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01-04 Katatonia release Birds
12-02 Katatonia premiere Austerity
10-26 Katatonia Announces New Album
04-22 New Katatonia Song
01-30 Katatonia paint with Lacquer
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Considered by many to be one of the heavyweights of Swedish metal, Katatonia had a long and storied career thatsawthemmove from arough,sludge-like doom metal sound to a more streamlined approach, losing the guttural vocalsand addingamore accessible, riff-basedsheen to their brandofgothicdoom.Formed in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden, Katatonia started out life as a studio-based two-piece. Members JonasRenkse(knownthen as LordSeth)wastheband's vocalist and drummer, and Anders Nyström (aka Blakkheim) spent theirfirst yearundersaid moniker writing andrehearsingbeforeputtingtogether a demo, titled Jhva ...read more
Considered by many to be one of the heavyweights of Swedish metal, Katatonia had a long and storied career thatsawthemmove from arough,sludge-like doom metal sound to a more streamlined approach, losing the guttural vocalsand addingamore accessible, riff-basedsheen to their brandofgothicdoom.Formed in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden, Katatonia started out life as a studio-based two-piece. Members JonasRenkse(knownthen as LordSeth)wastheband's vocalist and drummer, and Anders Nyström (aka Blakkheim) spent theirfirst yearundersaid moniker writing andrehearsingbeforeputtingtogether a demo, titled Jhva Elohim Meth, which wasrecorded bySwedishmetal legend Dan Swanö, and wasreleased in 1992. Sludgyanddoom-laden,with just a dab of classicblackmetalatmosphere to it, Jhva became a hit in underground metalcircles, enough so that the bandmanagedto score aCDre-releaseof it on Dutch label Vic Records. The popularity of the CD called the bandout, and Katatonia added abassplayer,GuillaumeLeHuche (onceknown as Israphel Wing) in order to satisfy the need of fans to hear theband live. Itwas at thispoint thatKatatoniabegan a long trend ofsigning short-term deals with European labels, the first being NoFashion,whoreleased thefirst full-length Katatonia offering,Dance of December Soulsin Decemberof 1993. With a moreexpansive soundbeingchosenover the blacker elements of their debut EP, Katatoniaattracted a broader fan base,andbegan tomove into amore gothic-based soundthat was more reminiscent of the Cure or Sisters of Mercy thanblackmetal. 1994 was, for themostpart,spentrecording and releasing tracksfor split singles ("Scarlet Heavens," a ten-minute epic eventually released in1996)andcompilations("Black Erotica"and "Love of the Swan"for a collection for newlabel Avantgarde Music, released in 1995).Tensions in nailing down a stable touring lineup led to the short-term dissolution of the band, with RenskeandNyströmfocusing on otherprojects.Itwasin 1996 that Katatonia, a three-piece again with new guitarist FredrikNorrman,regroupedand recorded what many feel to betheirmasterpiece,BraveMurder Day. Notable for the fact that thiswas thepoint atwhich Renske was no longer able to sing in the gutturalstyle (Opeth'sMikael Åkerfeldtwasrecruited totake care ofthat),Brave Murder Day also marked a new chapter in the band's sound overall.Gone were the blackmetalaspectsoftheirearlierwork, and the doomier aspects were set aside for a leaner, higher tempo -- yet firmly metal--dynamic.The success of Brave Murder Day would allow Katatonia to embark on their first European tour, and in 1997 thebandreturned(onceagainwithÅkerfeldton vocals) with the mini-album Sounds of Decay. 1997 also saw the band add anewmember,Mikael Oretoft, taking thevacantbassposition, as well astheir recording of a new album, DiscouragedOnes(released in1998), with Renske taking the clean vocals and(again)Åkerfeldton the guttural. A newmulti-album dealwithPeacevillefollowed, and the band released Tonight's Decision in 1999. This timearound,Renske took on fullvocalduties(allcleanvocals, of course) and Dan Swanö was recruited to man the drums for the recordings. Thebandthenrounded outitstouringmembership,adding Mattias Norrman on bass and Daniel Liljekvist before embarking on atour supporting ParadiseLost.The year 2001 saw the release of Last Fair Deal Gone Down, produced by the band, which found Katatonia fullyembracingthesound thatwastodefinethem in the latter part of their career. A pair of singles was released from thealbum, and theyspentmost of 2001 on the road. Thebandreturnedaftera quiet 2002 with 2003's Viva Emptiness, whichwas followed byaEuropean tour that Katatonia headlined. While 2004 wasspent touring,2005sawKatatonia's past beingexplored withthecompilation releases Brave Yester Days and The Black Sessions. The former, adouble-discset,containedmusicfromtheband's early years (1992-1997), while the latter acted as more of a "best-of" and B-sidescollectionof their workdatingfrom1998-2004thatincluded a DVD of the band live in 2003. The band would re-enter thestudio in late 2005, andin2006,Katatonia released TheGreat ColdDistance.Over the next two years, the band would tourextensively (including anAmericanjaunt)and release the live album, LiveConsternation in 2007.Night Isthe New Dayfollowed in 2009. After extendedglobaltouring and a short break, Katatonia returned to the studio in late 2011 andrecorded Dead End Kings, which appeared in August of 2012. « hide |
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