Philip A. Wickstrand is a contributing freelance writer for Metal Psalter Webzine. He spoke with drummer Daniel Liljekvist at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland, OR on September 23, 2010.

Having formed 23 years ago, Sweden's KATATONIA have been one of the most influential Metal acts in recent memory. From their early days playing Doom/Death Metal to their more recent progressive leanings, they have always excelled in their music. With their most recent album, 2009's Night is the New Day, KATATIONIA embarked upon their first North American tour in three years, supported by SWALLOW THE SUN and ORPHANED LAND.

Phil: First of all, how has the tour been so far?

Daniel: You know, up and downs. We had some problems, obviously when two of our guitars got stolen in, what was it, Minnesota? Minneapolis?

Phil: Station 4, right?

Daniel: Yeah.

Phil: I've been there a couple of times. It's not the best layout for protecting gear.

Daniel: No, but it's the third time we've played there and it's the first time ever I experienced shit getting stolen before the show, so yeah… and that show really got messed up technically, too. And when we actually played, like 45 minutes blackness in the set after the first song 'cause the first thing that we found out after the guitars got stolen, we went on stage a bit too late 'cause we had to file the reports with the police and start the first song… like, forty seconds into the first song, I split my kick drum pedal in half, the right one. It's like, "Oh my God, this is gonna suck" 'cause it's "Day and Then the Shade" and it's got a really fast kick drum pattern in the chorus like, "Oh, I have no choice - I have to do this on my foot" and it kind of blew. But we got through the shit. That's actually the lowest point in our career I think, playing-wise, gig-wise, everything. But we had great times, too - we played Vancouver last night; it was awesome, great response from the crowd, good feedback. Everything was really good. And we played New York, sold out; we had a couple of sold out shows, so that's always good. So good, more ups than downs, but the downs are so, you know, spot on. Low. That's what you're going to remember now. But doing New York, we oversold it out - there was 720 people there, playing with Krister Linder on "Departer"… magic night, magic night. Great times.

Phil: Have there been any news on recovery of the two stolen guitars?

Daniel: Yes. I'm gonna get them back, I think. They found the thief and I think we're going to get them back… what's the date? Thursday, today?

Phil: Yeah.

Daniel - So Saturday, probably. We're playing the Whiskey Saturday, I think.

Phil: Tell us a bit about the European tour you did with PORCUPINE TREE.

Daniel: That was just the Scandinavian leg - one show in Germany, one in Denmark, Oslo, Helsinki and Stockholm… and somewhere down in the south of Sweden, too. Well… it was a short tour, good times. Played 45 minutes, I think. Old songs and we played "Forsaker", also, 'cause we hadn't had time to rehearse anything else. We hadn't been dealing with a backtrack situation either, so everything was skimmed down, very, very intimate playing in front of their setup, too - it was like, eh. It was okay. It was cool.

Phil: How was the reaction from PORCUPINE TREE's fans? Did they enjoy you or were they just kind of like, "Eh"?

Daniel: Yeah! Good question, 'cause I really thought when we got the offer to do it, "Yeah, of course we can get a few fans from the PORCUPINE TREE guys," but I don't think they got it. We were not even near as professional as PORCUPINE TREE were. Like, dude, watching them play… no. Maybe a few got it, but I don't think they get it, it's too… It was back then, this is not even a year ago, back then it was too Punky for them. 'Cause back to the European tour that we headlined this spring, we've always been like Punky - we didn't care about click tracks or back tracks or anything gear-wise, just plug in and play. Now it's like… it has to be the way we need it to be or we can't play and it's kind of weird. [pause] Evolution.

Phil: Can we expect heavier touring from KATATONIA in the future?

Daniel: Heavier touring?

Phil: Yeah, more tours.

Daniel: Yes. That's pretty much what we're going to do in the next year. We've half of this tour now, today, actually - we've about two weeks left. Going back, then we have this Scandinavian tour. We go to Australia, New Zealand, India and next year, it's been talked about going to South America, too, so yeah, we're going to tour heavily on this one. And I do believe there's going to be another U.S. tour for this record. Maybe not headlining, but we're pretty sure we're coming back once again.

Phil: Tell us a bit about your other band, KOMOTIO.

Daniel: Oh yeah, yeah, definitely. It's Latin, KOMOTIO, commotion cerebri, it means concussion, actually. We're a couple of friends back home and just messed around liking the same kind of music, actually, and tried to have fun with it. I mean, we were just boys when we started back in '98, I think, '99. Obviously, we are not doing it anymore 'cause Per, Sodomizer, he played drums in that band, I played guitar and we don't have time for that right now being on the road all the time, but the rest of the guys, they actually want to do something 'cause… oh, no… we started in 2000, so it's going to be ten years anniversary this year and they want to do something this year, but I don't know if we have time. It's fun to play guitar. I can't play guitar, but you drop tune and you put your fingers… [mimics playing guitar] and you have chords! Ooooohhh!!! [laughter] It's just for fun - we're not going anywhere with that.

Phil: Recommend a book for our readers and then explain why you recommend that particular book.

Daniel: Oh God dammit! [laughter] I don't read books, but… [pause] yeah, the Stieg Larsson trilogy, you know about that? "The Girl Who Played with Fire". Yeah, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson.

Phil: Is there any particular direction that you would like to go with in KATATONIA for future albums?

Daniel: Not really. I think we're heading in the right path right now. Jonas and Anders; they're geniuses at making great music and I have strong belief in them. I think they're going to take KATATONIA in the right direction. However, I would like to do some collaborations with certain people, like more electronic, 'cause obviously we have lots of electronic elements going on in KATATONIA right now, so I would like to explore that with a couple of musicians in that genre, like RÖYKSOPP from Norway, ROBYN from Sweden, those kinds of guys.

Phil: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Daniel: Yeah, if ROBYN or RÖYKSOPP reads this, contact me - I want to do something with you.

Katatonia's Daniel Liljekvist

Interviewer: Philip A. Wickstrand

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Formed 1987
Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Peaceville Records
Genre: Doom/Death/Depressive Metal

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Jonas Renkse  - Vocals, (occasional)
                          guitar & Programming
Anders Nyström - Guitar, Backing
                        Vocals & Programming
Daniel Liljekvist - Drums &
                                              Percussion

Live members:
Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson - Guitar
Niklas "Nille" Sandin - Bass

DISCOGRAPHY:

Jhva Elohim Meth...
                                the Revival EP (1993)
Dance of December Souls (1993)
For Funerals to Come EP (1995)
Brave Murder Day (1996)
Sounds of Decay EP (1997)
Saw You Drown EP (1998)
Discouraged Ones (1998)
Tonight's Decision (1999)
Teargas EP (2001)
Last Fair Deal Gone Down (2001)
Tonight's Music EP (2001)
Viva Emptiness (2003)
Brave Yester Days Best of/Comp.
                                                           (2004)
The Black Sessions Best of/Comp.
                                                           (2005)
The Great Cold Distance  (2006)
Live Consternation (2007)
Night Is the New Day (2009)
The Longest Year EP (2010)

October 2, 2010

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PHOTOS BY PHIL A. WICKSTRAND

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