When a band is known for innovating a certain genre of music, their fans and the general public would expect them to solely play that genre. Nowadays, more and more artists like to become more innovative with their music and go outside of their one genre they have been shaping for years or even decades. Katatonia can be considered as one of the main pioneers of doom metal. This subgenre of metal is known for being much slower paced, and more cinematic. On Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, Katatonia managed to blur the line between progressive metal and doom metal, and as a result, the album sometimes feels confusing and discombobulated, but also cinematic and grandiose.

The record kicks off with serious energy as ‘Thrice’ is loud and energetic. At times, the song, especially in the verses feel really emotional due to the vocal delivery from frontman Jonas Renkse. The chorus this song has is packed with rawness and volume. Right after this chorus, there is a breakdown which takes a while to build up which is thoroughly enjoyable, but once it actually hits, it feels more cinematic rather than heavy, which is what breakdowns are normally considered to be.

The follow-up to this song is ‘The Liquid Eye’. A track that is similar in style to the opener. It may not be as heavy as the previous song, but it is still loud and anthemic enough. Once again the chorus is huge and extremely catchy, before the verse comes back in and slows things down to give the song a more progressive feel. The solo which segues into the chorus works extremely well as the solo, which is not the most emotional or captivating, is effective and transitions really smoothly into the chorus vocal melodies.

‘Warden’ is the seventh song out of the ten provided and is one of the more mellow tracks. Although some of these softer tracks really have no impact on me, this one is simple, yet captivating. The guitar is used as a transition between each part of the song, and the use of dynamics is used throughout. The song builds up volume at times before quietening down once again which is something that up until this point, has rarely been explored in this record making this a stand-out track for Katatonia and the new sound they are aiming for.

‘The Light Which I Bleed’ is yet another cinematic addition for this record. The chorus is powerful as it is the only part of the song which properly explodes. The use of the orchestral elements in the bridge helps add another layer of ambience to this song. This bridge ultimately results in an overly long fade-away which is disappointing as the chorus deserved to come back one last time… It is simply that good!

The song that follows is the only proper ballad on Nightmare as Extensions of the Waking State, and it is sung purely in Swedish. This song clearly intends to focus on Jonas, and his vocals as alongside the keys, the vocals are the loudest elements of this ‘Efter Solen’. Another unique touch to this song, is that instead of having traditional drums being played, the band incorporates a drum machine. This gives this song a bizarre yet unique atmosphere, especially considering that there is not one clear chorus throughout the near six-minute track.

Although some songs on this album are fantastic, and are really special, others feel completely filler and lacklustre as at times, it is hard to tell where the song is going in terms of structure, and that can really alter the listening experience of this album as a whole.

Overall though, this is a different, unique and interesting take on doom metal. Even though Katatonia pioneered this subgenre of extreme music, they decided to try something different on this record which works at times, but also fails entirely too. This ultimately affects the listening experience of this album and makes it slightly harder to fully appreciate. With that being said, music, just like everything has to evolve to stay relevant, and what this album represents is the future of Katatonia as a band, they are evolving as a unit just as doom metal evolved when they first exploded onto the scene three decades ago.

Katatonia: On Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State – Out 6 June 2025 (Napalm Records)