Katatonia
Sky Void Of Stars

Listening notes

Katatonia's Sky Void Of Stars arrived in 2023 on Napalm Records, catalog number NPR1208VINYL, spread across a double LP format with ten tracks distributed over four sides. The Swedish band, associated with gothic metal, progressive metal, and rock, has maintained a presence in those overlapping genres across several decades, and this release represents their most recent full-length contribution at the time of its pressing.

The four-side configuration gives the album a particular physical shape worth noting for collectors. Side A opens with "Austerity" and moves through "Colossal Shade" and "Opaline," while Side B carries "Birds," "Drab Moon," and "Author." The second record shifts to a slightly lighter load: Side C holds "Impermanence" and "Sclera," and Side D closes the album with "Atrium" and "No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall." That final title, the longest track name on the record, lands as the closing statement of the sequence.

The unequal distribution across sides — three tracks on each of the first two sides, two on each of the final two — is a structural detail that may interest those attentive to how albums are sequenced for the format. Whether that arrangement reflects pacing decisions, runtime considerations, or other factors is not documented in the available information.

Napalm Records, the Austrian label handling this release, has a catalogue that skews toward heavy and extreme music, making Katatonia a natural fit within their roster. Duration information for individual tracks was not available at the time of this draft, which limits what can be said about side lengths and cut spacing. Fact checker should verify whether individual track timings and any variant pressings exist before publication.