Former Katatonia guitarist and founding member Anders Nyström has hit back at the band following the announcement on Monday that he and fellow founding member Jonas Renkse had decoded to go their seperate ways.
Writing on his Instagram page, Nyström made the claim that 'Katatonia could and should have been mutually laid to rest while exploiting the freedom to continue in any desirable direction under a new name" and bemoaning what he clearly sees as the band ignoring earlier material in their live shows.
In his full statement, Nyström says, "Sad but true. The time has come for me to confirm that the roads ahead Jonas and I have chosen for both Katatonia and ourselves have grown too wide and far apart, and as a result, our long-term collaboration has drawn to a close.
"With him and I being the duo that founded Katatonia almost 35 years ago, and owing to the fact that we managed to take our mission this far, it’s inevitable that our band's legacy will continue to play a huge role for both of us and always live on, albeit in a different light either captured by our past, future or the many chapters in between.
"To each our own, we may all have our own preferences and different levels of appreciation for either the early, mid or later Katatonia eras, but it seems like any willingness to embrace them all, in order to honor our history through live activities, has unfortunately failed to sustain. Needless to say, I still love ALL our albums, but with the early stuff being neglected for so many years, a feeling of having "unfinished business” with a style that goes far back to our roots has just grown stronger and stronger. I can’t help feeling adamant that songs from our early-mid discography deserve to be equally acknowledged and likewise targeted for our live show repertoire, the essential medium where the past should always be alive! Unfortunately, that door has been kept shut and left everything we did pre-millennium in a void.
"Avowed, with one of us gone, Katatonia could and should have been mutually laid to rest while exploiting the freedom to continue in any desirable direction under a new name. But with Jonas now regrouping with new members and navigating further in his own direction, I no longer need to wait and see which way the wind is blowing to enter that void and grab hold of what's been abandonded. After all, Katatonia's legacy is resting on both ends of the timeline.
"Come what may, I’d like to thank Jonas and the rest of my ex-colleagues for the incredible ride we shared through four compelling decades. Blessed be!"
The Renkse-led Katatonia recently announced European tour dates for November and December. The band are also expected to announce a new studio album soon, as it's widely known they have been in the studio working on a follow-up to 2023's Sky Void Of Stars.
It is not known how much involvement Nyström has had with the new recordings, if any. Nor what status his place in the death metal supergroup Boodbath, previously alongside Renkse and Paradise Lost singer Nick Holmes.
