The Statement:
“Sad but true. The time has come for me to confirm that the roads ahead Jonas 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 role 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!”
Anders ’Blakkheim’ Nyström
*** end of statement ***
PiercingMetal Thoughts: This is sad news for sure and while I was not following the band since their beginnings so long ago, I was fine with picking up on them with their seminal work “The Great Cold Distance” and I fondly remember an amazing night of brooding Metal at B.B. King’s when they headlined a lifetime ago back in 2007. I had also caught them the previous year when Moonspell was headlining at the same venue and Katatonia was direct support but each of these performances were excellent to my recollection and pretty much sold me on their sound going forward. Good stuff and if you are new to their vibe, welcome aboard as its never too late to begin your journey. That being said, I wish Anders the very best in whatever his own plans will be and I will listen closely to see if the Katatonia sound changes for the better or worse. I honestly don’t think the latter will be the case. That being said I don’t think Anders should have expected the band to disband based on his moving on since its making money as Katatonia. Starting over does not guarantee success no matter who is often involved but either way I wish both sides the very best and I look forward to new music. Wrapping up I wonder what you folks think about this news.
Official: https://www.katatonia.com/
Official Artist Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Nystr%C3%B6m