Showing posts with label Catamenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catamenia. Show all posts

Monday, November 26, 2012

Catamenia/The Best Of Catamenia/Massacre Records/2012 Digital Compilation Review


  Catamenia  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  I  would  describe  as  being  gothic,  melodic  and  symphonic  sounding  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  digital  compilation  album  "The  Best  Of  Catamenia"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow.mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times ,  while  the  synths  bring  a  very  dark, atmospheric,  symphonic,  and  gothic  sound  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing t hat  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  melodic  black/death  metal  riffs  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  have  a  traditional  metal  feeling  to  them.

  Vocals range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  deep  death metal  growls,  clean singing  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  Finnish  and  English  and  they  cover dark  themes,  as  for the production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from  Catamenia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cavalcade"  "Closed  gates  Of  Hope"  "The  Heart  Of  Darkness"  and  "Farewell".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Catamenia/The Rewritten Chapters/Massacre Records/2012 CD Compilation Review


  Catamenia  are  a  band  from  Finland  which  had  their  previous  album  reviewed  as  well  as  being  interviewed  by  this  zine  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric,  symphonic,  gothic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  cd  compilation  album  "The  Rewritten  Chapters"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Drums  range  from slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  keyboards  bring  in  a  very  dark,  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  gothic  sound  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  an  heavy  sound  with  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  melodic  black  metal  riffs  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  classic  metal  influences  as  well  as  gothic,  thrash  and  melodic  death  metal,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  heavy  metal guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  with  some  deep  growls  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes  with  the  songs  being  written  in  English  but  there  are  a  couple  written  in  Finnish,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  great  compilation  from  Catamenia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blackmension"  "Calvacade"  "Morning  Crimson"  and  "Lost  In  Bitterness".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Catamenia Interview


1. Can you update us with what is going on with the band these days?
Ari: After the release of ‘Cavalcade’ we have done successful tour in Finland with Agathodaimon and now we are taking small break just to reload batteries for the active Fall. Then we’ll hit on the road for few tours in Europe, Russia and hopefully the States and Mexico if everything goes as planned. Also something happened inside the band’s line-up during the Finland tour. Together we decided that Kari plays all the rhythm guitars from now on and I’m focusing only on screaming vocals. This worked really well and we thought that why not to carry on like this way from now on.
Riku: Yeah I agree. Now Ari can completely focus on his screaming vocals during live shows. I do not know why, but for some reason this way everything worked much better than earlier. Also there is a plan to enter the studio this summer to record a compilation album, but we’ll have to wait and see if Massacre Records will give us the permission for that.

2. What is the meaning behind the band's name?

Riku: Shit, I knew this was coming again here. Well, it was after our recording of our debut album ‘Halls of Frozen North’ when one of our first fans ever contacted me and asked that do I know that the name Catamenia has a meaning. I was like no it’s just a name which sounds great. He said that you’re wrong, because it has a meaning - menstruation's. We were completely in shock and asked the label about possibility to change the name, but it was already way too late because the album was already in the pressing. Anyways, then we thought that what the hell, it does not stand or mean anything to us, but just a cool sounding name.
Ari: Heheh, it was when Catamenia’s ex-vocalist and the other former of the band, Mika Tönning, discovered this name, he forgot to check the translation for the word and shit was running down the leg before guys had the chance to react. But anyways it’s a damn great sounding name.

3. How would you describe the sound of the newer material?

Ari: It’s way much more mature than on previous albums. Also we succeeded to catch something much powerful and raw elements into our sound. There are many layers in our music which open bit by bit to you and still give the listener something new after several spins of the album. Also lyrical side supports music the way that it hits you like a wrecking ball and keeps smashing until the very last note of this album.
Riku: I think we have truly found ourselves on this new album. We have never enjoyed playing so much as much as with this new material of ours. I think one of the best biggest reasons for this is that I almost quit the whole band during the recordings of ‘VIII - The Time Unchained’. I just lost my passion for the music and everything. I just felt so numb regarding everything, but gladly guys said that I should give it another push and compose couple of new songs before I make any decisions, and they truly relied on me. Well, I composed ‘Blood Trails’ and damn that I was thrilled about that. I knew the flame of passion was back in the band and the guys were so damn thrilled as well and we knew were back on the right track.

4. How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?

Ari: We put much effort on lyrics this time that it truly supports music itself. The landscape of the lyrics on this album is dark and hopeless, like calm hell after all hope is gone and there is just a fear and pain feeding emotions and our senses. It’s so easy to sing ruling and winning. We look things from aspect of lost and conquered ones. That pushes the audience closer and closer to the edge and then kicks them through the emotional turbulence. Also like on musical layers on this album, lyrics are quite complex, not so easy than they might first appear. You might see the same line in very different light and meaning than on the first time. The beauty of this album is that it opens in many ways and with time. It makes listeners think and letting themselves to go with the music while having a serious thought.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and
how would you describe your stage performance?

Ari: Hmm, there are so many great shows behind our path that it’s hard to mention just a few, but last gig in Moscow was just awesome. The venue was totally crowded and the atmosphere was amazing. Also gig in Metal Camp was great. Our stage performance is very energetic and full attack with force. What more can you say (
Riku: As Ari said, it’s really impossible to mention just a few, but if I’d have to pick up couple of them, they’d be Moscow, Bucharest, Sofia, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, etc. and also our last gig which took place in Helsinki. Hehe, as you can see, impossible to pick just a few!

6. Are there any plans to tour the United States?

Ari: There are some plans, but I’m not that well on a map how these plans have developed. I just hope that we finally can come and show what we are made of!
Riku: Hopefully all these plans will finally come true, because we’ve wanted to come to play in the States for quite a long time now and we know we’ve got bunch of fans there. So, fingers crossed all’s going well and as planned, and we can finally hit the States! But we’ll see more about that after the summer.

7. Out off all the bands that you have toured or done shows with, which
one did you enjoy the most and what are some other bands that you would
like to tour with?

Riku: Absolutely Finntroll. Talking about bands that I’d like to tour with are bands like example Children of Bodom, Rotting Christ, Hypocrisy, Poisonblack, etc. Also it would be damn awesome to tour with Finntroll again someday. But we get along with all bands out there, so that’s no problem what so ever.
Ari: FINNTROLL! And FINNTROLL (

8. I have heard some of your older material and it was more black metal
sounding, how has the reception been to your newer music from the older
fans and how are new fans reacting to the material?

Ari: Most of our old fans have taken all our musical changes very well during and past these years. They have lived with us through band’s history and they understand that this has been just normal evolution of the band. Also I think they would be bored to our material if we would go around the same circle over and over again.
Riku: Of course there are fans that do not understand any all of this at all, but what can we do about it. We needed to evolve and this is how our music turned out to be and this how we’re going to continue. On the next album, there’ll be some changes and evolution as there’s been on every album of ours since the very first album.

9. How has the support been from Massacre Records so far and how would
you compare to other labels that you have been on?

Ari: Massacre Records has always supported us greatly and they have believed in us through harder and better times. We have a total trust on them and we feel that this feeling is mutual. We’re like a big happy family there. They have always let us made our own music without interfering it and this is something we feel very important. Actually we cannot compare them to any other label, because we have been on Massacre Records since the debut album. Our A&R once said that Massacre Records without Catamenia would be like a pizza without topping, heheh.

10. Out off all the albums that you have recorded so far which one are
you the most satisfied with?

Ari: Definitely ‘Cavalcade’! This album is the most mature and the whole concept is the best package so far. ‘Location: COLD’ comes right after this on my list.
Riku: I will also definitely pick up ‘Cavalcade’ as my favourite one. It’s the most versatile and powerful album from us. After that it’s really close battle with ChaosBorn and Location:COLD.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
music and what are you listening to nowadays?

Riku: I listen to so wide variety of different music. I like to absorb ideas from different music styles and genres if I just like it. But to mention few main influences in our music, I would say Megadeth, Metallica, Sentenced, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Jimi Hendrix, Sepultura, Samael and many classical composers and songs. I might forget to mention here some of the important bands that have affected me and the band, but as said I absorb ideas from everything I like, so the list would go on and on.
Ari: There are so many bands and artists those have their influence on us. I’m the oldest fart in band and my influences comes from the first metal and hard rock bands to present day bands, like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Dio, Megadeth, Metallica, Skid Row, Dimmu Borgir…You could carry on forever. Also there are artists from different music genres that have their effect. For example many classical music masterpieces and some lighter artists from the past like Mama’s & Papa’s, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elvis, Chris Rea, Eric Clapton…again I could continue for days this list.

12. Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in the music?

Ari: Not so much. Of course there are some elements included from paganism, occultism and other myths from history. At some point in our discography, there were more lyrics and songs handling these issues, but nowadays we use them way less than before and do more realistic lyrics. I realize that you can do really hard, impacting and effective lyrics just by learning some history, which is my weak spot. See, I’m a history and documentary freak. I can easily watch good documentaries for many days in a row, heheh.

13. What are some of your interests outside of music?

Riku: I love to do graphics and website designs, and hopefully someday I could do that as a daily job besides my music. I just love to work with computers and all. I also love to play ice-hockey and snooker and in summers I love to rollerblade. Of course you can’t forget to have a pint or two once in a while to get you relaxed, heheh.
Ari: I have this small business for video production and I love to do music videos and short movies. Also fishing is close to my heart, but as there’s only 24 hours in day I can barely go once in summer for fishing (three kids, three jobs and music). Oh, and I almost forgot … I bought a tattoo machine from our last tour in Germany and now I’m making tattoos on my spare time. So you could say I’m pretty busy with everything (

14. Any final words or thoughts?

Ari: I hope to see you guys in the States this year! Remember to check our latest album ‘Cavalcade’. CHEERS PERKELE!
Riku: Yeah, and if you are unfamiliar with our band, you can check four new full-length songs on our official myspace site @ HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/catameniaband" www.myspace.com/catameniaband and please feel free to check out also our new video ‘Cavalcade’ as well. Cheers and beers from Finland!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Catamenia/Cavalcade/Massacre Records/2010 CD Review


  Catamenia are a band from Finland that started out as a melodic/symphonic black metal band that has evolved into a gothic melodic black/doom/rock/metal band over the years and this is a review of their new 2010 album "Calvacade" which was released by Massacre Records.

Drums cover a lot of variety with a mixture of slow to mid paced parts with a lot of fast playing and some brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very technical and rhythmic sound of it's own.

Rhythm guitars mix a lot of slow, mid paced and melodic black metal riffs with some gothic doom metal and some thrash as well as melodic death metal influences and some open chords, while the lead guitars are very melodic guitar solos that have a depressing edge with a very professional sound.

Vocals mix high pitched black metal screams, deep death metal growls, screamo type of vocals, clean singing and spoken word parts, while the lyrics touch on depressing themes, as for the production on this album it has a very professional sound and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this album.

In my opinion Catamenia are a very good band for this style and I am looking forward to hearing more of their older stuff which from what I heard so far seems to be more black metal influence, if you are a fan of their older stuff you might be disappointed with the new album, but if you are a fan of good quality gothic/rock/melodic/black/doom metal you should like this album.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Cavalcade" "Quantity Of Sadness" "Post Mortem" "A Callous Mind" and "Angry Again" which is a Megadeth cover. RECOMMENDED BUY.

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