Review by Adam M on August 6, 2025.

This album represented a positive change for the band as they embraced their alternative side and fully came into form.  There is a reallydark feeling to the proceedings and it shows the band to be masters of their craft.  It had a very independent flavour that was interesting at the release time and showed the band to be quite innovative. 

The musicianship on the work is strong with emotive guitars and a very nice rhythm section.  The vocals are very spectacular and fill in the rest of the musicianship portions nicely.  There is really a lot of quite solid portions in terms of musicianship and this is a really atmospherically potent album in terms of musical performances.

In terms of flaws, the album is not as pretty as the best Anathema albums and this brings it down a notch.  It is perhaps more dark and involving in a different kind of manner and still a necessary album for the atmospheric metal movement.  Fans of the bands other material will find a lot to like here as they perhaps peak with this album.

Overall, this is a very strong album and one that defines the Katatonia sound.  They are currently releasing more relaxed albums, so having a meaty album like this is very positive for the band.  Those looking for a well conceived and performed album will find a lot to like here.

Rating: 8.4/10

Review by Jack on June 11, 2001.

This is a magical piece of progressive metal. Katatonia are in what would be clearly described as their second phase of shapeshifting, once they graced us as one of the true kings of progressive-doom-death metal. Some would see Katatonia, as a band they would listen as they hold out for the next Opeth album. To be fair, that is a pure and unfair statement. Katatonia then and now warrant far more attention to be a predecessor to Opeth’s next album.

This album is brilliant, and completely eclipses all their work up until this moment (perhaps even brushing aside, the masterful "Brave Murder Day"). What is perhaps one of the major drawing factors of this particular album, and all Katatonia albums (for me, anyway) is the absolute, down-to-earth, and heartfelt lyrics written by Jonas Renske. Renske doesn’t write about demons frolicking in the underworld of Hades as some black bands do, nor does he base his lyrics on grinding up corpses with spoons, as particular death outfits may be known to do. This music can be related to on a physical and emotional level, as a pose to a metaphysical and spiritual/dreamy state. The backing music for Renske’s refreshing lyrics is truly exceptional, but not of a true metal nature, instead followers of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and present day Amorphis can pick this CD up in heartbeat.

Picking out any exceptional tracks on this album is hard, if not impossible. My personal choices would be "Teargas" and "The Future of Speech", for the sole reason of being a bit catchier than the rest of the songs.

Bottom Line: Katatonia are the shit, they may not be as metal as they were in the founding days, but they have rhythm and melody like no other band on earth. Album art is gorgeous, as with all Peaceville digipack releases. BUY today.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10