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.”
