Rain Without End (1997) - October Tide

Released in 1997, Rain Without End is the debut album from October Tide, a side project formed by Katatonia's Fred Norrman and Jonas Renkse. It came during a transitional time for Katatonia, when Renkse had stepped back from harsh vocals due to vocal strain. But here, he fully returned to the mic, delivering some of his most sorrow-drenched growls to date. Rain Without End feels like the emotional residue of early Katatonia, soaked in the same cold atmosphere but carried even deeper into melodic doom death territory. It’s an album that doesn’t just mourn—it wallows, dragging you into a fog of endless autumn.

Tracklist:

1. 12 Days of Rain

2. Ephemeral

3. All Painted Cold

4. Sightless

5. Losing Tomorrow

6. Blue Gallery

7. Infinite Submission

From the moment 12 Days of Rain begins, the tone is unmistakable: slow, layered guitars spiral over sorrowful leads, as Renkse growls from beneath the weight of his own memories. The production is raw but not crude—it’s organic, and that only enhances the melancholic feel. You can almost hear the rainfall between the notes.

Ephemeral continues with that longing mood, showcasing the duo’s gift for weaving beautiful, almost post-rock-like guitar lines into the doom-death format. It doesn't feel oppressive in the traditional sense; it's more like emotional collapse painted with grayscale textures. The melody always takes precedence, but the aggression—especially in the vocals—reminds you that this is not just sadness, it’s anguish.

All Painted Cold is a standout for how haunting it feels. The clean guitar breaks echo Katatonia’s Brave Murder Day, but October Tide stretches them out, letting the silence breathe longer before the distortion returns. Sightless follows with some of the most memorable leads on the album—guitar phrases that seem to weep, not just resonate.

By the time Losing Tomorrow and Blue Gallery arrive, the album has settled into a mournful rhythm. There’s beauty here, but it's submerged under weight. The kind of weight that feels familiar to anyone who's been numb for too long. These aren’t songs to headbang to; they’re songs to sink into.

Infinite Submission closes the record with a title that sums it up perfectly. There is no catharsis here, no triumphant final riff. Just more rain, more loss, more grey.

What makes Rain Without End so affecting is its restraint. There’s no flashiness, no attempt to be anything other than what it is: an open wound, left untreated. It's the sound of depression translated into riffs, growls, and slow-burning despair. While Katatonia would evolve into cleaner, more progressive sounds, October Tide stayed behind in the wreckage, giving us this one perfect dirge before disappearing for years.

My personal highlights are 12 Days of Rain, All Painted Cold , Sightlesss and Infinite Submission. They capture the essence of what made this project so vital—an outlet for pain too overwhelming to polish. This is the album you reach for when Brave Murder Day ends, but your sorrow hasn’t.