In December 2017, Katatonia announced they'd be rescheduling a handful of tour dates due to the medical situation of guitarist Roger Öjersson, after whose performances they'd go on short-term hiatus "to re-evaluate what the future holds for the band."
Since the hiatus, Katatonia's Anders Nyström, Jonas Renkse and Niklas Sandin have been busy with Bloodbath. Nyström recently said in an interview with Loud TV that Bloodbath isn't exactly his new "full-time band" now that Katatonia is on hiatus, but he and the other guys are having fun.
"No, it's not as easy as that — it's not as black-and-white as that. We don't want to know what's going to happen with Katatonia right now. It's not really our concern now when we're on tour with Bloodbath. We try to do each thing at a time, and we're having really fun doing this. This was planned a long time ahead, so we're happy to fulfill this tour. As Nick said, this is the first time we do it — it's an experiment, and it's turning out great. It's death metal for half an hour each day — pretty much what I like. A perfect proportion."
Regarding Katatonia's hiatus, Nyström says the band is still sorting things out.
"It's too early to say anything about that yet. We'll have to see next year what we sort out. There's a lot of things to be solved, and we want to do it from the ground up. It might sound dramatic, but you've got to do it right or otherwise, you'll regret it later. We've been keeping on for such a long time now that you've got to really be concerned about the next step and make sure you still have the right vibe in the band, and the will to carry on."
Personally, I'd be astronomically bummed if Katatonia called it quits. They're hands down one of the most original metal bands out there and their most recent records have been nothing short of phenomenal. Though I guess if Katatonia does end things, The Fall Of Hearts is an incredible record to go out on.
