Line #48 Music/Katatonia


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000000.jpg]]
2
3	Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in 1991 by two friends in Stockholm. Since then, the band has moved through a variety of changes, both musically and lyrically, while maintaining their somber, depressive tone.
4
5	The principal men behind the band are, vocalist Jonas Renkse and guitarist Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström. Usually Anders writes the bulk of the music and Jonas the lyrics.
6
7	They are good friends with Music/{{Opeth}}.
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9	The debut album displayed the themes of sadness and loss, through a lot of mystical and grim imagery, alongside with anti religious statements. The mystical edge and satanic imagery, disappeared alongside the pentagram logo on ''Discouraged Ones,'' to be replaced with more introspective lyrics. Depression, loss, and other dark themes remained. With ''Viva Emptiness'' more abstract lyrics came around, and are now seemingly a staple.
10
11	Anders says they are a "happy sad band."
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13	On June 18th 2012, the official forum was closed with no further explanation. Not related to the defunct British alt rock band Music/{{Catatonia}}.
14
15	The current members are:
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17	* Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström - guitar
18	* Roger Ojersson - guitar
19	* Jonas Renkse - vocals
20	* Daniel Moilanen - drums
21	* Niklas "Nille" Sandin - bass
22
23	Studio album discography:
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25	* ''Dance of December Souls'' (1993)
26	* ''Brave Murder Day'' (1996)
27	* ''Discouraged Ones'' (1998)
28	* ''Tonight's Decision'' (1999)
29	* ''Last Fair Deal Gone Down'' (2001)
30	* ''Viva Emptiness'' (2003)
31	* ''The Great Cold Distance'' (2006)
32	* ''Night Is the New Day'' (2009)
33	* ''Dead End Kings'' (2012)
34	* ''The Fall of Hearts'' (2016)
35	* ''City Burials'' (2020)
36	* ''Sky Void of Stars'' (2023)
37	----
38
39	!! This band provides examples of:
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41	* AlbumTitleDrop: "The Itch" contains the line: "The great cold distance."
42	** In "Hypnone," one of the lyrics goes along the lines of: "Tomorrow is so long / The Dead End King is here."
43	** "I Am Nothing" has the line: "I have to get on with this / It's a decision for tonight."
44	* AnimalMotifs: Birds show up in a lot of the albums' artwork.
45	* CallBack:
46	** "The Parting" has the lyrics: "We have to walk along the wire." ''Viva Emptiness'' had a song called "Walking by a Wire."
47	** "The One You Are Looking For is Not Here" also takes its title, from a line in "Walking by a Wire."
48	** "Undo You" has two, paraphrasing the title of their EP ''For Funerals to Come'' as "for only our funerals to come", and additionally lifting the line "in death, a song" from the track of the same name from ''Tonight's Decision''.
49	* CarefulWithThatAxe
50	* CannotSpitItOut: In "Wait Outside."
51	* ConceptAlbum: All of the songs on ''Viva Emptiness'' are tied to crime in one way or another.
52	* CoverVersion: They covered singer songwriters Music/JeffBuckley and Will Oldham.
53	* DespairEventHorizon: "Don't Tell a Soul," "Brave," and the list goes on...
54	* DoomMetal: The bulk of their material, along with GothicMetal.
55	** [[DeathMetal Death / Doom]]: Their first two albums were this, and solidified them as one of the genre's {{Trope Codifier}}s.
56	** AlternativeMetal: Displays elements of this in their latest albums.
57	** ProgressiveRock: Most of their albums are prog-tinged to a certain extent, but ''The Fall of Hearts'' dives headfirst into the genre.
58	* DownerEnding: Several songs, most notably the upbeat sounding "Omerta" [[spoiler: in which the narrator is arguably poisoned.]]
59	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Their first few releases before they made a full GenreShift to their more famous current sound were BlackMetal-tinged {{death\|Metal}} / {{doom\|Metal}} albums in the vein of Bethlehem.
60	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: "Endtime" has the world end in fire.
61	* EpicRocking: "Velvet Thorns (of Drynwhyl)" clocks at 13:56 and "Tomb of Insomnia" 13:09, and they're far from the band's only examples.
62	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The ''Discouraged Ones'' track "Instrumental" is... well, an instrumental.
63	* GenreShift: From blackened doom and death/doom to alternative rock to progressive metal. Almost all traces of harsh vocals [[ReverseCerebusSyndrome are gone]] by ''The Great Cold Distance'', though.
64	* IAmTheBand: Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström.
65	* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: ''City Burials'' is easily the most metallic album they have recorded since their death/doom era, with multiple doom metal songs, more uptempo riffing and far more frequent guitar solos, and a more energetic vocal approach from Jonas Renkse.
66	* LighterAndSofter:
67	** From ''Discouraged Ones'' onward, with their [[DeathMetal Death]] / DoomMetal approach shifting towards a GothicMetal / AlternativeMetal one. ''Last Fair Deal Gone Down'' really cemented their current sound.
68	** The "Dethroned and Uncrowned" remixes of ''Dead End Kings'' are very much softer, though considering the mood, not much lighter.
69	** While a large majority of their work (especially after ''Brave Murder Day'') has had some prog elements to it, ''The Fall of Hearts'' dives headfirst into progressive rock/metal territory.
70	* MoodWhiplash: Subverted with "Omerta." While it sounds like a upbeat alternative rock song, in contrast to the rest of the album, it really isn't.
71	* MurderBallad: "Murder," obviously, "We Must Bury You," and "Sweet Nurse." [[spoiler: An abstract song about corpses on windmills, a bullying turned murder event, and a case of euthanasia respectively.]]
72	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: "We Must Bury You." Doubles as a MurderBallad.
73	* PrecisionFStrike: Shows up a few times, most notably on, the ''Dance of December Souls'' version of "Without God."
74	* SpiritualSuccessor: October Tide could be considered one to their early death/doom metal work; it has a similar style and contains or has contained several former or current Katatonia members.
75	* SuddenlyVoiced: The 10th anniversary remaster of ''Viva Emptiness'' adds vocals to the previously instrumental "Inside the City of Glass." WordOfGod is that it was always intended as a vocal song; they just didn't have enough time left in the studio to record vocals for it.
76	* TakeThat: "Passing Bird" makes stabs at mallgoths who base their identities around being depressed, but have no intention of getting better because they like the attention.
77	* TitledAfterTheSong: ''Last Fair Deal Gone Down'' is named after a song by the seminal Delta blues musician Music/RobertJohnson.
78	* WildMassGuessing: The inlay of the jewel case versions of ''Viva Emptiness'' and ''The Great Cold Distance'' sparked a lot of discussion among the fans for featuring a snippet from an IM conversation and a cockroach respectively.
79	* WordSaladLyrics: Especially on ''The Great Cold Distance.''

Context Music / Katatonia