Katatonia "Dead End Kings"

Dead End Kings is Katatonia's ninth full-length album. It was released on August 27, 2012, in Europe and August 28 in the U.S. through Peaceville Records. Like all Katatonia releases, the album was writter primarily by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band went through a number of lineup changes, making the album the first to feature bassist Niklas Sandin, the only album to feature second guitarist Per Ericksson, and the last to feature drummer Daniel Liljekvist.

The song "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here" is not literally about not being able to find a person, but about telling a person their preconceived notions about themselves were incorrect - that such a person does not exist. Multiple tracks, including "Buildings", allude to abandoned city scenes, which were inspired by Renkse's and Nystrom's visiting of abandoned train tunnels and hospitals in abandoned villages in Sweden. The album is not politically-themed in the conventional sense of promoting ideologies or presenting solutions, but rather contemplates and laments the poor state of the world due to modern politics in general.

Journalists have noted a similarity in sound to the work of American progressive metal band Tool, a comparison Renkse refers to as accidental but flattering.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jonas Renkse, except "Undo You" and "The Act of Darkening" by Anders Nyström.

1. "The Parting" Renkse 4:52
2. "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here" (feat. Silje Wergeland) Renkse 3:52
3. "Hypnone" Renkse 4:07
4. "The Racing Heart" Renkse 4:06
5. "Buildings" Nyström 3:28
6. "Leech" Renkse 4:23
7. "Ambitions" Renkse 5:07
8. "Undo You" Nyström 4:56
9. "Lethean" Per Eriksson, Renkse 4:39
10. "First Prayer" Nyström, Renkse 4:28
11. "Dead Letters" Nyström 4:49

Total length: 48:47