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Whenever a band re-releases an old classic, it generally means that they either want to make some extra pocket money, or the label wants to make some extra cash, or that there was simply a demand for the hard to find album. Well Katatonia's "Brave Murder Day" is definitely a doom classic, but it is neither all that difficult to find, nor was there particularly a large demand for a re-release. I myself was ecstatic when I discovered this in the mailbox as I had always held it highly. The liner notes on this one tells us that the initial production of the work did not do justice to the album and therefore some spit shine was applied and here we are. So let's just leave it at that.

Musically, if Doom/Death or even Doom metal in general is your thing, "Brave Murder Day" is an album that will command your attention as there are only a handful of albums in this genre that are quite so influential. Katatonia relied on the use of very bleak atmosphere, repetitious and killer riffs with what sounds to be only background vocals without any leads. The music on this album is clearly the focal point and the vocals are hardly ever the driving force here (despite having Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt taking over the mic duties). Trust me, the music and the vocals are for the most part flawless! The use of dissonances – an extremely annoying habit for those bands that can't pull it off – is done exceptionally well on "Brave Murder Day" and is one of the many reasons why this album is so highly revered.

The Katatonia of today is unfortunately a very, very pitiful story with their musical shift. I suppose this re-release also helps to remind us that they didn't always play such weak assed music (although they do give us a hint about their future change in sound on one of the tracks here). If you wish to explore into the forefathers of Doom/Death metal, this Peaceville re-release can serve that purpose nicely as we get 3 bonus tracks along with the original 6 as well as a very professional packaging job, digipack and liner notes. Strongly recommended.

Additional Information

Originally released in 1996