With “Night Is The New Day” being less than six months old, Katatonia fans might have thought it would be a long cold winter or two before they would be treated to some new material. Not so however as Stockholm’s finest couldn’t help putting a new twist on a few familiar tunes while letting a few new ones free upon the world.

It’s impossible to know if “Sold Heart” and “The Longest Year” are leftovers from the “Night Is The New Day” sessions, and quite frankly with songs this good does it really matter? Katatonia have become masters of melancholy metal with their understated matter of fact method of producing some of the most powerful emotional music in extreme metal, and they appear to be able to do it with consummate ease.

While the remixes of “Day and Then The Shade” and “Idle Blood” put a new twist to two firm favourites from “Night Is The New Day”, it is unquestionably the aforementioned new tracks that make “The Longest Year” a stand alone release. Musically the whole EP is a continuation of the “Night Is The New Day” and there is no new ground explored but this doesn’t really matter, the standard of musicianship and originality makes Katatonia all but a Metal national treasure. If you don’t already have any Katatonia material in your collection, why not and this is as good a place as any to start.