow, it works. Finally, ‘In the Event Of’ brings the record to a close. It’s apocalyptic in tone, describing a world unravelling under the weight of something nuclear or worse. There’s something wrong with the sky like the narrator is witnessing the same Armageddon as Dan Swanö’s Uncreation. It feels like Jonas is narrating the end of days, while the guitars quietly mourn beside him. The lyrics capture a perfectly terrifying outlook: “If you read this it means you still have eyes.” The drums rumble to a hell of an ominous closer. With that last downer, the album fades into black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z87lfS3KaqA&pp=ygUOa2F0YXRvbmlhIGJhbmQ%3D

Well, well, well, Jonas. Even without Anders, you’ve managed to deliver a record that is satisfyingly heavy, yet still grounded in the band’s modern identity. Turns out it can be done. But don’t get it twisted; Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State is still first and foremost another modern Katatonia album. Yes, there are nods to their heavier past, but the clear intent is progression. The heavier accents are just that – accents. They continue to evolve on their own terms, even if some fans (and some former members) are requesting them to ebb back toward their doomier roots. It’s heavier, but not heavy enough to be a reinvention. It’s bolder, but not radical. It’s Katatonia; self-assured, sorrowful, and still soul-shattering.

As they look to the future, it might be that they’ll discover another direction that will bring them a whole new legion of fans, bossa-nova Katatonia, anybody? Anything is possible at this point and it is a true testament to the enduring legacy of this band that they can reinvent their sound so many times and still come out with such good material. The sky’s the limit. But for now, they’re finely tuning what they’ve already got. And what they’ve got is damn good.

Score: 8/10

Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State was released on June 6th 2025 via Napalm Records.

Words: Kiarash Golshani

Photos: Katatonia