Katatonia
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| Katatonia | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Daniel Liljekvist, Anders Nystrom, Mattias Norrman, Jonas Renkse, and Fredrik Norrman
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genre(s) | Death/Doom[1][2] (early era)[3] Doom metal Goth rock (later career) Alternative metal (later career) |
| Years active | 1991–1994 1996–present |
| Label(s) | Peaceville, Avantgarde Music, No Fashion Records, Vic Records |
| Associated acts | Opeth, Bloodbath, Diabolical Masquerade, October Tide |
| Website | www.katatonia.com |
| Members | |
| Jonas Renkse Anders Nyström Fred Norrman Mattias Norrman Daniel Liljekvist |
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| Former members | |
| See former members | |
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse (formerly aka Lord Seth) and Anders Nyström (formerly aka Blakkheim). The early Katatonia albums are noted for the overall melancholy of their sound, often giving them the classification of doom metal. Katatonia's more recent albums have progressed to a wider sound, with modern overtones, dropped guitars, symphonic synths and arrangements, alternative sounds and generally heavier riffs.
Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt performed the growling vocals on Brave Murder Day and Sounds of Decay after regular Katatonia singer (and then drummer) Jonas Renkse became unable to scream properly. During this time, the band decided to change their sound to a more soft sound with clean vocals beginning with 1998's Discouraged Ones. This shift in instrumental tone and vocal style was accompanied by an appreciable decrease in the length of the band's songs, with latter period songs typically lasting around four minutes.
Katatonia has released two compilations. Brave Yester Days (the title being a play on their album Brave Murder Day) is a double-disc release including all cuts from EPs up to Saw You Drown, selected cuts from full-length albums Brave Murder Day and Dance of December Souls, and two tracks from a compilation. The Black Sessions is a limited release that documents later releases and includes a live DVD.
On May 31th 2009 Anders wrote on official Katatonia's webpage about starting to write the new album. Here is the text of his message:
"We’ve been very busy lately writing and completing the material for our 8th studio album and we’re proud to announce that Katatonia will enter the studio this summer, starting in a studio in the south of Sweden with drums courtesy of Daniel on June the 10th. We’ll then continue on the remainder of the sessions in a studio here in Stockholm further through july and wrap it up in august.
We’ll keep the info short for now as we’ll launch a studio diary to give you all the in-depth information and details on the album making incl album/song-titles, audio teasers, album artwork and also our tour plans along the recording process. We can already confirm that initially 13 tracks will be recorded and a selection of 11-12 songs will make it onto the album. We got a few big surprises to reveal and we’re confident this material is our most varied, diverse and possibly strongest shit all together on one and the same album. The release date is set for late October on Peaceville."
Contents |
[edit] Band members
[edit] Current members
- Jonas Renkse – lead vocals (1991 - present), drums, percussion (1991 - 1999)
- Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström – lead & rhythm guitars (1991 - present)
- Fredrik "North" Norrman – lead & rhythm guitars (1994 - present)
- Mattias "Kryptan" Norrman – bass guitar (1999 - present)
- Daniel Liljekvist – drums, percussion (1999 - present)
[edit] Former members
- Guillaume Le Huche – bass guitar (1992 – 1994)
- Mikael Oretoft – bass guitar (1996 – 1997)
- Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals (1996 – 1997)
- Dan Swanö – keyboards (1992 - 1993), drums, percussion (1999)
- Kenneth Eklund – drums, percussion (live, 1996)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Dance of December Souls (1993)
- Brave Murder Day (1996)
- Discouraged Ones (1998)
- Tonight's Decision (1999)
- Last Fair Deal Gone Down (2001)
- Viva Emptiness (2003)
- The Great Cold Distance (2006)
- Est October Release (2009)
[edit] Live albums
- The Black Sessions (Best of double disc set with a live DVD) (2005)
- Live Consternation (including live DVD) (2007)
[edit] EPs
- Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival (1992)
- For Funerals to Come (1995)
- Sounds of Decay (1997)
- Saw You Drown (1998)
- Teargas (2001)
- Tonight's Music (2001)
[edit] Demos
- Rehearsal '91 (1991)
- Rehearsal '92 (1992)
- Jhva Elohim Meth (1992)
[edit] Singles
- Ghost Of The Sun (2003)
- My Twin (2006)
- Deliberation (2006)
- July (2007)
[edit] Compilations
- W.A.R. Compilation Vol. 1 (1994)
- Split 10" (1996)
- Identity Five (1999) Century Media (features "Deadhouse")
- Brave Yester Days (2004)
- The Black Sessions (2005)
- Peaceville Classic Cuts (2001) Peaceville (features the track "No devotion")
[edit] Side note
Frederik Norrman and Jonas Renkse were both in the doom/death band October Tide while in Katatonia. Rain Without End (1997, Vic Records), recorded in 1995, would be Renkse's last use of guttural vocals until his guest appearance 13 years later on Ayreon's 2008 album, 01011001. October Tide would dissolve after the release of Grey Dawn (1999).
Renkse and Nystrom are both members of the band Bloodbath and have been since 1998 (the same year October Tide is credited with splitting up).
[edit] References
- ^ Doom-metal.com review of Katatonia’s Ihva Elohim Meth... the Revival
- ^ Rough Edge review of Katatonia’s Last Fair Deal Gone Down
- ^ Garry Sharpe-Young's "Definitive Guide to Metal", p. 379, "propagators of ambitious and supremely melodic doomdeath metal with heavy gothic elements"
