Sweden's dark prog masters KATATONIA are coming to Athens for a show on Saturday May 27th at Fuzz Live Music Club!
Having in their quiver their 12th album, "Sky Void of Stars" (2023) which was adored worldwide, they promise an evening full of emotions!
Read below the answers of Niklas Sandin, bassist of the group, to our questions!
Rockoverdose: Hi Niklas and welcome to Rockoverdose. We are very happy to speak with you. First of all, congratulations for your new album, “Sky Void Of Stars”. I have already bought the mediabook edition and I hear it all the time. I think it is another great work from Katatonia. I guess that you still receive positive feedback for it, right?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): Thank you for having me, it´s a pleasure chatting with you. And also thanks for the kind words reagarding Sky Void Of Stars. It´s another album I'm very proud and happy to have put down bass lines on. We do still receive very good feedback from all over the place, which is very exciting.
Rockoverdose: How are things going after the pandemic? You were on a Latin American Tour before, right? Was it easy for Katatonia to have big tours again all over the world after all these lockdowns?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): Things have resumed pretty much to what I was before the pandemic started. We´ve managed to do an North American tour, which extended into Canada, for the album “City Burials” last year. And this year we´ve done a 5+ week long tour over Europe, together with Som and Solstafir. And just as you mentioned, we´ve also been to Latin America. Which is always a great run. Lots of loud, in the best possible way, people at the gigs. It almost feels like you´re at a soccer game.
Rockoverdose: Let’s talk about “Sky Void Of Stars”, which is a very interesting album. Ι found it quite gothic and doomy, with some great progressive moments and beautiful songs, such as “Austerity”, “Colossal Shade” and “Opaline”, which are my favourite. Do you aggree with that description or maybe you want to add something?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): For me personally, it´s a very straight forward album. With the progressive sides embedded in a tasteful way. And there´s so many songs on the new album that I can´t wait to play live. And we´ve already taken the earlier mentioned songs to the stage. Which was a great success.
Rockoverdose: Tell us more about “Impermanence”. I think it is the highlight of the album, with two amazing singers, Jonas and of course Joel Ekelöf from Soen. Is there a short story behind this collaboration you want to share with us?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): Jonas knows Joel from before, and when he wrote mpermanence, he felt that Mr Ekelöfs voice would comlement his own in a good way. And it proved to be the right decision. It is for sure one of the highlights on the album, and a very unique song.
Rockoverdose: I think that “Sky Void Of Stars” is quite easy to listen to, with great riffs and refrains that you won’ t forget. Moreover, even though it is a "result" of the lockdown, it does not hide sadness and misery. What is your opinion?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): It is an album full of energy, and the longing from us to get back to “normal” and continue as a touring band might have brushed of on the sound of the record. But it is not without the melancholic tough that always follows the footprint of this band.
Rockoverdose: In 2023 Katatonia has two great anniversaries, 30 years since the release of “Dance Of December Souls” and 20 years since “Viva Emptiness”, which was the very first LP I hear and bought from the band. Do you have plans for special shows playing only these albums?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): There´s no plans to do anniversary tours or shows for these two albums i´m afraid. We did celebrate Viva Emptiness ten years ago. When we went out on a tour together with our friends in Paradise Lost and the Italian act Lacuna Coil.
Rockoverdose: As a bassist, do you have songs from the whole Katatonia discography that you prefer more playing live? Maybe some from the “Mnemosynean” compilation (another killer release) which are a bit forgotten through all these years…
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): There´s so many great songs, which I very much enjoy to play live. One that is kind of overlooked in my opinion is the killer track “New Night” from “Night Is The New Day”. Another one, that we haven´t played live for a while, is “I Transpire” from Last Fair Deal Gone Down. Which is a great tune !
Rockoverdose: Your last show here in Greece was on the 28th of February back in 2020. I really like seeing you playing the whole “Night Is The New Day” and 10 other songs from your catalogue. Now, after more than 3 years, the band will be back in 27 May, with another great work such as “Sky Void Of Stars”. What should we expect? Maybe some “gifts” from “Dance Of December Souls” and “Viva Emptiness”?
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): You can expect an energetic show with lots of joy to be back in Greece. It´s a place that we always love to come back to. And this is not an exception. And the last show in Athens was actually the very last one we did before the Corona broke out. So it´ll be special to be back !
Rockoverdose: Katatonia is always welcome to Greece and we are really looking forward for your upcoming show. Thank you very much for your company and music. The last words are yours…
Niklas Sandin (KATATONIA): I can´t wait to be back, and I hope i´ll see lots of people coming out to the show. And last but not least, keep on keepin´ on & stay cool in school!
Rockoverdose: Thank you very much for your time! Looking forward to see you in Athens on May 27th at Fuzz Club!
Tickets: https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/katatonia-live-in-athens/
For RockOverdose.gr,
Michalis Tsolakos
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