Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

Swedish melancholic metallers KATATONIA will release a new studio album, "Sky Void of Stars", on January 20, 2023 via Napalm Records.

Founded in 1991, KATATONIA has continually embraced the dark and the light alike and, living through genre evolutions beyond compare, ripened its own particular form of expression. From doom and death metal to soul-gripping post rock, they've explored endless spheres of the genre, accumulating only the very best aspects. After signing with Napalm Records, the entity around founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström is ready to showcase its brilliance and illuminate the void in the scene once more with "Sky Void Of Stars".

With the first single "Atrium", KATATONIA hits with highly energetic atmosphere, holding a gloomy ambiance with epic sounds and poetic lyrics to get lost in. The heartfelt piece of sound goes in line with a gripping music video, underlining the exceptional atmosphere the five-piece is creating with every single note. "Atrium" is now available via all digital service providers worldwide.

KATATONIA comments on "Sky Void Of Stars": "Our 12th album, 'Sky Void Of Stars' is a dynamic journey through vibrant darkness. Born out of yearning for what was lost and not found, the very peripheries of the unreachable, but composed and condensed into human form and presented as sounds and words true to the KATATONIA signum. No stars here, just violent rain."

Emerging from the gloom, KATATONIA is a beacon of light — breathing their unique, never stagnant, atmospheric sound through this new 11-track offering, all written and composed by vocalist Jonas Renkse. Album opener "Austerity" provides a courting introduction to the album. Crashing through the dark, it convinces with memorable, mind-bending rhythms as it shifts with elaborate guitar riffs that perfectly showcase the musical expertise and experience of the band. Topped off by the dark, conjuring voice of Renkse and mesmerizing lyricism, the gloomy mood for the album is set. Songs like down-tempo "Opaline" and moody "Drab Moon" fully embrace their melancholic sound while fragile "Impermanence" is accented by the original doom metal roots of KATATONIA. Like a dark star, these pieces relume the dreariness, creating an ambient auditory experience with memorable hooks while still inducing the crashing sounds of hard guitar riffs and pounding drums. The experimental mastery of the quintet and their atmospheric approach is purely vivid, making this album a thrilling sensation. With "Birds", the artists show off their explosive potential with a quick and energetic sound, proving their genre-defying style.

"Sky Void Of Stars" track listing:

01. Austerity
02. Colossal Shade
03. Opaline
04. Birds
05. Drab Moon
06. Author
07. Impermanence (feat. Joel Ekelöf)
08. Sclera
09. Atrium
10. No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall
11. Absconder (bonus track)

Swedish grand seigneurs of gloom KATATONIA have parted ways with founding guitarist Anders Nyström.

Earlier today (Monday, March 17),KATATONIA singer Jonas Renkse released the following statement via social media: "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."

Founding KATATONIA guitarist Anders Nyström has confirmed his departure from the band.

Earlier today (Tuesday, March 18),Nyström released the following statement through KATATONIA's social media channels: "Sad but true.

"The time has come for me to confirm that the roads ahead Jonas [Renkse, KATATONIA vocalist] 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.

"With him and I being the duo that founded KATATONIA almost 35 years ago, and owing to the fact that we managed to take our mission this far, it's inevitable that our band's legacy will continue to play a huge rôle for both of us and always live on, albeit in a different light either captured by our past, future or the many chapters in between.

"To each our own, we may all have our own preferences and different levels of appreciation for either the early, mid or later KATATONIA eras, but it seems like any willingness to embrace them all, in order to honor our history through live activities, has unfortunately failed to sustain. Needless to say, I still love ALL our albums, 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.

"Avowed, with one of us gone, KATATONIA could and should have been mutually laid to rest while exploiting the freedom to continue in any desirable direction under a new name. But with Jonas now regrouping with new members and navigating further in his own direction, I no longer need to wait and see which way the wind is blowing to enter that void and grab hold of what's been abandoned. After all, KATATONIA's legacy is resting on both ends of the timeline.

"Come what may, I'd like to thank Jonas and the rest of my ex-colleagues for the incredible ride we shared through four compelling decades.

"Blessed be!"