Been a long time since I last saw Swedish masters of melancholy Katatonia, and I have to say I wouldn’t mind catching a gig at Irving Plaza in NYC in April to see them close out a North American headlining run in support of earlier 2016’s The Fall of Hearts. The intervening months will tell if I actually get there — one struggles with the four-hour drive to New York these days — but it’s a formidable month-plus Katatonia will spend on the road either way, so wherever you might be throughout the continent, from Edmonton to Charlotte, they seem to be looking to cover all, or at least most, of their bases this time around. Like they say below, it’s been three and a half years since the last time they were over here. I guess that makes them about due.

Also 10 years in 2017 since The Great Cold Distance, which they’ll reissue deluxe-style in January. This year marked 15 since Last Fair Deal Gone Down, if you needed further evidence of time in flight. Bizarre.

Copious info and dates from the PR wire:

KATATONIA ANNOUNCE “FALLEN HEARTS OF NORTH AMERICA 2017” HEADLINE TOUR

Katatonia, the Swedish purveyors of dark progressive rock/metal, have announced they will be heading out on a headline tour of North America in March and April 2017 to support the release of their latest studio album The Fall of Hearts.

Founding Katatonia member and guitarist Anders Nyström comments, “We did three North American tours in support for Dead End Kings and it’s been three-and-a-half years since the last one when we toured with Cult of Luna, so having already embraced the new cycle of The Fall of Hearts over here, we are eager to once again cross the Atlantic to continue from where we left off and to reap what we planted over there.”

Vocalist Jonas Renkse introduces the bands they have chosen to join them on the tour, saying, “We are very excited to finally announce our headline tour in North America for The Fall of Hearts. Also invited for this run are post-rock titans Caspian and young, promising act Uncured. Come out and celebrate the downfall of hearts (and everything else) with us.”

The Fallen Hearts of North America 2017 Dates:
Thu/Mar-16 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Fri/Mar-17 Cleveland, OH Agora
Sat/Mar-18 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls
Sun/Mar-19 Charlotte, NC The Underground
Tue/Mar-21 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
Thu/Mar-23 New Orleans, LA Republic
Fri/Mar-24 Houston, TX Scout Bar
Sat/Mar-25 Austin, TX Grizzly Hall
Sun/Mar-26 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
Tue/Mar-28 Mesa, AZ Club Red
Wed/Mar-29 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
Fri/Mar-31 Pomona, CA The Glass House
Sat/Apr-01 San Francisco CA Slim’s
Mon/Apr-03 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Tue/Apr-04 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Wed/Apr-05 Vancouver, BC Venue
Fri/Apr-07 Calgary, AB The Gateway
Sat/Apr-08 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room
Mon/Apr-10 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
Tue/Apr-11 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
Wed/Apr-12 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre
Fri/Apr-14 Minneapolis Fine Line
Sat/Apr-15 Chicago, IL Metro
Sun/Apr-16 Detroit, MI Majestic Theater
Mon/Apr-17 Toronto, ON The Opera House
Wed/Apr-19 Montreal, QC Club Soda
Thu/Apr-20 Philadelphia, PA The TLA
Fri/Apr-21 New York, NY Irving Plaza

Formed back in 1991 and hailed as one of the leaders of the death-doom genre along My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Anathema, Sweden’s Katatonia have spent the last 25 years ever-changing and evolving to become the much loved purveyors of dark progressive rock/metal we know today.

Their latest studio album The Fall OF Hearts, the official follow-up to 2012’s acclaimed Dead End Kings was recorded at Stockholm’s Studio Gröndahl & Tri-lamb Studio, and was self-produced by Anders Nyström & Jonas Renkse. Mixing and mastering duties were carried out by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Ihsahn, Devin Townsend) at Fascination Street Studios, with Karl Daniel Lidén (Switchblade, The Ocean, Greenleaf) brought in as engineer. It is the first record to feature new drummer Daniel ’Mojjo’ Moilanen and guitarist Roger Öjersson (Tiamat).

A new, two-disc tour edition of The Fall of Hearts is due for release on March 17, 2017 through Peaceville, the new version will feature live tracks taken from the band’s show and the band’s show in the Ancient Theater in Plovdiv Bulgaria in September 2016.

January 20, 2017 also sees the release of a limited edition tenth anniversary version of their class album The Great Cold Distance. This new, four-disc deluxe hardback 40 page, book edition of the album. It will include three bonus discs featuring B-sides and bonus songs, a new 5.1 remix of the album by Bruce Soord (Wisdom Of Crowds) and a live album of Katatonia playing the The Great Cold Distance in its entirety with the renowned Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, performed in September 2016. The design of this essential tenth anniversary edition has once again been taken care of by long time collaborator Travis Smith. pre-order here and here.

https://www.facebook.com/katatonia/
http://www.katatonia.com/
https://twitter.com/KatatoniaBand
https://www.instagram.com/katatoniaband/
peaceville.com

Kataonia, “Shifts” official video

After announcing back in November that they were in the studio, Swedish masters of melancholy Katatonia have confirmed a May 20 release for their upcoming 10th long-player, The Fall of Hearts, through Peaceville Records. The album was tracked by the band itself with mixing and engineering done by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, etc.) and Karl Daniel Lidén (Greenleaf, Dozer, Demon Cleaner, etc.), and they’ll support it by playing a slew of European festivals this summer, including Summer Breeze — is it my imagination or is this the first Summer Breeze fest in a long time? — in Germany and Hellfest in France.

Live dates, the striking cover art and more album background follow, all off the PR wire:

KATATONIA ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW STUDIO ALBUM, REVEALS NEW LINE-UP

10th studio album “The Fall of Hearts” out May 20 on Peaceville

Katatonia, the Swedish purveyor of dark progressive rock/metal, has revealed details of its eagerly awaited 10th studio album, The Fall of Hearts, set for release on the May 20, 2016 through the band’s long-time home of Peaceville Records.

The band commented: “This album is probably everything we unknowingly ever dreamed of to release. It’s a bleak but adventurous journey through our elements, we haven’t held back, we have pushed to get forward and backward in the ever spiraling night of our musical legacy.”

The official follow-up to 2012’s acclaimed Dead End Kings was recorded at Stockholm’s Studio Gröndahl & Tri-lamb Studio, and was self-produced by Anders Nyström and Jonas Renkse. Mixing and mastering duties were carried out by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Ihsahn, Devin Townsend) at Fascination Street Studios, with Karl Daniel Lidén (Switchblade, The Ocean, Greenleaf) brought in as engineer.

The dramatic yet desolate artwork was created by long time Katatonia designer and illustrator Travis Smith.

Katatonia has spent the past four years since the release of Dead End Kings touring the world, as well as expanding its fan base through two special albums on Kscope, the sister label of Peaceville. 2013 saw the release of Dethroned & Uncrowned which exploded the core of the songs on Dead End Kings creating new moods and textures. In 2015, the band released the live acoustic album and concert film, Sanctitude. Both releases illustrate the band’s journey toward this, its current more progressive sound.

The Fall of Hearts is the first record to feature new drummer Daniel ‘Mojjo’ Moilanen along with the addition of recently recruited guitarist Roger Öjersson (Tiamat), who came in just in time to sprinkle some blistering solos on the album. With its new lineup, Katatonia will continue to push its musical boundaries beyond its roots in the metal scene while drawing in new fans from across the musical spectrum like peers such as Opeth and Anathema have also done, cementing Katatonia’s place as one of the most revered and cherished of all bands in the world of modern heavy music.

Katatonia live:
3/12 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Metal Town Festival
4/29 – Kopervik, Norway @ Karmoygeddon Festival
6/19 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
7/03 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tuska Festival
7/09 – Bouckenborgh, Belgium @ Anterwerp Metal Festival
7/10 – Bouckenborgh, Belgium @ Anterwerp Metal Festival
8/05 – Corroios, Portugal @ Vagos Open Air Festival
8/17 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany @ Summer Breeze Festival
8/18 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany @ Summer Breeze Festival
8/19 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany @ Summer Breeze Festival
8/20 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany @ Summer Breeze Festival

Katatonia is:
Jonas Renkse – Vocals
Anders Nyström – Guitar
Roger Öjersson – Guitar
Niklas Sandin – Bass
Daniel Moilanen – Drums

www.katatonia.com
www.facebook.com/katatonia
https://twitter.com/KatatoniaBand

Katatonia, The Fall of Hearts teaser

As of the last I heard — by which I mean when I looked at their Thee Facebooks page just now — Swedish downer metallers Katatonia had finished tracking the drums for their upcoming 10th album. They’re in the studio now with none other than Karl Daniel Lidén, whose name should ring out owing to his work with the likes of Greenleaf and Dozer, going back to his time playing drums in the former act as well as Demon Cleaner circa the turn of the century. Lidén isn’t actually playing drums in Katatonia, as that duty has fallen to newcomer Daniel “Mojjo” Moilanen, but you can rest assured he’s made them sound fucking awesome, since that’s something that seems to be his specialty.

Next year will mark 15 since Katatonia issued Last Fair Deal Gone Down, a record that in many ways has set the tone for what they’ve done since. Just your little “time flies” tidbit for the day. Seems like Katatonia are also in the market for a second guitarist to work alongside Anders “Blakkheim” Nyström, who doubles in the deathly outfit Bloodbath.

Not-at-all current lineup photo and PR wire info follow:

KATATONIA ANNOUNCES NEW DRUMMER; ENTERS STUDIO TO BEGIN RECORDING NEW ALBUM

10th studio album due out next year on Peaceville

Swedish masters of melancholy, Katatonia, has confirmed details of its new band member, drummer Daniel ‘Mojjo’ Moilanen.

Vocalist Jonas Renkse recalled: “We first met Mojjo back in 2009 where his band at the time, Engel, had joined up with us and Paradise Lost on a U.K. tour and we soon realized we shared the same musical background and ideals. We stayed in touch over the years and when Daniel Liljekvist quit Katatonia in 2014 we decided to give Mojjo a call. He has now been with us for well over a year, so far only as a live member, but now is the time for him to join the Katatonia album cycle and most importantly – make his own impression on our new material. We can’t wait to see what this will lead to. Love him up!”

Mojjo added: “From 1993 via 2009 to 2014, from today and onward into future battles. I am thankful, delighted and proud to take part in the next phase of Katatonia and I am looking forward to the journey being as giving as it has been for the last 22 years.”

Along with Mojjo, Katatonia has entered Stockholm’s Studio Gröndahl with engineer Karl Daniel Lidén to commence the recording of its 10th album. The new album is due out in 2016 on Peaceville Records and follows up the 2012 Peaceville album Dead End Kings. More details on the band’s new album will be released in the coming weeks and months. Fans can look forward to updates from the studio on the official Katatonia Facebook page.

In addition, Katatonia has confirmed live shows for 2016. All announced dates can be seen below.

Stay tuned for more information on Katatonia.

Katatonia live…
2/04 – 2/08 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise
4/29 – Kopervik, Norway @ Karmoygeddon Festival
6/19 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
7/03 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tuska Festival

www.katatonia.com
www.facebook.com/katatonia
https://twitter.com/KatatoniaBand
www.kscopemusic.com
www.peaceville.com
www.omerch.com
www.northernmusic.co.uk

Katatonia, Last Fair Day Gone Night, Live in 2013

Don’t get me wrong, I think the new Katatonia record, Night is the New Day, is pretty sweet. But this video for “Day and Then the Shade” — well, not so much. It’s just a couple of goth chicks writhing around in the woods with Marilyn Manson-circa-1996 jump cuts, shaky cams and timing changes. I don’t know if director Lasse Hoile — who has previously worked with Opeth and Porcupine Tree — thought of the “concept” on his own or was given orders from the label or band, but man, it’s a long way away from good. Yikes. Because I’m a fan of Katatonia and feel bad for them, here it is.

Though it’s doubtful that when his band put out their first demo 18 years ago he envisioned them becoming one of melancholic European doom’s most influential acts, vocalist Jonas Renkse of Sweden‘s Katatonia nonetheless wears his legacy humbly. On the eve of the release of Night is the New Day (Peaceville), the singer is more concerned with picking out which new songs will make it into upcoming gigs than with resting on his laurels or indulging in any, “Gosh, wasn’t Tonight’s Decision badass?” nonsense.

And yes, Tonight’s Decision was badass.

A decade, four full-lengths and a live album later, however, Katatonia are still in the midst of their stylistic development. Capitalizing on 2006’s more aggressive The Great Cold Distance while at once melding gloomy heaviness with the sedate, gently depressive atmospherics for which the band has become known, Night is the New Day offers strength in both aspects at the same time it molds them into something new entirely. Something new and yet still definitively Katatonia.

Such the way of the record and the band as a whole. Continually changing and shifting the expectations of their fans, Katatonia has become an institution of quality songcraft and execution — thanks in no small part to the writing talents of Renkse and guitarist Anders Nystr?m, the two lone remaining original members. Renkse recently took some time out for a phoner to discuss Night is the New Day and the progression of the band, and The Obelisk is honored to feature that interview after the jump. Please enjoy.

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