Katatonia are set to release Mnemosynean on October 1, 2021 through Peaceville Records.
This new release marks 30 years since the formation of one of the most enigmatic & aurally captivating bands to grace the dark rock/prog genre, Mnemosynean contains an extensive collection of all of Katatonia’s rarities and B-sides, including tracks from the band’s numerous EPs, unheard album songs, limited special edition bonuses, cover songs, as well as a series of collaborative remixes.
The journey of Mnemosynean spans the gothic-soaked experimental epic ‘Scarlet Heavens’ recorded all the way back in 1994, through to tracks recorded during the sessions for the stellar 2016 opus, The Fall of Hearts. The intriguing title of ‘Mnemosynean’ itself represents memories & was selected because tomb inscriptions dating back to 400 BCE say that the dead could keep their memories by avoiding drinking from the Lethe, and drink instead from the stream flowing from the lake of Mnemosyne (the goddess of memory).
Following an early string of deathly doom-inspired releases which firmly & quickly established Katatonia as a leading force in the 1990s underground, the Swedes, led by Jonas Renkse & Anders Nyström, came to true prominence following a transition to a more metallic, sleek, dark & depressive rock style while fully embracing concepts of urban and social decay, but also retaining some of the distinguishing traits from their early repertoire, such as the melancholy-laced & instantly identifiable melodic guitar leads.
2020 saw Katatonia present their eleventh studio opus, the poignant City Burials, to unanimous acclaim.
With a somewhat unforeseen global event transpiring and touring being made impossible, the band still wanted to perform for their fans, so conducted a more intimate “lockdown” show which was streamed live from Studio Grondahl. This show was released as Dead Air in late 2020 and gives fans a full 88-minute set containing 20 tracks from the band’s extensive and illustrious repertoire to date.
The Mnemosynean packaging includes a new band biography courtesy of music journalist Eleanor Goodman, as well as full lyrics plus backgrounds to the track origins described by founding members Anders Nyström and Jonas Renkse, along with other close Katatonia collaborators. The artwork for this release has been created by long-running Katatonia visual artist Travis Smith.
MNEMOSYNEAN TRACKLISTING (CD split)
DISC 1
1. Vakaren [04:54]
2. Sistere [04:11]
3. Wide Awake In Quietus [04:59]
4. Night Comes Down [04:14]
5. Second [03:32]
6. The Act Of Darkening [05:52]
7. Ashen [04:06]
8. Sold Heart [04:32]
9. Displaced [05:14]
10. Dissolving Bonds [03:41]
11. Unfurl[04:48]
12. Code Against The Code [03:28]
DISC 2
1. Wait Outside [03:38]
2. Sulfur [06:22]
3. March 4 [03:51]
4. O How I Enjoy The Light [02:44]
5. Help Me Disappear [05:13]
6. Fractured [05:52]
7. No Devotion [04:48]
8. Quiet World [04:39]
9. Scarlet Heavens [10:27]
10. In The White (Urban Dub) [05:25]
11. My Twin (Opium Dub Version)[04:15]
12. Soil`s Song (Krister Linder 2012 remix)[04:40]
13. Day And Then The Shade (Frank Default remix) [05:40]
14. Idle Blood (Linje 14) [03:23]
15. Hypnone (Frank Default Hypnocadence mix)[04:46]
