EMSU Media
- Jan 29, 2023
- 5 min read

Gloomy Metal Masters KATATONIA Unveil Spectacular Napalm Records Debut, Sky Void of Stars - Out Now

Save Your Copy HERE!

Brand New Official Video for “Opaline” Revealed | Watch HERE!

Twilight Burials EU & UK Tour Kicks Off Today!

[photo credit: Mathias Blom]

The day has come to dive into the most beautiful realms of melancholy, as Swedish grand seigneurs of gloom KATATONIA have finally unveiled their Napalm Records debut and new studio album, Sky Void of Stars. With Sky Void of Stars, KATATONIA have already enthralled critics and fans worldwide - resulting in extensive streaming and video views as well as various cover stories. On top, the album ranks at #1 on several soundchecks like German Rock Hard and Legacy Magazine. With a captivating, story driven music video for hypnotizing “Opaline”, the entity around founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström not also emphasizes the release, but also teases their Twilight Burials EU & UK tour with Sólstafir and SOM – kicking off today in Tampere, Finland. The video shows impressions from the band’s latest US tour and prepares fans for a unique live experience to remember. “Opaline” embraces KATATONIA’s intense, genre-bending style, significantly shaping the scene while still staying true to their own musical values. Daniel Moilanen on “Opaline”:

”Opaline. A bleak, yet thunderous anthem for our empty sky. A dim gaze upon a time deliberately fleeting like the migratory bird. A final single and a taste of the future?”

Watch the official video for “Opaline” HERE:

“Sweden’s dark prog masters keep living up to expectations” (Metal Hammer, UK) "Melancholy at its best! Already one of the best Doom albums of 2023!“ (EMP) “…an astonishing release” (Fireworks, UK) "Another heartfelt offensive by Katatonia" (Metal Hammer, DE) “...Katatonia is back with another refreshing otherworldly wonder” (MetalSucks, US) “Sky Void of Stars is the embodiment of a band that no matter the change in presentation, is still the darkest and most varied in metal.” (Blabbermouth, US) “...no matter if it's heavy or mellow, the band always delivers first-class musicianship and exquisite songwriting.” (Metal Injection, US) “...Katatonia hit with highly energetic atmosphere, holding a gloomy ambience with epic sounds and poetic lyrics to get lost in.” (Prog Report) Founded in 1991, KATATONIA have continually embraced the dark and the light alike and - living through genre evolutions beyond compare – ripened their own particular form of expression. Carving their way from their nineties gothic-tinged doom metal to the ethereal post-metal entity they are today, the band is ready to showcase its brilliance and illuminate the void in the scene with Sky Void of Stars. KATATONIA on the new album, Sky Void of Stars: “Our 12th album, Sky Void of Stars, is a dynamic journey through vibrant darkness. Born out of yearning for what was lost and not found, the very peripheries of the unreachable, but composed and condensed into human form and presented as sounds and words true to the KATATONIA signum. No stars here, just violent rain.”

Order Your Copy of Sky Void of Stars HERE – first formats are already sold out!

Emerging from the gloom, KATATONIA is a beacon of light - breathing their unique, never stagnant, atmospheric sound through this new offering, all written and composed by vocalist Jonas Renkse. Album opener “Austerity” provides a courting introduction to the album. Crashing through the dark, it convinces with memorable, mind-bending rhythms as it shifts with elaborate guitar riffs that perfectly showcase the musical expertise and experience of the band. Topped off by the dark, conjuring voice of Renkse and mesmerizing lyricism, the gloomy mood for the album is set. Songs like down- tempo “Opaline” and moody “Drab Moon” fully embrace their melancholic sound while fragile “Impermanence” is accented by the original doom metal roots of KATATONIA.

Like a dark star, these pieces relume the dreariness, creating an ambient auditory experience with memorable hooks while still inducing the crashing sounds of hard guitar riffs and pounding drums. The experimental mastery of the quintet and their atmospheric approach is purely vivid, making this album a thrilling sensation. With “Birds”, the artists show off their explosive potential with a quick and energetic sound, proving their genre-defying style. Dazzling drums and heavy guitar riffs reflect the influence of their humble beginnings, while “Atrium” also plays into this highly energetic atmosphere, maintaining the gloomy ambience that characterizes KATATONIA with epic sounds and poetic lyrics to get lost in.

Sky Void of Stars track listing:

1 Austerity

2 Colossal Shade

3 Opaline

4 Birds

5 Drab Moon

6 Author

7 Impermanence (feat. Joel Ekelöf)

8 Sclera

9 Atrium

10 No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall

11 Absconder (Mediabook Bonus Track)

Sky Void of Stars is now available in the following configurations:

Ltd. Deluxe Wooden Box (incl. Mediabook + Digipack Atmos Mix BluRay + Crow Pendant + Star Chart Artprint + Pin) – Napalm Records exclusive – SOLD OUT!

Die Hard Edition 2LP Gatefold Ink Spot / FOREST GREEN (incl. Slipmat, Patch, 12 pages poster) – Napalm Records exclusive – SOLD OUT!

2LP Gatefold DARK GREEN – Napalm Records exclusive – SOLD OUT!

2LP Gatefold MARBLED TRANSPARENT/DARK GREEN – OMerch exclusive

2LP Gatefold MARBLED CRYSTAL CLEAR/BLACK – OMerch exclusive

2LP Gatefold BLACK

1CD Ltd Mediabook (incl. Bonus Track)

1CD Jewelcase

Digital Album

[2LP Gatefold BLACK]

Experience KATATONIA Live 2023* Twilight Burials UK & Europe Tour w/ Sólstafir and SOM 20.01.23 FI – Tampere / Tampereen Tullikamari (Pakkahuone & Klubi) – SOLD OUT! 21.01.23 FI – Helsinki / Kulttuuritalo 22.01.23 EE – Tallinn / Helitehas 24.01.23 PL – Warsaw / Klub Stodoła 25.01.23 DE – Berlin / Huxleys Neue Welt 26.01.23 DE – Cologne / Essigfabrik – SOLD OUT! 27.01.23 DE – Stuttgart / LKA Longhorn 28.01.23 CZ – Prague / ROXY Prague 29.01.23 AT – Vienna / Arena Wien 31.01.23 HU – Budapest / Akvárium Klub 01.02.23 DE – Munich / Backstage Werk 02.02.23 CH – Zurich / Komplex 457 03.02.23 IT – Milan / Live Club 04.02.23 FR – Lyon / Ninkasi Kao – SOLD OUT! 06.02.23 ES – Madrid / Kapital 07.02.23 ES – Barcelona / La Salamandra 08.02.23 FR – Toulouse / Le Metronum 10.02.23 GB – London / O2 Forum Kentish Town 11.02.23 GB – Manchester / O2 Ritz Manchester 12.02.23 GB – Bristol / Marble Factory 13.02.23 GB – Glasgow / The Garage 14.02.23 GB – Wolverhampton / KK's Steel Mill 16.02.23 DE – Frankfurt Am Main / Batschkapp 17.02.23 NL – Haarlem / Patronaat – SOLD OUT! 19.02.23 FR – Paris / Le Trianon 20.02.23 LU – Luxembourg / Rockhal 21.02.23 BE – Antwerp / Muziekcentrum Trix 22.02.23 DE – Hamburg / Gruenspan 23.02.23 DK – Copenhagen / Amager Bio 24.02.23 NO – Oslo / Rockefeller Music Hall 25.02.23 SE – Stockholm / Fryshuset Arenan * very limited guestlist availability. For accreditation and interview requests please reach out to tourpromo@napalmrecords.com