139 - Katatonia Deliberation 2006

Coming three full years after 2003's "Viva Emptiness", "The Great Cold Distance" continues the trend toward the mainstream that the Swedish band Katatonia began with that album. Singer Jonas Renske -- who apparently lost his ability to do the now-clichéd Cookie Monster vocals some years ago due to medical problems -- has refined his voice into a much smoother and, surprisingly, more powerful instrument that's capable of greater emotional shadings. Similarly, this album forsakes the blastbeats and hyperspeed riffing for a more dynamic sound that makes smart use of slow and quiet passages. "Deliberation" and "Leaders" are as brutal as anything on the band's career high point.