Tonight's Decision - Katatonia

Tonight's Decision is the fourth album from diverse Swedish metal band Katatonia. (Not to be confused with 90s Britpop group, 'Catatonia.') Katatonia share members and are associated with acts like Bloodbath, Opeth, Swallow the Sun, Diabolical Masquerade and October Tide. Tonight's Decision really signifies this bands move into a more mainstream genre. Although this had previously become apparent in 'Discouraged Ones', the shift between doomy 'Paradise-Lost' worship to more a more darkwave, shoegaze gothic rock style is very obvious here and has been the source of some criticism. The album art is disctinctive and definitely worth mentioning. ...  Read the complete review

Where 'Discouraged Ones' introduced a lighter, more radio-friendly version of Sweden's Katatonia, it's with 'Tonight's Decision' that the band really strives to reach a mainstream audience, losing much of the respect of their former fan base by focusing on conventional structures and contemporary gimmicks. The songs favour a medium tempo that slows to a crawl in songs like the overlong 'Had To (Leave)' without the style of the dirges from earlier in the band's career, and for me, the melancholy atmosphere is consistently spoiled by light keyboards and booming rock choruses. Each song relies on repetition in a more annoying manner than the band's previous yet ...  Read the complete review