I think most will agree that Katatonia needs more time to form a definite opinion when it comes to their albums over the past 2 decades. I've found that Katatonia albums seem to take some time to really click for me, and even the band has mentioned that about their music before. This album boasts a continuity absent in their previous two works. While it might not span a broad spectrum of song types, its seamless cohesion more than compensates. Each song effortlessly transitions into the next. Forget going back to Discouraged Ones era at this stage - I no longer get the frustration some have with their sound diverging from those days. This album is still miles ahead of what other bands produce. I've listened about a dozen times and still finding things to like. I think the angst is there, they are just showing it differently. I believe they can still showcase how powerful their music is still.

For some, this will sound way too modern and clean and anyone that was hoping they would steer clear of the sound from the last album - will be disappointed as they took that template and dived deeper down. To others like myself, I see a lot of improvements over City Burials, feels like a proper follow up to Night is the New Day and Dead End Kings mixed with the heavier prog parts of Fall of Hearts. The only downside production wise is the drums definitely feel more washy, more in the background, they feel muffled in an unsatisfying way.

The beginning of the album is strong but I find the middle of the album to be breath taking honestly, Drab Moon Author and Impermanence are excellent. I have a penchant for Katatonia's catchy tunes, but I yearn for their progressive and melancholic flavors, which I felt were underrepresented on this album. Nonetheless, I genuinely enjoyed the record and eagerly anticipate their future endeavours. It can be argued that Katatonia have captured the essence of the band with this release and are still pushing the envelope at the same time.