Archaic-Magazine.com :: December Songs :: Foscor/Beatrik/Forest Stream

"December Songs" was created by fans for fans. All who participate here love Katatonia with all their hearts and cherish the old days, claims the info inside. Take a look at the Northern Silence homepage and immediately you'll find out why this German label had to release this tribute to Katatonia. And as a Katatonia lover I fully agree. Northern Silence solely focused on this double CD on the old days of Katatonia of which the most recent songs hail from "Discouraged Ones", released back in 1998. Katatonia never disappoint whether you listen to the first "Jhva Elohim Meth" MCD or the latest "The Great Cold Distance". Their unique style of melancholy and catchiness opened doors for many other bands. The atmosphere on the first full length "Dance of December souls" is a milestone in the doom and black metal genre. Only few other bands can compete with the feeling on that disc. Northern Silence definitely thinks the same.

Chronologically 16 obscure black metal bands pay their homage. Most famous names are Xasthur, Wyrd, Dark Fortress and Forgotten Tomb and their performances aren't flawless. So there's the American Loss ruining "Brave" with their out of tune guitars (good thing the annoying feedback of the original is cut). Apart from their own style, most bands just copy their song. Only a few dare to challenge Katatonia's status and make a short own interpretation of the song. There's Hel singing "Cold Ways" with some clean vocals (performed by Winterheart) and Finish gothic combo Fragile Hollow creating a poppy version of "Saw You Drown", which doesn't really suit the black metal vibe on "December Songs". Nevertheless their performance is stunning and I dare to say Fragile Hollow beat the original. I imagine Northern Silence mainly chose for underground bands given the gloomy sphere. But I somehow regret no big names are put on this compilation. I'm sure bands like Opeth, Novembre, Anathema, Drudkh, Rapture and Daylight Dies would add even more depth and prestige to this release. Also the promo stunt about 2 never seen photos of the first Katatonia session is rather lame. One is blurry as hell and the other shows us Lord Seth (Jonas Renkse) in true black metal style sitting in a circle of candles. Eat this, new era fans!

* For the real Katatonia fans: on the back side of the booklet there's an image of the moon. Right after "Dance of December souls" Katatonia wrote the "Moonbride" album having the same cover artwork. Later the title changed into "Brave Murder Day".