Latest news with #Katatonia
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonas Renske hopes Katatonia's new era includes more input from his bandmates
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Revered Swedish prog metal gloom mongers Katatonia sent shockwaves through their fanbase in March when it was announced that founding guitarist Anders Nyström had left the band after 34 years and 12 albums. That hasn't stopped co-founding vocalist Jonas Renkse in his tracks, though, and he ushers in a new era of the band with 13th LP Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State. It features a new-look line-up with two new guitar players – Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland – and Renkse is now eyeing new heights. 'When I listen to the album, I hear a band that's still very hungry and wants to do new things and go to new places,' he says. 'There's a drive, a new energy and new ideas.' He'd previously said Nyström's departure was 'a decision not taken lightly,' but that it allowed 'everyone to thrive and move forward with their own creative preferences.' Things threatened to get ugly when the guitarist retaliated by saying:'Katatonia could and should have been mutually laid to rest,' believing Renkse and co should operate under a new name. He also criticised the band's recent setlists for ignoring their earlier material. Renkse confirms to Prog that he's mourning the end of their 'fruitful' partnership – but believes the band's legacy in in safe hands. 'Some relationships go on for a long time, and you maybe don't realise that you've grown apart,' he reflects. 'I'm happy we got to live this dream together. What we have created together cannot be taken away from us.' The new record itself, it sees Renske accompanied by bassist Niklas Sandin, drummer Daniel Moilanen, and the 'overwhelming' talents of Elgstrand (Entombed AD) and Svalland (Letters From The Colony). Elgstrand is no stranger to the band, having deputised for live shows in recent years, while Svalland was 'the guy that I had my eye on' when the search for a new member began. This album is a little bit more guitar-based … I was thinking more as a guitar player than anything else While 2023's Sky Void Of Stars found Katatonia sounding uncharacteristically upbeat, Nightmares returns to a darker sonic world. 'It's something I reacted to,' Renkse says. 'Perhaps subconsciously because of the last album, but when I got the masters back, I thought, 'Wow, this record is really dark!' 'I think, for some reason, this album is a little bit more guitar-based. I was picking up the guitar more often than keyboards, and I was thinking more as a guitar player than anything else.' Listeners can expect plenty of guitar solos too. Nightmares is the third consecutive Katatonia album Renkse has written on his own. He says the new record – which explores 'the nightmares we face in life' – is not very different from its predecessors; but he's afforded himself experimentation with Efter Solen, a fully electronic song sung in Swedish. 'I'm always writing, and it had a very nice vibe to it. I didn't really want to waste it by just keeping it on a hard drive,' he explains. 'I'm very happy to have it as an experiment; it's still very melancholic and dark; it just has a different kind of clothing.' He hopes future albums will see the band sharing the weight of songwriting duties. 'I always encourage it – but in the last 10 years, no one has really stepped up to the plate. Being the sole songwriter is sometimes very lonely; I would love the bouncing back and forth of ideas.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Katatonia Announce New Album, Unveil Lead Single 'Lilac': Stream
The post Katatonia Announce New Album, Unveil Lead Single 'Lilac': Stream appeared first on Consequence. Katatonia have announced the new album Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, out June 6th via Napalm Records. The video for the lead single 'Lilac' can be streamed now. The LP marks the first Katatonia album with new guitarists Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland, both of whom are put to the test on the prog-leaning 'Lilac.' The song touts dynamic rhythmic changes and traverses numerous styles, from somber atmospheric goth rock to full-grind progressive death metal. Frontman and founding member Jonas Renkse helms the track with a majestic vocal performance. 'We are proud and excited to announce our new album,' stated Renske in a press release. 'As always, these songs are the stories that thrive in the corner of the eye, obscured by the light but waiting to come alive in the dusk of our morbid existence. Please enjoy the first scent — 'Lilac.'' Renkse served as the album's producer, with engineering by Lawrence Mackrory at NBS Audio and The City of Glass. It was mixed by Adam Noble and mastered by Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering. News of the album comes just weeks after founding guitarist Anders Nyström announced his departure from the veteran metal act after 34 years alongside Renske. Nyström cited creative differences with his longtime bandmate, expressing a desire to revisit the more extreme sound of Katatonia's early discography that was at odds with Renske's vision for the band. You can pre-order Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State via Napalm Records. Stream the video for 'Lilac' and see the album art and tracklist below. Artwork: Tracklist: 01. Thrice 02. The Liquid Eye 03. Wind of no Change 04. Lilac 05. Temporal 06. Departure Trails 07. Warden 08. The Light Which I Bleed 09. Efter Solen 10. In the Event of Katatonia Announce New Album, Unveil Lead Single 'Lilac': Stream Jon Hadusek Popular Posts Kanye West Says Wife Bianca Censori Left Him After Trying to Get Him Committed South Park Tackles Diddy, Ketamine, and Canada in Trailer for Season 27: Watch Bill Burr Confronted Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder at SNL50: "I Hated Your Band" Liam Neeson Lets It All Hang Out in New Trailer for The Naked Gun Reboot: Watch Mariah Carey Mortifies Teenage Son By Crashing His Twitch Stream Brand New's Jesse Lacey Faces New Grooming Allegations Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Katatonia Part Ways with Founding Guitarist Anders Nyström After 34 Years
The post Katatonia Part Ways with Founding Guitarist Anders Nyström After 34 Years appeared first on Consequence. Long-running Swedish extreme metal act Katatonia have parted ways with founding guitarist Anders Nyström after 34 years. Singer-guitarist Jonas Renkse, the other founding member of Katatonia, announced the news via Instagram on Monday (March 17th), citing 'creative preferences' and 'personal schedules' as reasons for the split: 'Anders Nyström and I are going our separate ways. A decision not taken lightly, but for everyone to thrive and move forward with their own creative preferences as well as personal schedules this has become the realistic option. Anders and I started the band in 1991 and his impact on the band's trademark sound is undeniable. As bleak as this sounds, and is, it's further evidence of life getting in the way of our preferred plans. I wish Anders all the best for the future.' Nyström then confirmed his exit from the band late Monday (March 17th), posting on Instagram: 'Sad but true. The time has come for me to confirm that the roads ahead Jonas [Renkse] and I have chosen for both Katatonia and ourselves have grown too wide and far apart, and as a result, our long-term collaboration has drawn to a close.' The guitarist's statement delved into the specifics of the aforementioned creative differences, expressing that he wanted to re-explore Katatonia's early/middle discography — apparently a point of contention with Renkse. 'Needless to say, I still love ALL our albums,' wrote Nyström, 'but with the early stuff being neglected for so many years, a feeling of having 'unfinished business' with a style that goes far back to our roots has just grown stronger and stronger. I can't help feeling adamant that songs from our early-mid discography deserve to be equally acknowledged and likewise targeted for our live show repertoire, the essential medium where the past should always be alive! Unfortunately, that door has been kept shut and left everything we did pre-millennium in a void.' Renkse and Nyström formed Katatonia in 1991, but had actually been working on music together since 1987. Their early releases explored a primitive black metal style. The duo eventually filled out the band's lineup for what would become Katatonia's debut album, 1993's Dance of December Souls, which is considered a melodic black metal classic. The band went on to release a string of lauded extreme metal albums before shifting to a dominantly alternative/gothic metal sound in the following decades — the most recent album being 2023's Sky Void of Stars. See both social media statements below. Katatonia Part Ways with Founding Guitarist Anders Nyström After 34 Years Jon Hadusek Popular Posts JD Vance Booed at Kennedy Center Dropkick Murphys Make On-Stage Wager with Trump Supporter Over Where His Shirt Was Made Documentary Claims Jim Morrison Is Alive, Living in Syracuse In 2025, Lollapalooza Has Shed Its Rock Past for Good j-hope of BTS Makes Triumphant Return with Solo Tour "Hope on the Stage": Review Matt Pinfield Comes Out of a Coma After Suffering Massive Stroke: "Guys, I'm Alive" Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Katatonia and guitarist Anders Nyström go their separate ways
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In news likely to send shockwaves through the band's fanbase, Katatonia frontman Jonas Renkse has just announced on social media that he and fellow founding member, guitarist Anders Nyström, are to go their separate ways. In a short statement, Reknse says: "Anders Nyström and I are going our separate ways. A decision not taken lightly, but for everyone to thrive and move forward with their own creative preferences as well as personal schedules this has become the realistic option. Anders and I started the band in 1991 and his impact on the band's trademark sound is undeniable. As bleak as this sounds, and is, it's further evidence of life getting in the way of our preferred plans. I wish Anders all the best for the future." Renkse is understood to be continuing with Katatonia, who last week announced European tour dates for November and December. Although there's been no official word, the tour announcement was widely expected to be followed by news of a new album. The band have been known to have been in the studio working on a follow-up to 2023's uplifting Sky Void Of Stars. There has been no word as yet from Nyström, who is also a member of the death metal supergroup Boodbath, alongside Renkse.
