Bizarre as it might sound, Katatonia are backed into a wall of their 14th studio album: the announcement of founding member Anders Nyström’s departure was a tough pill to swallow for many fans, leading to a healthy dose of skepticism concerning the group’s newest release. The future of this legendary Swedish progressive metal act could be riding on the reception to ‘Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State,’ an album seeking to carry Jonas Renkse and company forward as a collective. At that, it certainly succeeds— though it can be overly safe at times, a delicate balance of the eerie and the ethereal makes Katatonia’s newest release something of a dark horse in their discography.

An admittedly obvious strength of ‘Nightmares…’ is that it is a Katatonia album— it should go without saying that most records would kill for the expansive sound design and flawless performances that define even the band’s weakest efforts, and this new LP isn’t slacking in that regard. The haunting emptiness fans will remember from the likes of ‘The Fall of Hearts’ remains an essential cornerstone of the group’s identity, soaking all ten tracks here in reverb and ambience: Renkse’s vocals are as captivating and hard-to-pin-down as ever, floating above an ensemble of groaning metal guitars, mournful keys, purposeful bass lines and a host of left-field inclusions. Though ‘Nightmares…’ may not have the most striking production (especially in the context of Katatonia’s discography), it’s nonetheless an impressive element at its disposal, fitting the album’s dream-like atmosphere perfectly.

The record’s sound design is especially impressive given the sheer number of styles it’s forced to adapt to: the band tackle a multitude of genres on ‘Thrice’ alone, seamlessly gliding through soft progressive verses, bombastic metal choruses and an infectiously heavy bridge section. The cut sets ‘Nightmares…’ up to be a vivid exploration of tone and texture, playing ripping lead guitar lines off against ominous choral parts, and just so happens to be a thrilling introduction to the project as well. Of course, the vast majority of these elements are nothing new for Katatonia, and the feeling of “been there, done that” is one the record never fully manages to shake— if anything, the incessant genre hopping throughout the project leaves ‘Nightmares…’ lacking a distinct identity, especially when those thunderous metal riffs and softly-delivered prog rock passages often seem to undercut one another.

What the album lacks in inventiveness though, it makes up for (and then some) in the consistently and efficacy of its execution. 2025 sees Katatonia bringing some of their boldest hooks and riffs in quite some time, often building each track into a sonic goliath— the complaints of unmemorability that have often circled the group’s back catalogue simply fail to apply here. Cuts like ‘The Liquid Eye’ and ‘The Light Which I Bleed’ are unstoppable, burying the listener under waves of auditory anguish bordering on doom metal: the band are capable of overwhelming you when the mood strikes them, and ‘Nightmares…’ may just be their most imposing body of work in quite some time. Single ‘Wind of No Change’ has a particularly dominating presence born of its cult-like chanting, cementing the track as a standout among strong competition.

The manner by which Katatonia balance melodicism against heaviness is staggering to behold, even if it doesn’t always escape a certain level of awkwardness. There’s a greater focus on instrumental leads here, lending itself to cuts like ‘Warden’ and ‘In the Event of’— ‘Nightmares…’ benefits immensely from narrowing in on more focused and impactful songwriting, making this a somewhat more instantly gratifying (though not necessarily superior) release than the more progressive ‘Dead End Kings.’ Obvious high-point ‘Efter Solen’ demonstrates how the more stripped-back nature of the record works to highlight its beauty: it’s a gorgeous moment of solace amongst the chaos, combining solemn piano balladry with some well-implemented notes of electronica. The album is bursting at the seams with captivating melodies all-throughout, whether they be vocal or instrumental— like most of Katatonia’s work, it just might take a few listens to let them sink in.

Things can take a turn for the worse when Renkse and company fail to divorce themselves from that aforementioned awkwardness— in its worst moments, ‘Nightmares…’ is left to wander through a hazy landscape of odd time signatures and underdeveloped ideas. The band shot themselves in the foot by choosing ‘Lilac,’ arguably the weakest cut on the record, as its lead single: it’s an unmemorable track through-and-through, doing little more than adding fuel to the “just another new Katatonia album” fire. That mundanity often feels like a symptom of the LP’s sequence over anything else, with tracks like ‘Departure Trails’ and ‘Warden’ meandering towards meaningful ideas rather than indulging in them from the off— Renkse and company are often hiding behind a mask of atmosphere, and they let it slip just a little too often.

With that said though, these are seasoned performers— though ‘Nightmares…’ may not be their most distinctive release, Katatonia have delivered another immersive, evocative crop of tracks in 2025. The lurching metal riffs and mournful top lines that define songs like ‘Thrice’ and ‘Temporal’ are a powerful combination, showcasing just enough inspiration to keep us invested. Fans of the band would do well to give this record another chance if ‘Lilac’ initially put them off: “hear, his constant whisper rages on, like a wind of no change and an arrow through the heart.”