Sólstafir and Katatonia brought melancholy winds from the cold north to Roxy
Even in 2023, we will reap the fruits of the covid years. The joint tour of the Nordic formations Katatonia and Sólstafir called “Twilight Burials” was supposed to take place at the beginning of last year, but anti-pandemic measures did not favor club events. It is therefore not surprising that the bands in the sold-out Roxy were waiting for the bands in the new date to be excited by the audience.
Live: Katatonia, Sólstafir
support: SOM
place: Roxy, Prague
date: January 28, 2023
Sólstafir setlist: Náttmál, Köld, Melrakkablús, Rismál, Rökkur, Fjara, Ótta, goddess of ages
Katatonia setlist: Austerity, Colossal Shade, Letejsky, Balance, Birds, For Blood, Forsaker, Opaline, Buildings, My Twin, Atrium, Old Heart Falls, Untrodden, Addendum: July, Evidence Photo Gallery
The title of the tour, which quite cleverly connected the then new records of both headliners, i.e. “City Burials” by Katatonia and “Endless Twilight of Codependent Love” by Sólstafir, became somewhat empty with the shift of the entire line. Katatonia hit the road with the new album “Sky Void of Stars”, which you can get in several versions buy in our store, and Sólstafir built their set on older songs and only touched on the (relative) novelty once. These are paradoxes.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
Everything was opened by the American SOM. And although they started in front of a half-empty hall, during the reserved half hour they managed to basically fill the club. The five musicians turned into only silhouettes bent over the instruments and let the music speak for them. He was very much on the atmosphere that whole evening and SOM couldn’t have been a better choice to start. Their work combines shoegaze analysis (substantially supported by metal-cut guitars) with post-rock contemplation. And Will Benoit’s soft vocals float above all that instrumental pressure. The composition oscillating between dense surfaces and riff massage may not have had as much melancholy in it as the sets that followed them, but the Americans clearly defended their place in the sun. So – no support for the number.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
The biggest attraction was undoubtedly the Icelanders Sólstafir. Their t-shirts were all over the place, during their performance it was the tightest and most boisterous in the hall and on the balcony. As the only one with these cowboys they did not hide behind the back lights, they played the concert in bluish darkness with the occasional red color to complete the atmosphere, with full commitment and in close contact with the audience. The new record was represented by only one track “Rökkur”. The most space was probably given to the peak of the discography, the recording “Ótta” – the title song sounded in perfect tandem with probably the biggest hit “Fjara”, the final graduated “Náttmal” on the other hand opened the set. In many ways, a comparison is offered with the summer, intense rain-soaked concert at the finale of this year’s Brutal Assault festival. This, however successful, seemed a bit tired compared to Saturday’s one in Prague. The club, focused environment simply suits Sólstafir better than the scattered festival ones, there is a closer sitting with the audience, the music is soothing, image-creating, but also intense and emotionally wounding, aiming straight to the heart.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
Light design established by the first people, moreover sponsoring a good dose of strobes, Katatonia is back in the game. The Swedish form thus, especially when viewed from the balcony, where I traditionally spend concerts at the Roxy on a perch, so to speak, turned into silhouettes hidden in smoke. They didn’t even help themselves with the sound, which from time to time didn’t properly let out the characteristic vocals of Jonas Renks, and the music thus lost its charm. As if the whole concept was set on the current album “Sky Void of Stars”, which after all presents a more listener-friendly – rockier, more melodic – face of Katatonia. The new tracks (finally there were five of them, including the great opener “Austerity”, the single “Birds” or the dense “Atrium”) sounded great. And live it’s not bad material at all, being with classic enthusiasm the audience greeted the tracks from the records “The Great Cold Distance” or “Night Is A New Day”, but they suffered significantly in sound.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
Katatonia, the club darkness also proves more than the afternoon festival set, was the only one of the bands that got the privilege of an encore and in it reached the deepest into their past, up to “Viva Empriness” and the supporting composition “Evidence”. Overall, the Roxy managed to build an impressive evening with a tight atmosphere. Everything was on time, except for minor details, which, admittedly, Katatonia licked the most, managed to fine-tune a great sound, the audience was at home, enthusiastic, and this was also transmitted on stage. Although melancholy played a major role at the Roxy on Saturday, it was ultimately a positive, emotionally charged experience.