Viva 'Viva Emptiness'?

[LoboUivante]

Jonas shows some vocal talent, more dominant i would say... but the album overall is just that... an album. Maybe i've lost interest in their music or matured, don't know... since LastFDGD im not very much into them.

[Deliverance6]

I must tell you all the story of me and Discouraged ones.

So I was all death metal and hardcore. I had BMD and thought it was the shit. So when DO came out I bought it expecting more of the same. I listened to the first song and dismissed it as some radio friendly bullshit and I threw it on the floor of my car for about 8 months. During those 8 months I was getting really deep into drug addiction again and I was seriously depressed. One day I was cleaning out my car and I found it and listened to the whole thing. I couldnt believe how I had missed such a great thing before. It was a constant in my cd player untill my friends took it away from me because they thought I would kill myself while listening to it.
The meaning of my story is that you will like it when the time is right for you. I had to be ready to recieve DO. I could not force myself into it.

Then again maybe you just dont like it. Thats ok, but I think that the way they are going we will have more releases from them in the VIVA vein.

[discouraged1]

Originally Posted by Drynwhyl

so i've noticed that every time only when the next Katatonia album is released the previous one begin truly to grow on me and take its part inside of me.

it happens to me with every band with every album

[discouraged1]

Originally Posted by Anthony

And i can't believe drums are all you love in LFDCD, you liar! I remember your Delight about it when it was just released

so you're one of the surviviors heh? i can't remember you... but you're right, i was delighted as hell when LFDGD came out - i mean, delighted so much that i joined the forum then and wanted to share the feelings with all of ppl here..

but when viva came into my hands.. i was pretty anxious, scared even, but when put it on.. it blew my brains off. and still does. a bloody masterpiece.
i love all K. releases, and every each one of them reminds me of some special period in my life..

i know, i bored to death with pathetic words and sentimentalism.. but he made me do it!

cheerZ

[requiem]

Originally Posted by MadTinus

. LFDGD has the ultimate Katatonia production, it's got heaviness, warmth, depth and power,

Absolutely. You're spot on here, as far as my experience of the album is concerned.

'Viva Emptiness' is a huge grower for me. I remember the first time I heard it I really wasn't all that impressed apart from the obvious great tracks 'Criminals' and 'Evidence' etc. Since then it's become an amazing release for me. Not the best, but certainly up there.

The lyrics are great and I've overcome my feeling that the production is too commercial sounding. I think it really suits the album now. But it's no 'LFDGD'...

[shadedlife]

I listened to viva for the first time and didn't see the special spark in it. It grew, but not too much. then i went through a bad spot in life and it seemed quite good. then life was alright again and things went on. I didn't listen to much katatonia. Then one night i went out for a walk and had viva emptiness, and I felt that the power in it was totally amazing. It's a different album than the rest, and can't really be compared on the same scales. apples and oranges... all fruits, but different. I personally just fuckin love LFDGD and VE, but need to pick up TD and maybe DO

[MadTinus]

Originally Posted by shadedlife

...but need to pick up TD and maybe DO

Damn right you do!

[St^Anger]

Originally Posted by my dying groom

Viva Emptiness still hasn't grown on me since its release
The only tracks I listen to once in a while are Burn the Remembrance and the last three ones. Anyone else having this problems or am I just too fixated on the sound of the Discouraged Ones - Last Fair... period?

you're a katatonia fan trying too hard to like one of their albums.. that's it
don't like it, leave it aside and play the ones you really like..

[my dying groom]

In fact I had already given up before I started the thread

[Eversion]

VE was the first Katatonia album I heard (some guy online was playing one of the songs from it over a microphone chat, I think it was "Criminals"...) , and I thought it was one of the best albums ever and I loved it immediately (I find it funny all the releases everybody says had to "grow" on them, I adore first time I hear it...) but when I started going through the previous releases, VE has a very different tone to me, but it's still as good as the first time I heard it...

I understand why everyone might be down on it production wise which is fine, even though the SONGS are too good to be worrying about production.

One thing I didn't like about earlier releases was the clean tone. It sounded rather flat and "twangy" at times, but on VE is sounds great, as you can tell on some songs like "A Premonition"...

[ciccio pas.]

[quote=my dying groom]Viva Emptiness still hasn't grown on me since its release

I have the same feeling , Their music used to be simple but very angry at times , simple riffs , basic drumbeats , and maybe bacause of that , it used to sound like a pressure bomb ready to explode.

Now they're not like that anymore , their music seems to have other purposes , I hope they didn't feel like they had to sound like somebody else cause they weren't good enough before.

[MiniMegaMoose]

Which Katatonia album I like at any particular time depends on my mood. The bleakness of Discouraged Ones has particularly appealed to me lately. It's been several months since Viva was my favorite. A few weeks ago it was Brave Murder Day. Just give Viva a chance, you'll get back into it.

[EmptyInside]

How can some of you say Viva Emptiness is the most depressing album? I think its the least depressing album they have made. It kind of feels cold, but not sad in any way. It's not my favo album, but lyrically it is the most interesting. And the guitars fits better with the vocals than the previous albums, plus Jonas Renkse's voice has grown, like it or not.

[daimonion]

Viva is my favourite by Katatonia. So diverse and emotionfull!

[Merethe]

Viva was the first Katatonia album I got (actually only a few months ago), I bought it because it was cheap, and because I wanted to check them out. At first I didn't really like it, but it grew on me, and now I love most of the songs. I don't really like the lyrics though...

[NvmbrsDoom5]

When I first heard a couple of songs from Viva Emptiness, I wasn't too taken with it. The production, as you've said, was different from what the previous releases sounded like. And some of the riffs and lyrics just seemed difficult for me to appreciate. I was slightly disappointed and wasn't looking forward as much to hearing the whole thing.....

And then one of those funny instances happened for me, where I finally did listen to the whole thing, and the more I listened to it, the more I grew to love it. And not only love it, but I too feel that it is their best album to date. Sometimes when something is different from what you expect or have come to know from a band, you tend to dislike it and have a hard time accepting it. But when it's done right, and the change is for the better, you find yourself gradually learning to appreciate it and see it for what it is, and not for what it isn't, I guess.

The production on this album is stellar. The guitars have been dubbed "too nu-metal sounding" by some, but I disagree. I think they're powerful but still clear and moody. The drum sound is one of my favorite sounds to date. The lyrics took a while to sink in with me, but now I think they're utterly brilliant. One of the few albums in recent history where I actually know every word by heart. Overall, the band forged ahead with a fresh production sound, some new musicial ideas, etc., without losing the edge and mood that I'd want from a Katatonia album. It's a shame you can't seem to get into it more, but that's the thing about music, it affects and impresses upon people in all different ways.

[Sarcasm]

I love VE... I even stole it from Jinn... Haven't stopped listening to it since
It's addictive

[requiem]

'Last Fair Deal Gone Fucking Down' is addictive. 'Viva Emptiness' is a just a great atmospheric album.

[Vex Loser]

I hate to sound like a fanboy, but I really love everything that Katatonia has ever released. "Viva" is no exception; I actually thought it was the best album of last year. It seems that they had regained the focus that had been temporarily lost on "LFDGD", and presented it with a level of drama and immediacy that was completely new to their sound. The lyrical perspective was in a narrative, almost cinematic style that was a clear departure from the more personal musings of their earlier work. It'll be really interesting to see where they will go from here.

[Anagnorisis]

whats with the whole jizz discourse on the inlay....its goofy.....
Aust

seriously.i want to know.

[Lion in a Cage]

Originally Posted by Anagnorisis

whats with the whole jizz discourse on the inlay....its goofy.....
Aust

seriously.i want to know.

Haha! Don't worry too much about it. Probably in a couple of years Jonas will say it's the shittest inlay they've done.

[katatonia_are_gods]

Originally Posted by Lion in a Cage

Haha! Don't worry too much about it. Probably in a couple of years Jonas will say it's the shittest inlay they've done.

I read an interview with Jonas in Metal Maniacs and he said they did it just for fun. He said that just because the music is serious, that doesn't mean you have to take the band seriously constantly.

And as for not liking VE, I that's just because the guitar melodies are gone, making this album sound heavier. The vocals are the melody. I personally like this album, and I don't find it too depressing (LFDGD is depressing to me). I'd assume that they will bring back the guitar melodies to some extent in the future. All in all, though, this album is very much Katatonia.

[my dying groom]

Originally Posted by katatonia_are_gods

He said that just because the music is serious, that doesn't mean you have to take the band seriously constantly.

[Katatonical Dream]

Wealth

Cool night gave my truth for a lie
Will you be here when I try
I'm not set cannot do it yet
Will you be here when I try
Our wealth breeds emptiness
Another day to compress

My lips are dry you gave me drugs to try
Hold me when I die
The sky has frozen to a wall
We die we all

*********************************
A perfect text!!!

[SmaviL]

I really enjoy Viva... especially when I'm sad, or angry I'm just more receptive for all the emotions it transmits and feel it in a more intensive way...