Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse (formerly aka Lord Seth) and Anders Nyström (formerly aka Blakkheim). The early Katatonia albums are noted for the overall bleak melancholy and despair of their sound, often giving them the classification of doom metal or death/doom metal. Katatonia's more recent albums have progressed to a wider sound, with modern overtones, dropped guitars, symphonic synths and arrangements, alternative sounds and generally heavy riffs. The early Katatonia albums are sometimes, along with albums by bands such as My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost, considered forerunners of the death/doom metal genre.
Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt performed the growling vocals on Brave Murder Day and Sounds of Decay when regular Katatonia singer (and then-drummer) Jonas Renkse became unable to perform harsh vocals properly. During this time, the band decided to change their sound to a more soft sound with clean vocals beginning with 1998's Discouraged Ones. This shift in instrumental tone and vocal style was accompanied by an appreciable decrease in the length of the band's songs, with latter period songs typically lasting around four minutes.
Katatonia has released two compilations. Brave Yester Days (the title being a play on their album Brave Murder Day) is a double-disc release including all cuts from EPs up to Saw You Drown, selected cuts from full-length albums Brave Murder Day and Dance of December Souls, and two tracks from a compilation. The Black Sessions is a limited release that documents later releases and includes a live DVD.
Katatonia's most recent release, 2009's Night Is the New Day, has received widespread critical acclaim, with one reviewer describing it as "an album staggering in both its ambition and its accessibility, showcasing beauty and despair in equal measure".
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