Katatonia
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Katatonia |
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Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse (formerly aka Lord Seth) and Anders Nyström (formerly aka Blakkheim).
History
1991-1993
The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival and their debut album Dance of December Souls, are noted for the overall bleak melancholy and despair of their sound, often giving them the classification of doom metal or death/doom metal. The early Katatonia albums are sometimes, along with albums by bands such as My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost, considered forerunners of the death/doom metal genre. The band has expressed that their music has been influenced by bands such as The Cure, Fields of the Nephilim, and Joy Division.[4]
1994
The band recorded For Funerals to Come in September 1994, which was released in 1995, after which, Le Huche left the band.
1995
The band took the whole year off due to their struggle to find a permanent lineup.
1996-1997
When Jonas formed October Tide in 1995 with Fredrik Norrman, Jonas decided to start Katatonia again and get Fredrik to join the band.
In 1996, Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt performed the growling vocals on Brave Murder Day when regular Katatonia singer (and then-drummer) Jonas Renkse became unable to perform harsh vocals properly.
Scarlet Heavens (with Primordial) was also released in 1996 but recorded in 1994 as what Jonas describes as something "we never intended to release" due to its soft sound in which Katatonia did, which was not their style.[5]
During one of Katatonia's tour's, Jonas fell ill and was temporarily replaced by Kenneth Englund.
In 1997, The Band enlisted help from Åkerfeldt once again for Sounds of Decay.
The Band decided to go back to the sound they had with Scarlet Heavens beginning with 1997's Saw You Drown.
1998
In 1997, Discouraged Ones was recorded and released the next year; it proved to be the last release on which Jonas drummed, as well as the last release with Mikael Oretoft on bass guitar.
Katatonia had Anders Nordin to take up drums for Jonas but Anders pulled out of the band at the last minute.
1999-2000
Since Jonas wanted focus strictly on Vocals permanently, Katatonia enlisted the help of Dan Swanö again to drum for the 1999 album Tonight's Decision.
Sick of using session members, the band decided to have a permanently lineup so Fred Norrman got his Brother, Mattihas Norrman as a bassist and Daniel Liljekvist joined the band as the drummer.
2001-2002
In 2000, the EP Teargas, the full-length album Last Fair Deal Gone Down, and the single Tonight's Music were all recorded. They were released in 2001.
2003-2005
Ghost of the Sun and Viva Emptiness, a single and a full-length album respectively, were recorded in 2002 but released in 2003.
In 2004, the band released Brave Yester Days (the title being a play on their album Brave Murder Day), which 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.
In 2005, another compilation was release called The Black Sessions. It documented later releases and includes a live DVD.
2006-2008
In 2005, the band recorded The Great Cold Distance, along with the accompanying singles "My Twin", "Deliberation", and "July", all of which were released in 2006.
In 2006, another live album by the band was recorded, called Live Consternation. It was released in 2007.
2009-present
Katatonia's most recent release, 2009's Night Is the New Day, has received widespread critical acclaim.
In 22 December 2009, The Norrman's left Katatonia.
The band reissued Night Is the New Day and Last Fair Deal Gone Down in 2011.[6]
The band is currently doing special select shows for their 20th anniversary.
Band members
- Current
- Jonas Renkse – lead vocals (since 1991), drums, percussion (1991–1999)
- Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström – lead[7]& rhythm guitars, live backing vocals (since 1991)
- Daniel Liljekvist – drums, percussion (since 1999)
with
- Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson – live lead & rhythm guitars (since 2009)
- Niklas "Nille" Sandin – live bass (since 2009)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Katatonia_2005.jpg/220px-Katatonia_2005.jpg)
- Former
- Guillaume Le Huche – bass (1992–1994)
- Mikael Oretoft – bass (1996–1997)
- Fredrik "North" Norrman – lead & rhythm guitars (1994–2009)
- Mattias "Kryptan" Norrman – bass (1999–2009)
- Session
- Dan Swanö – keyboards (1992–1993), drums on Tonight's Decision (1999)
- Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals (1996–1997)
- Kenneth Englund – drums (1996)
- Frank Default – keyboards, strings & percussion (2006-)
Discography
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)
- Night Is the New Day (2009)
Live albums
- The Black Sessions (Best of double disc set with a live DVD) (2005)
- Live Consternation (including live DVD) (2007)
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)
- The Longest Year (2010)[8]
Demos
- Rehearsal '91 (1991)
- Rehearsal '92 (1992)
- Jhva Elohim Meth (1992)
Singles
- Ghost of the Sun (2003)
- My Twin (2006)
- Deliberation (2006)
- July (2007)
- Day and Then the Shade (2009)
Compilations
- W.A.R. Compilation Vol. 1 (1994)
- Split 10" (1996)
- Identity Five (1999) Century Media (features "Deadhouse")
- Peaceville Classic Cuts (2001) Peaceville (features the track "No devotion")
- Brave Yester Days (2004)
- The Black Sessions (2005)
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"
- ^ YouTube.com'
- ^ http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles/chats/1-355_katatonia.aspx
- ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=155731
- ^ Katatonia – An Evening With..... kililive.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-05.
- ^ New EP Featuring Unreleased Tracks Plus 2 Videos blogs.myspace.com. 2010-02-18. Retrieved on 2010-02-18.
External links