Live Review : Katatonia + Sólstafir + Som @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on February 11th 2023

I need to be honest and say that this is one of those reviews where objectivity goes out the window. You see, for me, Sólstafir and Katatonia represent the finer points of modern metal. I adore, with a heartfelt passion, both acts, and, in my eyes, they illustrate how metal is evolving as an art form.Sólstafir’s bleak metallised sonic landscapes speak to my lifelong love for Springsteen, whilst Katatonia have taken remorseless doom and made it utterly beautiful. This long-delayed but much-anticipated tour brings them both together in what can only be a win-win scenario for those who like their metal based on emotion and pathos. The Ritz is not heaving, but there is a good-sized crowd in and the number of couples that I see in his and hers matching Sólstafir and Katatonia T-shirts shows that there is a massive cross-section in their two fan bases.

Rising from the ashes of the late lamented Constants, Som trade in a form of spacey ethereal shoegaze that is not too far from the space (pun intended) occupied by their former act. It's the type of music that you lose yourself in, full of twists and turns and sonic distortions. The off-kilter melodic lilt that we associate with shoegaze is high up in the mix and there is a definite "sweet-and-sour" vibe going on, as fragile melodies juxtapose with dark pounding rhythms. In places fuzzy and distorted and in others clear and accessible, this is very much music designed to challenge and to contemplate. If you love this sort of thing (as I do) that is highly likely that you will get Som and their set get nods of approval from the obvious aficionados in the crowd.

Sólstafir are the perfect marriage of epic and insular. Their music is resolutely widescreen in its approach, but there is also a real introverted beauty to Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s delicate stagecraft. It offsets the bombastic nature of music by being slight and tantalisingly withdrawn. He drawls in Icelandic as sonic raptures build around him. It's atmospheric, ethereal and absolutely intoxicating. Sólstafir tracks build in intensity and in reverberation. Over the course of the nine songs aired tonight, we don't get a single one that clocks in at less than six minutes. The majority stretched out to at least the 10-minute mark if not beyond, but the point is they don't feel long, and they never outstay their welcome. They unfurl like grandiose tales, with their own distinct movements and passages.

Covid has certainly run amok in terms of promotional phases. This tour was meant to be in support of 2020's stark and reclusive “Endless Twilight of Codependent Love” however that fact seems to have gotten lost along the way and we get one singular piece from it in the shape of the hauntingly introspective ‘Rökkur’. In fact, the whole set feels distinctly retrospective as they completely ignore 2017’s upbeat “Berdreyminn”. Instead, they mine their earlier releases with two cuts a piece from 2009’s “Köld” and 2011’s “Svatir Sandar” and three from their breakthrough release “Ótta”. It is within the title track of the latter that Sólstafir really show why they are just so so special. 

It starts slow and subtle, almost elusive in its gentle meanderings. But then it builds in girth and in power, becoming more and more of a concentrated form as layer and layer of pulsating sound is laid upon it. And then it stops with Aðalbjörn baying for hush from the reverential masses. But it is not over, it is simply a slight interlude as a track builds up again to reach its transcendental crescendo. It is just simply incredible and just mind-boggling in trying to work out how four human souls create this sort of celestial din. 

Sólstafir are nothing short of extraordinary this evening. There is so much light and shade to the performance. When encapsulated in the moment, they are darker and impenetrable but when communicating with the crowd between songs, Aðalbjörn is playful, like some form of mischievous Icelandic elf. He deadpans that bassist Svavar Austmann has been the holder of the title, Iceland's sexiest man, for the last five years consecutively, and when he thinks he hears a boo during the obligatory “scream for me” section he decided he wants everybody to boo.

For set closer, ‘Goddess of the Ages’, everything is dialled up. The intensity, the stagecraft and the atmospherics. Aðalbjörn goes walkabout, balancing on the very tip of the barrier like some demented tightrope walker. Inexplicably he manages to cover its entire distance whilst still crooning to the elated throng. It is a sight to behold and just once again encapsulates the passion and fire at the heart of Sólstafir. They really are no ordinary band, this is metal, but metal deconstructed. The harsh jingoistic elements have been removed and what's left is an emotive and raw epicentre. Tonight is quite simply an incredible tour de force in performance, musicality and theatrics. Aðalbjörn mentions that he thinks the rooms they are playing in Manchester are getting bigger and that means that they should come back more often, I really do hope that he holds to his words.

There is a distinct feeling of “follow that” when Katatonia take to the stage and I will be honest and say, no matter how good they are I do feel that they will initially struggle to make their mark after the utter stupendous nature of Sólstafir. Whilst their tour mates are consummate showmen, Katatonia are a much more insular and melancholic proposition, that very much prefers to let the music do the talking. The music is, as always rich, emotive, and gloriously dour. But Jonas Renkse’s shy and retiring persona feels distinctly maudlin compared to what has come before. He tries desperately to hype up the crowd with cries that it is Saturday night in Manchester, but it never sounds like he believes it himself and therefore it all falls a bit flat. 

Katatonia have used wisely the enforced thumb-twiddling time that this tour’s postponement gave them and they now have not one but two albums of new material to showcase. Their most recent release, “Sky Void of Stars”, is given pole position with a third of the set given over to it. The rest of the stage time is used as a celebration of the best moments of modern day Katatonia and they elect to not go back any further than 2003’s “Viva Emptiness”.

‘Forsaker’ elicits as near to a sing along as we are going to get and ‘My Twin’ is introduced, in an almost post-modern manner as being "their hit”. The audience thins out as the night goes on, as those who obviously came specifically for Sólstafir head off for either their last trains or for further entertainment elsewhere. However, there is a diligent hardcore swell of Katatonia disciples upfront who revel in every moment. ‘Untrodden’ from the Covid-buried “City Burials” brings the main set to a gargantuan conclusion. From my personal perspective, it is a stunning record that should have been given far more airtime but then sadly are the brakes. They return almost instantaneously for an encore of ‘July’ and ‘Evidence’, the latter making a very welcome return to their repertoire as it had seemed to fall off the roster as of late.

Don't get me wrong Katatonia were great, and I sung and swayed along with gusto, but, and there is a but, they just didn't hold a candle to the utter magnificence of Sólstafir. Yes, they are different bands and yes they have different facets and yes I'm going to elicit the wrath of the keyboard warriors, but (and there's that word again) there is something utterly unworldly and unfathomable about the brilliance of those leather-clad plane-drifting Icelanders. What they are doing is so different and so full of raw emotion, that anything (even something as fundamentally brilliant as Katatonia's gothically beautiful back catalogue) pales into insignificance in comparison. Katatonia were great, they always are. But OMG how astounding and astonishing were Solstafir….

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!

Katatonia, Sólstafir, Som