Often touting a 9-member deep line-up including two drummers, a string section, and a visual artist, KATA features past and present members of Ilya, the Locust, MNML, Goodbye Blue Monday, Get Your Death On, the Dropscience, Manuok, Rats Eyes, Hot Nerds, Hostile Combover, the Long and Short of it, Skydiver, Tourettes Lautrec, and Aleph Research.
“We’re a bunch of positive people playing dark stuff,” says Demetrius Antuna (vox, guitar) of the 9-piece cinematic art metal band.
“It’s a release. A way to get it out. Something about darkness feels good in sound and visuals. Positivity is great in life, but it really moves you more when it has a dark edge.”
“Demetrius and I are the same in that respect,” says Matthew Baker (vox, piano, guitar), who also plays with Ilya. “I’m endlessly optimistic, but darkness is a good release. Some people release it by becoming a serial killer. We release it through music.”
“I went through a very bad sickness and thought I was going to die,” Antuna says. “I became very positive and read all this self-help stuff that said not to watch horror movies. But for some reason, I can’t leave it alone. Sometimes I think touching on the dark side of things is a means of connecting with something beyond.”
KATA has found that the logistical challenges of facilitating a nine-member band are many. “We have a hard time finding a venue that fits us,” Antuna says. “Touring would be difficult. We would need three vans! Hey, if anyone wants to pay for us to tour, we’ll do it.”
The band has also included two-drummer duos like Ben Johnson (Hostile Combover, The Long and Short of It) and Lance LaFave (Skydiver), alongside guitars, bass, keys, three vocalists, violin, and two cellos. Ex-Physics mastermind Jason Soares handles their live visuals.
In June 2012, they released a debut full-length called Rising, a chilling 9-track memoir that explores the harrowing shadow-side of human psychology.
Demetrius Antuna formed a side project called ANA, whose debut Caverns was released in September 2012. Matthew Baker also played with a spacey hard rock band called Ilya, which Antuna jolined in 2013.
Rebecca Antuña and Lance LaFave formed Warsaw in 2016, alongside Demetrius Antuña and John Mattos (both formerly of Ilya). Their debut performance took place November 10, 2016 at the Whistle Stop in South Park, and the band's first release was a self-titled six-song EP.