KATATONIA
Live in Paris / Demos / Rehearsals

Reissue in Slipcase edition including 2 Bonus Tracks

Katatonia - captured during the band's 2020 lockdown session - perform an extensive 88-minute set of fan favourites spanning two decades of material. 

Limited 2CD/DVD set.

2020 saw Katatonia present its eleventh studio opus - the poignant City Burials - to unanimous acclaim. Following closely in its footsteps, the Swedish dark rock masters present Dead Air to further immortalise these strangest of times. With a somewhat unforeseen global event transpiring this year which resulted in touring being made all but impossible for artists internationally, Katatonia conducted a more intimate “lockdown” show which was streamed live from Studio Grondahl, Stockholm on May 9th. 

Dead Air offers fans a full 88-minute set with inclusions spanning two decades of material, and debut performances of three City Burials’ album tracks. 

The tracklisting contains a very literal selection of fan favourites overall, having being voted for exclusively by the band’s worldwide fanbase, flawlessly flirting between earlier singles such as Metallic anthems My Twin and July, to the stirring emotional grandeur of new song, Lacquer. The recording, mixing and engineering work was orchestrated by David Castillo, notable for his extensive body of work with Katatonia to date, and the performance itself was professionally filmed by Blackbox Video. 

Marking 25 years since its original release, Katatonia's Discouraged Ones is presented on limited edition orange marble vinyl, with the album's original cover artwork.

An album of sublime and haunting Rock/Metal melancholy.

Katatonia was formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström & have risen from their early beginnings in dark death/gothic doom metal, to become one of the leading acts of the metallic rock/prog scene, in an illustrious career spanning over three decades and twelve full-length studio albums.

’Discouraged Ones’ was recorded in 1997 at the infamous Sunlight Studios by Fred Estby and Tomas Skogsberg (Entombed, Dismember), and released the following year. 'Discouraged Ones' saw a new direction change with the epic compositions of old replaced with stripped down, compact structures to make room for new vocal harmonies courtesy of Jonas Renkse (who also played drums on the album), putting an end to the growling vocal style from prior releases and giving the band a broader appeal which only helped their trajectory towards being established on the global stage.

Upon release, 'Discouraged Ones' was seen as somewhat of a breakthrough opus for Katatonia which undoubtedly planted the seeds, stylistically, of what the band evolved into & represent to this day, even though more progressive elements were integrated over time. Overall, ’Discouraged Ones’ is a pinnacle of dark, gothic rock/metal excellence combined with ethereal, trance-like intensity.

Black Vinyl in Gatefold Cover

Nightmares have never sounded so beautiful! Swedish grandeurs of melancholic heaviness, KATATONIA, return with Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, set for release on June 6, 2025 via Napalm Records. Once again, the Stockholm-based unit masterfully navigates the tightrope act between nocturnal darkness and Scandinavian despair while subtly weaving a sense of hope into the listener’s heart. Since emerging in the early nineties, KATATONIA has projected a beacon of light for the forgotten and the lonely ones, offering solace to those willing to lose themselves in the band’s immersive soundscapes. From their roots in death-doom metal to the post-metal entity they embody today, their art remains as haunting as ever. Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State marks the next step in KATATONIA’s evolution, building upon the foundation of their previous album, Sky Void of Stars (2023). Crystal-clear production highlights the interplay between silence and intensity, while the contrast of heavy riffs, delicate guitar harmonies, ethereal synthesizers, and atmospheric nuances create captivating tension. Tracks like ""Thrice"" and ""Warden"" pulse with dynamic energy, while ""Lilac"" sees Jonas Renkse’s unmistakable vocals intertwining with hypnotic rhythms and progressive elements. A near-ceremonial piece, ""Wind of No Change"", merges subtle electronic textures with KATATONIA’s enigmatic soundscapes, while ""Temporal"" balances fragility and strength - its intense verses culminating in a soaring, emotionally charged chorus. The breathtaking ""Efter Solen"" (Engl. After the Sun), featuring Swedish lyrics, evokes echoes of Jonas Eika’s 2018 short story collection, with minimalistic yet striking instrumentation.

Even after more than 30 years, KATATONIA continues to redefine the emotional spectrum of their genre, effortlessly shifting between haunting vulnerability and commanding artistry. With sonic landscapes that evoke dystopia, inner demons, purity, and beauty alike, Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State stands as a testament to their enduring brilliance. The album was produced by Jonas Renkse, recorded by Lawrence Mackrory at NBS Audio and The City of Glass, mixed by Adam Noble, and mastered by Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering.