Tarntanya (Adelaide), South Australia, Tuesday 12 March 2013

Here in dimly lit darkness, I stand alone in a crowd of two thousand or so darkly dressed figures. I wonder: am I really alone? I wonder: am I the only one who’s come to Opeth’s gig just to hear Katatonia offer up support?
I’m near metalheads but I’m no metalhead; I’m a 30-year-old fan of songs from guitar-driven genres. Having travelled so far from home (from Stockholm), Katatonia is now just steps away from that South Australian stage. I stay still while they softly step on stage like spectres. Unlike me, the members of Katatonia have heads of long hair that reflect their dark roots. Like me, the members of Katatonia are closer to catatonic than energetic. The making of prog music is the only power they need. As guitars start grinding, Jonas Renkse’s vocals peal out more clearly, more purely than they did last millennium. Still, I hear echoes of harsh vocals in his clean vocals. Still, I notice that darkness still pervades his hurt voice and vexed lyrics. Most lines are so depressively expressive. Most lines are so brief: between one and four well-chosen words. Each line is no longer than needed. Each word is so beautifully broken. Each dead syllable rises up from speakers to cleanse the venue’s stale air.
As this opening song grinds on, I find myself picturing my life thirteen years into the future. I’ll be a 43-year-old finding himself in darkness. I’ll be finding what I need: my voice, my audience, my livelihood, my life partner, my niece, my nephew, my first four-leaf clover, my spirit animal, my dark side’s sunny side, my favourite b-side, my fashion sense, my thickest layer of skin, letters from the grave, songs from the grave, my religion, my way from buildings back to nature, my way back home to Victoria. A chaotic kind of peace starts to descend in time to the song’s crescendo.
I wonder: will I hear these sounds live again in my lifetime? I wonder: will Kataonia ever headline gigs with support down under? Here in floodlit darkness, their first song grinds to a timeless end with the spoken promise of more.

 

Stereo Story 899
Katatonia is performing at Northcote Theatre in Melbourne on Saturday 10 October, with Victoria K as the supporting act. Michael will be there.