Discouraged Ones Review
| Band | |
|---|---|
| Album |  Discouraged Ones |
| Type | Album (Studio full-length) |
| Released | April 27, 1998 |
| Genres | Gothic Metal, Doom Metal |
| Labels | Avantgarde Music |
| Length | 46:53 |
| Ranked | #102 for 1998 , #4,432 all-time |
Album rating : 85 / 100
Votes : 8 (1 review)
Votes : 8 (1 review)
January 26, 2024
After the monumental Brave Murder Day, which quickly established itself as the greatest and most depressing Doom Metal release yet, Katatonia decided to follow it up by moving in a slightly different direction. Still insanely doomy, still walling you with the same shoegazy chords, but now the sound is more accessible. Gone are the demonic death growls, the assaulting double bass, and any tie to extreme Metal.
Replacing them are purely clean vocals and a focus on verse-chorus format. Jonas doesn’t push his voice too far here, instead opting for a lethargic, depressive croon. The songs are simple and rhythmic even, adding to the hypnotic nature of the gazy guitars.
The result of this odd direction is… well, just about as depressive and pessimistic as music can possibly get without creeping into extreme territory. All of the ingredients mesh stunningly to craft a much more accessible serving of catatonia. Lethargic apathy is the surface face here, a numb shell of what’s left after one is encased with pessimism. However, the shell is constantly threatening to shatter as it struggles to hold back the outpour of emotions underneath. Jonas very perfectly treads the fine line between total apathy and intense pain, letting inflections slip through his voice to indicate the intense amount of emotion being restrained by the defense mechanism of not caring.
Another masterpiece from the band that still shakes me and never fails to put a frown on my face.
Replacing them are purely clean vocals and a focus on verse-chorus format. Jonas doesn’t push his voice too far here, instead opting for a lethargic, depressive croon. The songs are simple and rhythmic even, adding to the hypnotic nature of the gazy guitars.
The result of this odd direction is… well, just about as depressive and pessimistic as music can possibly get without creeping into extreme territory. All of the ingredients mesh stunningly to craft a much more accessible serving of catatonia. Lethargic apathy is the surface face here, a numb shell of what’s left after one is encased with pessimism. However, the shell is constantly threatening to shatter as it struggles to hold back the outpour of emotions underneath. Jonas very perfectly treads the fine line between total apathy and intense pain, letting inflections slip through his voice to indicate the intense amount of emotion being restrained by the defense mechanism of not caring.
Another masterpiece from the band that still shakes me and never fails to put a frown on my face.
Line-up (members)
- Jonas Renkse : Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Lyrics
- Anders Nyström : Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Lyrics
- Fredrik Norrman : Guitars
- Mikael Oretoft : Bass
- Guest/session musicians:
- Mikael Åkerfeldt : Backing Vocals
11 reviews
| cover art | Artist | Album review | Reviewer | Rating | Date | Likes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | ▶ Discouraged Ones Review (1998) | 95 | Jan 26, 2024 | 0 | ||
 | | Sky Void of Stars Review (2023) | 60 | Jul 7, 2023 | 2 | ||
 | | Brave Murder Day Review (1996) | 100 | Feb 13, 2023 | 3 | ||
 | | 80 | Nov 21, 2019 | 0 | |||
 | | Dead End Kings Review (2012) | 80 | Aug 31, 2014 | 1 | ||
 | | 80 | Jun 4, 2014 | 0 | |||
| | Brave Murder Day Review (1996) | 55 | Jan 6, 2014 | 1 | ||
| | Dead End Kings Review (2012) | 85 | Aug 19, 2013 | 0 | ||
 | | Night Is the New Day Review (2009) | 80 | Aug 1, 2011 | 0 | ||
| | Night Is the New Day Review (2009) | 90 | Oct 23, 2010 | 0 | ||
 | | Tonight's Decision Review (1999) | 62 | Nov 9, 2005 | 1 |
1
SilentScream213 100/100Feb 13, 2023 Likes : 3
There’s so much I could say about this incredible album, and I could never do enough to sing its praises, so instead I’ll relay a personal story.
Many, many years ago now, I lost a very dear friend. Not that they died, no; they chose to go down a dark path I could not follow. And that was almost worse, because there was no closure, no finality to it, and it all ended in ... Read More
