Discouraged Ones - Katatonia

Advantages: A masterpiece, quite simply
Disadvantages: Not catchy but worth persisting with

...sound from that point on, Discouraged Ones was originally recorded and released in 1997- and has been rereleased in January of this year complete with two bonus tracks- and became known as a classic within its niche of atmospheric gothic metal. The death-metal style vocals that marked the band's previous albums are replaced with a "clean" vocal style here, helping to accentuate the fact that the band are effectively making a break from the past and ...
...many of the tracks on Discouraged Ones sound similar; almost all have the same driving, thick riffing style and multilayered guitar work- evident from the very first track, I Break- that they have pretty much made their own over the last few years. On successive listens, however, you realise more and more that there are significant differences between the songs- the mastery of this band is such that the listener can discover more and more about this ... Read review

Advantages: It's dark, moody, depressive, while remaining melodic
Disadvantages: Repetitive sounds can be testing

Discouraged Ones marks the change from Katatonia old-style to Katatonia new-style. It brings with it a new logo, and a new style of vocals. Now, many fans of the band may be dismayed by this - after all it was the harsh repressive vocals that have helped make the band what they are. However, the new style of vocals is suprisingly effective and still in style with the traditionalist musical sound. The frontman (now finished on the drums) sounds like ... Read review