Katatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State

Angry Metal Guy

Sixteen years is all Jonas Renkse had to his name when he and Anders Nyström formed Katatonia back in 1991. A myriad of classic influences and the bravado of youth guided their fledgling minds down much rawer, doomier, and death-colored paths than Katatonia travels in 2025. But after thirty-plus years on the job—and a messy spat between old friends—nothing could possibly stay the same. The urge to find efficiencies in expression may overcome the urge to blaze an unknown path or revisit roots. What always remains in the Katatonia expression, though, is an unshakable and downtrodden atmosphere—time hasn’t rid the remaining Renkse of a bleak outlook on the world. So even if times are different, Nightmares as Extensions of Waking State remains, as always, a sad, Swedish affair.

Freshly onboarded axeslingers Nico Elgstrand (ex-Entombed A.D.) and Sebastian Svalland (Letters from the Colony, ex-In Mourning) harbor a burly guitar edge that’s a pleasure to hear—in vicious solo (and oh what solos!) or thunderous riff. And continuing the same stadium-minded attitude that pervaded every chorus of 2023’s Sky Void of Stars, booming builds and sticky-smooth serenading coat just about every nook of Nightmares. None of this rings that new for Katatonia, of course—2009’s Night Is the New Day cemented this lane of stream-of-conscious verse work that bubbles and broods to a Renkse-helmed croonfest. And since 2016’s iconic The Fall of Hearts idealized the mesmerizing rhythms and nature-fueled ambiance that serve modern Katatonia best, subsequent releases have strayed too wandering in electronica or comforting in safe songcraft to stand up against a loaded catalog. But the new blood and immediate stance in attack gives Nightmares a fighting chance in memory.

Given that Renkse has been the majority songwriting stakeholder over the past fifteen years, familiarity plays a hefty role in both the draw towards and push away from Nightmares. Yet, ever seasoned in crafting slinky vocal hooks, Renkse peppers lyrical spats like “Assemble a temple of steel / To stand on top of that building” (“Wind of No Change”) and “I wait for falling snow [dramatic shuffling break] You wait for me to go away” (“The Light Which I Bleed”). These goth night beat poetics add welcome color to melodic backdrops that sound like so many that have come before them. Does “Warden” waltz along that buttery line more like “Ambitions” or “Rusted” or “The Longest Year”—you decide. But against the locked-in, tom pounding struts (“The Liquid Eye”) and bouncing wah-chord hypnosis (“The Light…”), Katatonia possesses all the necessary parts to rope in prospective sadpeople looking to sway and bob in well-toned melancholy.

While cozy, crunchy riffs can go a long way in keeping Nightmares above water, its patchwork, song-based construction gets in the way of easy, straight-through enjoyment. From the get-go, the transition from a straightforward churner (“Thrice”) to a classic Renkse whimsical lilt (“The Liquid Eye”) to a sure-to-be arena staple (“Wind…”) feels like a stuttered exposition rather than a shared experience. And later, Renkse pulls out a Eurovision-ready, dim lights, full Swedish language synth pop ballad in “Efter Solen,” which struggles to justify its cost of admission as the longest, slowest, and guitar-void track on Nightmares. With as fragile a voice as ever in his native language, though, it’s hard to discount its charm, and repeated listens (as often is the case with a Katatonia) see it flowing better through my ears and heart. However, after the long fadeout of “The Light…” and before the radical, creaking blues pick-me-up of “In the Event of,” “Efter Solen” still feels as though it could have fit better as a separate bonus track.

Alas, at forty-six minutes composed of quality songs, Nightmares as Extensions of Waking State pushes through its lesser attributes as another Katatonia album with plenty of room to grow and revisit. In the hands of the hard-working engineering duo of Adam Noble and Robin Schmidt, who have most notably tackled the past few Leprous releases, Nightmares shows a contemporary gloss with an amplified edge while maintaining a wobbly buzz and pop in the additional electronics. Whether it’s the exact order or the songs themselves, this newest Katatonia outing stands in the shadow of any number of albums that someone calls their favorite—and a true favorite Nightmares is not likely to be. As an iterative entity that has lived rather well in its late stages, though, Katatonia holds the power to shine brighter with these same parts, even if this arrangement is plenty fine on its own.



Rating: Good.
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Sadboi Stream
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: katatonia.com | katatonia.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/katatonia
Releases Worldwide: June 6th, 2025

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