THE KATATONIA SEASON

We can hear many question….

"Why is there no new Katatonia album out by now???"

And you might rightfully think so, our 8th album (and the last in the contract with Peaceville) should have been done and put out "ages ago" if things would've gone according to plan… It's crazy how fast time goes by these days and that doesn't help us much when inspiration runs dry. We've been meaning to enter the studio on many occassions already since two years back and I think we ended up cancelling booked sessions twice. Although it worked successfully every time in the past, it just got us stressed out and pushed us into a phase of writer's block. From this we learned we better not book anything in advance as it stands, but focus on completing 100% of the material, be perfectly happy with what we got and first then hit the studio.

It seems we might pull things together for maximum devotion this time as all current and previous distractions are now gone. The Summer festivals are over and the level of live gigs for the next months are put to a minimum and Bloodbath - our Death Metal sideproject's new album is done too (to be released on October 6th, check it out or all our hard work was for nothing hah!).

So what about the music? Bits and pieces have been collected ever since The Great Cold Distance came out. It's just that we've been trying too hard, been thinking too much about the sound and direction. How can we top this and how can we change that. We've been stumbling around offroad looking for the answers and it ended up being a long walk. We don't find it meaningful to trace your own footsteps back from where you came, but we rather find the first nearest exit to the same road up ahead where we're at to get back on the map again.

I wont give away any hints just yet about how it will sound, but we hope to give you more light on the progress of this untitled embryo as we get closer. What's certain is that we've found a good equation to work with now and that my friends is that it's all about the 8th studio album and the autumn. Here comes the Katatonia season…

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SUMMER FESTIVALS

Katatonia will appear on the following festivals this summer:

Jun 20 - Hellfest, Clisson, France
Jun 28 - Hunterfest, Szczytno, Poland
Jul 12 - Hegyalja Festival, Tokaj, Hungary
Jul 26 - Kuopiorock, Kuopio, Finland

8:29 AM - 56 Comments - 42 Kudos - Add Comment

MELLOBOAT

Katatonia will perform on the 21st Anniversary Schizoid Boat 8-9 March 2008 in honour of Mellotronen's birthday, and it would be nice if you could join for this event, as it's shaping up to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The party will take place over 40 hours on the largest ferry on the Baltic Sea, the Silja Symphony, a 204m luxury cruiser equipped with sauna and swimming pool facilities, cabins complete with showers, a shopping galleria, 8-10 bars and restaurants, and apart from the fantastic lineup of bands, there will also be an international music convention in the conference area, which is over 1000 square meters.

The ferry will be leaving at 17:00 on Saturday 8th March, and will be returning to Stockholm 09:30 on Monday 10th March, with a 7 and a half hour stop in Helsinki, during which a mini film festival will be held on the boat by Klubb Super 8 (for those wishing to remain onboard).

The age restriction for the cruise is 18, which is a special concession as the age limit for weekend cruises is normally 23. Any questions in English regarding the cruise and price lists for cabins can be directed to info@mellotronen. com, and if Swedish is your poison, contact callcenterkalix@tallinksilja.com or jenny.havela@tallinksilja.com

The ship is equipped with 3 stages, and the band schedule is as follows:

Saturday the 8th of March
19:00 - 20:00 Anekdoten
20:30 - 21:30 The Colins of Paradise
22:00 - 23:00 Opeth
23:30 - 00:30 Trettioåriga Kriget
01:00 - 02:00 Qoph
02:30 - 03:30 Mats Morgan All Star Team feat. Gustaf Hielm, Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah) Ia Eklundh (Freak Kitchen) Lasse Hollmer (Samla Mammas Manna)

Sunday the 9th of March
18:00 - 19:00 Bo Hansson feat. Eric Malmberg Niklas Korssell
19:30 – 20:30 Promise and the Monster
21:00 – 22:00 Comus
22:30 – 23:30 Plankton
00:00 – 01:00 Katatonia
01:30 – 02:30 Leaf Hound

The 13th Floor Sky Bar
Emma Nordenstam, Cecilia Klingspor, PIU, Emika Klasdotter, Martin Axenrot Nathalie Lorichs + DJs (rotating schedule)

For booking and info:

www.myspace.com/melloboat

 info@mellotronen.com

Phone: + 46 - 8 - 20 00 12 or + 46 - 733 - 870 950 or +46 - 8- 666 33 33

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2007 HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR...

...for Katatonia as we spent most of the time on the road continuing to promote our last album The Great Cold Distance and our Live Consteranation dvd. We also had the honor of making a few visits to countries we previously never played like Portugal, Mexico and Romania which were all incredible experiences and a good reason to return in the future. Thanks to all our fans for coming out and sharing the atmosphere.
We're currently spending some time off with our families for the christmas holidays, before we go back in full focus on the writing again for what shall become our 8th album. Studio time has been booked at various recording and mixing facilities in the late months of spring and a release date has been set for mid autumn.
As for live activities, we'll be playing an Italian festival in february and a Spanish festival as well as the Swedish Melloboat in march just before we lock us up in the studio. We're also expecting to announce a few summer festival appearances and then we'll set out on a new European headlining tour to follow the album release. More news on exact dates will come and stay tuned for more in-depth details on the recording process and the new music. So, as the year is closing in on us we say goodbye to what was 2007 and we wish all our fans, friends and associates a merry christmas and a happy new year!

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LIMITED VINYLS OF TD & LFDGD AVAILABLE NOW

katatonia - tonight's decision

Double gatefold 180 gram heavy weight vinyl edition, limited to 1500 numbered copies.

'Tonight's Decision', Katatonia's debut release for Peaceville Records, was the band's fourth album and found the band further developing the more song-orientated style explored on their previous album 'Discouraged Ones'.

Immediately heralded as a classic by fans, 'Tonight's Decision' stylistically builds on the refined 'shoe-gazing' qualities of their previous album, while simultaneously exploring the more extreme sonic possibilities of the Katatonia sound.

Jonas's growing interest in singer/songwriters is reflected in the album's sound, and wonderfully exemplified by the thoughtful and moving rendition of Jeff Buckley's 'Nightmares By The Sea'.

The brilliant combination of Anders's haunting guitar work and Jonas's potent lyrics evokes images of urban decay and emotional turmoil in a way unique to this always searching band

Tracks

SIDE A

1. FOR MY DEMONS (5.47)
2. I AM NOTHING (4.37)
3. IN DEATH, A SONG (4.51)

SIDE B

4. HAD TO (LEAVE) (6.03)
5. THIS PUNISHMENT (2.46)
6. RIGHT INTO THE BLISS (5.04)

SIDE C

7. NO GOOD CAN COME OF THIS (4.24)
8. STRAINED (4.15)
9. A DARKNESS COMING (5.01)

SIDE D

10. NIGHTMARES BY THE SEA (4.15)
11. BLACK SESSION (7.01)
12. NO DEVOTION* (4.48)
13. FRACTURED * (5.52)

* Bonus tracks

katatonia - last fair deal gone down

Double gatefold 180 gram heavy weight vinyl edition, limited to 1500 numbered copies.

Originally released in 2001, 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' saw Katatonia ambitiously expanding their sound to create one of the most celebrated Metal albums of the year.

Containing 11 tracks of high-emotion and searing social commentary, including the singles 'Teargas' and 'Tonight's Music', the album resonates with Katatonia's unique brand of Gothic Metal.

Following on from 'Tonight's Decision', the album displays a new found maturity and accessibility only hinted at on their previous albums.

The mournful vocals of Jonas are, as ever, ably backed by the inventive guitar work of Anders to create a potent and absorbing atmosphere.

"Sweden's Katatonia have just made the ultimate late night metal chill out album." - Kerrang!

"LFDGD is all the more delicious if you stop & reflect on how wonderful it is that those of us who listen to some of the most difficult & obscure music should have access to one of the best bands currently working in any rock genre." - Terrorizer

"Thank the lords of chaos for a band such as Katatonia, a crew who absorb all the usual influences and spit out something tasteful, mournful and yet full of energy & guts." - Metal Hammer

Tracks

SIDE A

1. DISPOSSESSION (5.37)
2. CHROME (5.14)
3. WE MUST BURY YOU (2.56)
4. TEARGAS (3.23)

SIDE B

5. I TRANSPIRE (5.56)
6. TONIGHT'S MUSIC (4.20)
7. CLEAN TODAY (4.23)
8. THE FUTURE OF SPEECH (5.40)

SIDE C

9. PASSING BIRD (3.38)
10. SWEET NURSE (3.57)
11. DON'T TELL A SOUL (5.44)

SIDE D

12. SULFUR * (6.23)
13. MARCH 4 * (3.53)
14. HELP ME DISAPPEAR * (5.44)

* Bonus track

11:25 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

KATATONIA ON FACEBOOK

Perhaps it's sacrilege to promote Katatonia's new page on Facebook here on MySpace, but who really cares? For all of you who also use Facebook, check it out and click 'Add to My Music' to add them to your profile. Watch videos, view photos, listen to music, meet other fans of Katatonia and much more. Check it out now.

12:28 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

KATATONIA LOGO GIRLIE SHIRTS

No more neglecting the females out there.. a fresh new flattering Katatonia ornament logo girlie is now for sale @ katatonia.com/merchandise.php. Printed on premium quality American Apparel Baby Rib Cap Sleeve Raglan shirts. Black sleeves, heather grey body, and the Katatonia ornament logo in black ink. We'll get these in on the 18th, so shipping begins the next day. Grab one now!

7:59 PM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR - OVER AND OUT

Our first ever North American headline tour has been successfully completed and we're just back home fighting the jetlag as always. Again, a long but also eventful, surprisingly smooth and easy ride on the road all thanks to our partners in the support bands and the crew. A big up goes out to all our old and new fans who came to see the shows and hang out with the Katz - thanks for all your support! A special cheerz goes out to the fans in Mexico who gave us a welcome we won't forget soon, see you next time!

As this tour wraps up the touring the cycle for The Great Cold Distance, the band will now enter writing/pre-production mode and keep busy doing the work for the next album, so the live activity will be kept to a minimum with only a few occasional one-off gigs scheduled until the end of the year.

We also have a few limited tour shirt left overs, including The Great Cold Distance shirt and a North American 2007 shirt as shown below. These are in limited quantity, and when they're gone, they're gone for good. Grab one now at http://katatonia.com/merchandise.php -- we also have a few of the extremely limited and cult "Jhva Elohim Meth" shirts available.

8:39 PM - 9 Comments - 14 Kudos - Add Comment

JHVA ELOHIM METH LIMITED T-SHIRT AVAILABLE

4:24 PM - 7 Comments - 9 Kudos - Add Comment

NEW GUITAR ENDORSEMENT

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