Katatonia: Continuity In Change

KATATONIA have defied convention with a career that has seen them leave their mark on the extreme metal underground, before turning their hand to progressive rock and metal. The band have never stopped finding new ways to express the malignant melancholy of the world around them: from the melodic death/doom fusion of Brave Murder Day, to the gothic rock of Tonight’s Decision, and the progressive overtones of Dead End Kings, they have taken their fans with them as they’ve explored the nuances of new styles, while remaining unmistakably KATATONIA all the long. After a brief hiatus following the release of The Fall Of Hearts, the Swedes are back with new odes to misery. Distorted Sound got in touch with bassist Niklas Sandin to get his take on the band’s latest opus, City Burials.

Seasoned fans will quickly spot that change is afoot. City Burials is the first studio album since 1998’s Discouraged Ones not to feature Travis Smith’s distinctive artwork. The band’s music and the artist’s work have become deeply intertwined, but now two decades down the line, it was time for something new. “KATATONIA has been in a long relationship with Travis Smith,” explains Sandin, “who always delivers and has his very personal and distinctive style – something that always worked and been a good portrait for what KATATONIA sounds like – but there’s always that time when you want to change it up and go for something new and unexplored. This time was now, and it was very fitting to have a dark and bleak cover of a character that very much resembles the Dead End King, if you will. It is the symbol of a being in control of memories. It controls them, so it’s kept in the past.” Despite the symbolism of the album’s artwork, however, the album is not intended as a direct sequel to 2012’s Dead End Kings, nor even to their last album The Fall of Hearts. “Each KATATONIA album is a continuation in the bands sonic realm,” Sandin elucidates, “but it´s not a direct follow up in the sense that they’re connected. It´s an album that holds it´s own.”

City Burials distinguishes itself by featuring some of the band’s heaviest material in years, a change which seems to have come with the arrival of Roger Öjersson, member of fellow Swedish progressive metal outfit TIAMAT. “It’s the first album where Roger has a bigger part of the guitar work,” Sandin explains. “On the last one he came in at the last stage, putting down some leads and solos, but on this album he also played rhythm guitar. He has a very rich and broad musical background, which contributes.” The band’s eclectic taste informs and influences the variety of textures and styles explored on City Burials, as Sandin notes “There’s such a rich and vast selection of artists we listen to, so to pinpoint anything that leads to an influence is hard. We all like and appreciate heavy music in the band, but no one is narrow minded, just listening to a certain genre or artist.”

“I’m not sure if there is any specific artist or band that has a huge influence on KATATONIA’s sound nowadays,” Sandin tells us. The result, unsurprisingly, is an album which reiterates and refines the sounds and themes of KATATONIA’s previous work. There is, after all, no need to reinvent the wheel. “There’s so many different things that comes in to play in terms of influences,” observes Sandin. “It can be influenced by everything from pop culture to our own lived events and memories.” With such a broad palette of influences, one might wonder how the band go about differentiating themselves. The answer lies in the talents of songwriter Jonas Renkse, who imposes his world-weary perspective onto these universal experiences, before they are rendered in KATATONIA’s uniquely cinematic style. It’s not always easy to bring another person’s vision to fruition, but KATATONIA are consummate professionals: “It isn’t hard at all to bring this to life. It’s a formula and concept that´s been going on for so long, and we´re all comfortable in this,” Sandin tells us, adding “if you really like and stand behind the music you play and help to portray, it comes naturally.”

While there is a peculiarly visual quality to KATATONIA’s music, the band steer clear of the conceptual excess of a lot of progressive music. ”There isn’t any specific theme on the album,” continues Sandin. “It’s as it always has been. A mixture of songs that portray the melancholic parts of life and existence.” City Burials could be the soundtrack to a nordic-noir series exploring the drab, overcast character of suburban Stockholm; setting the scene, without telling the story. “It’s not a concept album,” Sandin clarifies, “but something that should more be viewed as the creation of many different influences.” The album was recorded at Tri-Lamb Studios in Stockholm alongside Karl Daniel Lidén, before being mixed by Jacob Hansen, who has recently worked with AMARANTHE, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and VOLBEAT. The result of their joint efforts is a lush production which brings KATATONIA’s melancholic, cinematic sound to life: Sandin enthuses, “KATATONIA has never sounded this good before!”

After the band’s brief hiatus in 2018, and the anniversary tour for Night Is The New Day, fans can at last look forward to seeing KATATONIA touring their new material this year. “There’s too many songs from City Burials that I’m excited about playing live,” Sandin comments, “but if I had to choose one, it’d be Behind the Blood.” Last time around, the band finished each show by putting their touch on JUDAS PRIEST’s ballad Night Comes Down. For the City Burials tour, fans can look forward to an encore featuring ENTER THE HUNT’s Fighters, which Sandin tells us “would fit like a glove in a live environment.”

City Burials is out now via Peaceville Records.

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