Paatos - Kallocain

Year of Release: 2004
Label: Inside Out
Catalog Number: IOMCD169/ IOMSECD169
Format: CD
Total Time: 51:29:00

Many influences come to mind. Petronella, their vocalist, sings in a style similar to Björk, but I think her approach is less weird and more angelic. In any case, it is obvious where you'll find her roots. There are times the songwriting sounds a bit like Coldplay. The Gathering is another easy mark.

Listening to the music, I immediately felt a hunch. Steven Wilson and his projects came to mind. Was he on this release? It had a feel in its production of the latest Opeth and Porcupine Tree.

Voila! Steven was found on the credits. It is strange, but this really has his special Midas touch even if he is not one of the instrumentalists or singers.

The music is consistent in quality and sound from track to track while keeping its intrigue. The theme is loose. The pace is gradual. It is a different sort of beast than anything else I've heard, but it is not completely inaccessible. This is the kind of music you can use to unwind at the end of a stressful day. It is mainly gloom and doom, yet it is the sort of darkness welcome as escape from the bright lights and loud stimulus in the everyday life. Petronella's voice takes you away to a sort of heaven-like limbo. It is a place of rest offering protection while your unconscious mind detaches from the outside world. The surroundings are damp and dark, but not altogether sinister.

All members should be proud. Petronella sings with feeling. Steven Wilson's production gets the stamp of approval as usual. It seems everything Steven touches turns to gold. This is a great release.

Tracklisting:
Gasoline (5:55) / Holding On (5:00) / Happiness (5:20) / Absinth Minded (4:49) / Look At Us (5:25) / Reality (7:37) / Stream (5:17) / Won't Be Coming Back (5:32) / In Time (6:34)

Bonus DVD (special edition only): Won't Be Coming Back / Gasoline / Reality / Hypnotique

Musicians:
Petronella Nettermalm - vocals, cello
Ricard Nettermalm - drums, saw and delay
Reine Fiske - guitar
Stefan Dimle - bass, double bass
Johan Wallen - piano, Mellotron, Hammond organ, syntheziser, sampler, harmonium

Discography:
"Perception/Tea" (2001)
Timeloss (2002)
Kallocain (2004)
Silence Of Another Kind (2006) Sensors (2007)
Breathing (2011)
V (2012)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin SE

Added: July 25th 2004
Reviewer: Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner
Score:
Artist website: www.paatos.com
Hits: 2684
Language: english