Katatonia's cold ways comes through on new CD
The band formed in 1991. They have produced seven LPs, a plethora of EPs and singles, a couple of live DVDs, even a box set. Their records frequently turn up on year-end best lists. Earlier this year, a two-CD tribute to them was released.
Katatonia still remains the most underrated metal band on the planet.
For the Swedish quintet, which performs tonight at The Pearl Room in Mokena, genre affiliation adds to their frustrating anonymity, as Katatonia's appeal lies beyond scene boundaries. They began as a doom/death outfit, but over time, the band's music edged away from its underground aspects.
First, vocalist Jonas Renske stopped growling and they enlisted Mikael Åkerfeldt of longtime friends Opeth for two EPs and 1996's "Brave Murder Day" album. By 1998's "Discouraged Ones," Renske resumed singing, now in a clean, mournful croon. Combined with Anders Nyström's and Fredrik Norrman's hypnotic guitars, the approach was less harsh but retained their signature dejected tone.
2001's "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" saw the addition of drummer Daniel Liljekvist and Norrman's younger brother, Mattias, on bass. The rhythm section's prowess allowed for more dynamic songwriting, with some sections hitting harder than ever and the ethereal moments awash in tides of cerebral shoegazer melancholy.
2003's "Viva Emptiness" and last year's "The Great Cold Distance" refined this approach, compact yet expansive songs with dense arrangements and evocative lyrics informed more by indie rock than death metal convention. Katatonia maintains a "less is more" credo, setting them apart from the flashy overkill that reduces much of metal to a campy cliché.
Following is an edited conversation with Katatonia's Anders Nyström, conducted several days into the band's first American headlining tour in support of their new live CD/DVD, "Live Consternation" (Peaceville).
Q. Katatonia seems to have a very, very devoted fan base.
A. Yeah, I notice that our fan base over here is really devoted, and that's what makes us feel so comfortable being back here, even on a headlining tour so early. (The band self-financed their American jaunt, opening for Moonspell last fall.) It's a very tight thing with our fans. It's something that's been I guess building up all these years that we haven't been around here.
Q. There's something in your music that creates a deep connection with people.
A. I think it's definitely the whole personal thing we build up. The music and the lyrics go very deep, and I think it's very easy for people who are probably like we are to relate to what we do. When I look at some faces when I play, they're not even looking at us, they're closing their eyes and singing the lyrics and stuff.
For me, that's an amazing feeling. I really see that they take it seriously and they drift off with what we do. That's amazing because we're not that typical, go and mosh around at the concert and have fun and then go home band. I think it goes a little bit deeper than that. It takes you away for a while, you can just forget about some of the troubles you have in everyday life. This is what we write about, and this is how we connect with our audience.
Q. There's so much emotion in the music, and in recent years it doesn't seem entirely negative.
A. People think Katatonia are a miserable bunch of (expletives) or are only into the negative aspects of life. That's not the deal. We don't strive to be miserable, we strive to get away from it, but we're telling about the process of dealing with it. We seek happiness, but the darkness and all the mystery of life is part of it as well. We write about it because musically, this is where we connect the most passionately.
Q. You don't write the lyrics, but you handle the music. How do you enhance the tension of the words?
A. Jonas is the main lyric writer, but we often talk in pictures, so even though he puts in the words after the music is done, we already know what kind of song it's going to be. We still know the music's going to be dark, atmospheric and trancelike, but we can still evolve in the musicianship department.
Our drummer really has a lot of stuff in him that we're trying to bring out to create dynamics within the music. That's really what challenges us right now, to create … I wouldn't say technical, but a little bit progressive musicianship in the songs, yet still keep it very dark. I don't hear a lot of bands do exactly that mix right now, so I think it's a good path for Katatonia to walk further on.
Q. You are often regarded as sort of a gothic metal band, but you don't resemble the typical groups like Moonspell or Type O Negative.
A. (laughs) No, thankfully not. I'm not bothered being lumped into that bunch, but personally it's really important for me to feel that I am not part of that. If I felt we were, it would be a failure for me, actually.
Q. You're one of a number of metal bands doing unique things because your influences are wider.
A. I think you maintain artistic integrity by taking your influences from other music styles and incorporating them into your own sound. I don't see many metal bands taking their main inspirations from outside of metal, and it becomes a very narrow-minded scene. This is something I always end up arguing with metallers. It's healthier and you get a richer audio life if you're open-minded to good songs regardless of the music style.
Maybe we don't listen to them as much today, but The Cure was one of the main bands for our sound to draw influence from, and also Fields of the Nephilim. Slowdive was a hugely important shoegazer band for us. Red House Painters has been a big one. Jeff Buckley was a great artist. I listen a lot to Tori Amos. As soon as there's something soulful or dark going on in the music, we're probably listening to it.
Q. "The Great Cold Distance" is so catchy and easy to enjoy that it isn't until later that you notice all the subtle touches, which are another reason to keep coming back.
A. Yeah, it's there in the background, not really hiding, but it's there for you the more you listen to it. Every night before I go to bed, I always take one or two albums with me, put out the lights and just lay there with headphones cranked. It gives me so much, so this is what we really wanted to do with "The Great Cold Distance" as well.
Q. Tell me about recording "Live Consternation" at Germany's Summer Breeze festival last August.
A. For the show, we actually got one of the best time slots. We got to go onstage at midnight, it was a little bit chilly in the air, a little bit of smoke and all this stuff. Total pitch-black dark, and the audience was huge. It came out great, because if you see us playing at two in the afternoon with bright sun in our faces, it's not going to do us justice, you're not going to feel it. We're really dependent on the setting, which is also why we honestly enjoy playing intimate, small venues. It's very easy for us to lose the atmosphere and not really get our message across that way.
Katatonia with Scar Symmetry, Insomnium and Swallow the Sun
Where: The Pearl Room, 19081 Old LaGrange Road, Mokena
When: 7 p.m. today
Tickets: $17
Phone: 708) 479-5356