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Review: Katatonia/Evergrey, Electric Bristol – ‘Like nothing else’
Italian tour support Klogr are on so inanely early that, catching only their last song, it seems unfair to judge these Italian prog-metallers.
They certainly seem to go down well enough and have even brought their own video screens, which suggests a commendable degree of ambition not normally seen from a third-on-the-bill act.
Making, by my reckoning, their third appearance in Bristol, Swedish veterans Evergrey have tended to be eclipsed by their touring partners, notably Avatar.
But these guys know how to keep the headliners on their toes with an entirely fat-free set of their best recent material, culminating in two songs from 2024’s Theories of Emptiness, Cold Dreams and the excellent Falling from the Sun.
They’re a great live act, main songwriter Tom S. Englund being a terrific frontman and vocalist.
Stuck at the side of the stage, drummer Simen Sandnes barely seems able to sit still, constantly leaping onto his stool to encourage audience participation.
Evergrey certainly have a knack of playing fiendishly complex music that also pulls off the trick of being incredibly catchy and accessible, as demonstrated by their decision to end with a new song, Oxygen, that climaxes with a mass singlong, even though most of us haven’t heard it before.
That fellow Swedes Katatonia haven’t quite reached the heights scaled by associated acts like Opeth is probably due to their decision not to abandon their death metal roots.
Bruce Soord of Somerset proggers the Pineapple Thief and Katatonia frontman Jonas Remkse’s partner in crime in the Wisdom of Crowds side-project is in the house, happily having his photograph taken with punters.
Renske never seemed entirely comfortable in the role of heavy metal frontman, preferring to hide away at the back of the stage when he can; but he has, perhaps reluctantly, grown into the role over the years.
He doesn’t sound like a metal frontman either, his deep and sonorous vocals being pretty much unique in the genre and perfectly suited to those dark lyrics.
The departure of co-founding guitarist Anders Nyström earlier this year could have dealt a body blow to Katatonia, although Sebastian Svalland and Nico Elgstrand do an excellent job in his stead, and that of also departed Roger Öjersson.
What definitely hasn’t changed is the quality of the songwriting, as evidenced by the four tracks played from new album Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State. At once dark and unsettling, euphoric and uplifting, this is like nothing else in metal – nor indeed any other genre.
It’s certainly a well-crafted stage show too, with animations on the four (count ‘em!) video screens. These are themed around the album art in this career-spanning set whose highlights include Dead Letters from Dead End Kings and encore Forsaker from Night is the New Day.
All photos: Mike Evans
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