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Katatonia – “Dead Letters” (Official Lyric Video)
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The official lyric video is a marketing device that’s sprung up in the past two or so years. It makes sense in the age of YouTube. At some point, artists and labels realized that fans would upload their music to YouTube, attach lyrics and graphics (usually bad), and rack up views. Why not take back control from the fans? Now official lyric videos are common for major label releases, sometimes getting millions of views. They allow another bite at the marketing apple in addition to the song’s actual video, as well as another revenue opportunity (ads). This all may sound grim, but as a music fan, I like reading lyrics while listening to music. It all boils down to that.
Which is ironic in the case of Katatonia. Amongst Katatonia fans, I bet I’m not alone in that I don’t listen to Katatonia for the lyrics. What are Katatonia songs and albums about? I don’t know. Viva Emptiness seems to have an urban theme, The Great Cold Distance seems to be about schisms between people, and other records seem divided between crime scenarios and feeling really, really bummed. Does this vagueness ultimately matter? Beyond the difficulty of singalongs at shows, I’m not sure. The music still speaks to me. The riffs, Jonas Renkse’s voice, and the occasional lyric that sticks out (for better or for worse) – they all combine to make Katatonia a “place”.
That place seems to have crystallized with 2006’s The Great Cold Distance. Basically, it’s radio rock dressed up dark and heavy, now tuned down to as low as Bb. This, too, may sound grim, but I happen to like the one song Katatonia writes now. “Dead Letters” is one such song. It runs on small details: Renkse stepping back and forth between light (major thirds) and dark (minor thirds), a bridge that teeters between brilliance (gorgeous chord changes) and disaster (cheesy keyboard solo), and a finale of sonic gold lace. Not a gourmet meal, but still a solid sit-down with better-than-expected wine.
As official lyrics videos go, “Dead Letters” isn’t the worst or best. Once again, viewing Katatonia’s lyrics doesn’t yield much. “My dreams are getting darker and darker” – we’ll take your word for it, Mr. Renkse. You’re telling, not showing, and when you say, “You shut my mind, but oh well”, we’ll shrug and agree. A common version of the lyrics floating around the Internet misprints the last line as “Songs that make the horus go”. That’s more interesting than the correct lyric, “Songs that make the hours go”. Horus, the Egyptian god of the sky/sun/moon and thus related to the passage of time, was often represented as a bird. These things potentially relate to the song’s lyrics, but I don’t think Renkse is going that deep.
That’s OK, though. The gods giveth (Swedish stewardesses) and the gods taketh away (English lyrics by Swedish metal bands). The gods, likely out of spite, also gave humans fire in the form of Photoshop. Travis Smith has harnessed this demonic force for good; the images in this video are proof. I’m excited for Katatonia’s new album, Dead End Kings, which comes out August 27 in the EU and August 28 in the US. I’m even more excited for the upcoming North American tour alongside Devin Townsend and Paradise Lost. You can see dates and buy tickets here.
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this is a hugely dissapointing piece. My favorite part of Katatonia from the get go has been their lyrics, I have no idea how many hours I’ve put into pouring over them. Jonas Renske has the ability to cut right to the core of a feeling and then make you feel like shit about it too if you look close enough.
As for this song itself, not the best Katatonia song, but one that I can still nod along to and that gets me excited for the rest of the album.
Unlike the disappointed commenter above, I’m more or less in agreement with this article. While Katatonia do have the occasional evocative line–e.g., “Burned all the maps to reach you”–a lot of their lyrics sound like mopey high school poetry, and that’s not good. In fact, Katatonia is a band that I can’t figure out why I like. I don’t care much for their lyrics, and their sound, especially on their most recent albums, veers dangerously close at times to Linkin Park /Evanescence territory (maybe it’s the production, the verse /big chorus /verse song structures, the keyboards, or some combination of these things). And yet, _Night Is the New Day_ is one of those albums that I couldn’t stop listening to. I’ll be ordering the new one for sure.
if by mopey, you mean depressed, I get that, but if you mean they seem contrite I’d have to disagree. The depression seems very articulated and well presented in the lyrics; its not amateurish stabs at it, it comes off as something with a great amount of depth if you’re willing to look at it
Let’s chalk it up to personal taste on this one. I’m with Pseudonymous and Alan, and I probably take it one step further–in my mind, Katatonia stole the crown from Coldplay a long time ago as the worst lyricists ever. It’s not that the meaning isn’t there–it’s that the actual execution of the lyrics is painfully awkward. In Flames lyrics start to look good in comparison. English is clearly a second language.
And… the swearing. It’s the lyrical equivalent of taking a shit in my ear. Every time he does it, I cringe. This one punches my gag reflex every time, and it’s the freakin’ chorus:
“I trusted you, you lied
It’s all I hear, a fucking lie
Don’t give a shit, it’s over now
It’s all I know, you broke the vow”
And don’t get me started on the “too much fucking emo” line.
The last line you mentioned is the only one I’ve ever really cringed at, so I’ll agree with you there.
However, just out of curiosity, I’m not looking to be an asshole or troll, can you tell me who your favorite lyricist is?
@kvlt as fvkk:
My problem with the lyrics isn’t necessarily that they’re mopey /depressed, but that they’re so vague. That’s why I like the “Burned all the maps” line I cited above: it’s more specific than the typical Katatonia lyric, uses figuration, and doesn’t rely on cliches about rising darkness or whatever. Not trying to pick on Katatonia here. Most metal lyrics (and really, most popular music lyrics) are no great shakes. The difference is that most metal lyrics are unitelligible without a lyric sheet because of the vocal style. Kudos to Renske for having the courage to put his words out there like he does, but his lyrics mostly don’t resonate with me. Good voice though.
Honestly, I’m not a huge lyrics guy to begin with. If a line jumps out at me it’s usually because I don’t like it, and it tends to distract me from the tunes.
Off the top of my head, I tend to dig John Cale’s lyrics on his solo albums. There’s a weird specificity with random historical and place references paired with abstract humor and ambiguous intent that I dig. Half of it’s in the delivery, though. It’s not that the lyrics themselves are brilliant on paper, they just work for me in the context of the song.
Lyrics:
http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/lyrics/sabotage.html#captain_hook
Song (it’s live, and long):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpcZBv8TaSg
Yeah, Captain Hook’s great, I was thrilled to finally hear this one live a few months ago, although my favorite Cale lyric has to be Leaving It Up to You, with its strange mix of paranoia, vague menace and oblique references to Sharon Tate.
I’m not a lyrics guy either, but I don’t mind a cringe-worthy line here and there, especially in metal. It’s almost part of the package!
Walsh, have you heard any recent album by Scott Walker? He actually writes the songs around the lyrics, which are both brilliant and baffling, and above all pretty much obscure. Those records also tend to have a heavier atmosphere than pretty much all modern metal.
“Radio rock dressed up dark and heavy” sums up my feelings about much of this band’s career. I appreciate their skill, but I’ve never been able to connect to the music.
Hilarious!
You’re right about the major/minor thirds thing. Quite a bit of interesting tension in that regard.
Good article, particularly the funny last paragraph…although I would say that Travis Smith did use his talents for good at first, but definitely fell from grace.
Stolen Babies is also on that tour with Devin and Paradise Lost…they’re the band I’d be most excited about.
Thought the song was awesome, lyrics aren’t bad either.
I’ve listened to this band forever, and the lyrics have never mattered to me. I’ve always understood the despondency of the lyrics paralleled that of the music, but I always just thought the lyrics were also lost in a Swede’s translation of his own thoughts to English. Things can get awkward.
I agree somewhat with your point about the lyrics, but ultimately who cares. Katatonia, along with a lot of Euro bands that I like don’t put their ideas down on paper as well as they would in their native language. That said, I view most metal vocals and lyrics as part of the ambiance that makes the music so great. Renske’s voice is awesome and Katatonia’s sound and live performance is top notch…so I’ll be picking this album up.