Serein (song)

The song was first released as the second single off of Katatonia's tenth studio album The Fall of Hearts on 3 May 2016.[4][5][6] The song's official music video was debuted a week later exclusively through Billboard's website.[7] The video features a man writing the song's lyrics in pen and paper in black and white video.[8]

The word "Serein" was described by guitarist Anders Nystrom to mean "when rain falls but you can’t see any cloud".[7] (Alternatively defined to mean "fine rain falling after sunset from a sky in which no clouds are visible".[9]) Nystrom says that the song title is meant to be a cryptic metaphor, and refused to describe what is truly being described in the context of the song.[7] Frontman and lead vocalist Jonas Renkse described the song as "one of the more straight-forward songs on the album, very guitar-driven, quite upbeat but still packed with emotion."[7] Loudwire noted the similarity to 1980's new wave music such as The Cure and The Mission, due to its "gentle strumming and a soft lead... Jonas Renkse’s soothing, multi-tracked voice... a slightly uptempo rhythm [...] uplifting and pop-inflected [...] gorgeous, understated lead work textures"[10] A number of publications noted the song as sounding less depressing than most Katatonia songs.[10] AllMusic described the track as being "uptempo, prog pop/rocker with ringing, wrangling guitars, fat kick drums and snare, and an anthemic bridge.[2] Metal Injection described it as "pop-meets-doom [metal]"[11]

The song was generally well-received by critics. Loudwire praised the song for its "gorgeous" lead guitar work and "larger focus on atmosphere and melody" than prior music from the band.[10] MetalSucks praised the track for "melancholic melody, the vocal harmonies" and " a cool synth interlude in the middle that gave me the shivers", and concluding that it was a "solid entry into the Katatonia canon all around."[9] The artistic style of the song's music video was also praised.[12]

Band

• Jonas Renkse – lead vocals, keyboards
• Anders Nyström – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
• Roger Öjersson – guitars
• Niklas Sandin – bass
• Daniel Moilanen – drums

Production

• Jonas Renkse – production
• Anders Nystrom – production
• Jens Bogren – mixing, mastering