History
Based out of Oulo and formed in 1993, Catamenia's second release was a tape called Winds. That melodic metal tape was adequate to convince Massacre Records and a deal was signed. Alex Krull of Atrocity joined the band in the studio and helped pen the German song Winternacht.
Sir Luttinen and Heidi Riihinen left in the autumn of 2001. At the same time, the band signed with Massacre Records for three more albums.
The band recorded its fifth album, ChaosBorn, in Neo Studio in Oulo, Finland with producer Immu Ilmarinen (Afterworld, Sentenced, Embraze, Dorotha, etc.) beginning in January, 2003. Tonning was asked to leave before the recording of Winternight Tragedies. The group recorded a live DVD on the 24th of August at the Stodola Club in Poland during its opening slot for Obituary. The material, entitled Bringing The Cold To Poland, was released in November and was available in standard DVD and DVD+CD limited editions. The band’s latest singer, Olli Mustonen, suffered a throat injury and was temporarily substituted with Antti Haapsamo of Mors Subita. Tero Nevala unexpectedly quit in Russia in the midst of a European tour in the autumn of 2006. The group announced a new drummer called Mikko Nevanlahti just in time for the band’s tour with Ancient Rites in the summer of 2007. The band’s projected tour of the USA for 2008 fell through due to logistical problems in late 2007.
Reviews
CATAMENIA - HALLS OF FROZEN NORTH - MASSACRE
With a band and album name such as these, song titles like Into Infernal Dreams Of Winterland and a melancholy collage for a cover my hope for introduction to a new heavy band quickly climbed aboard the ship of hope. It was less than a minute into the album opener though that at the first sighting of a wave of synthesizers my ship of hope set sail never to return to these shores again. What the above-mentioned qualities, the amazing depth and variety of vocalist Mika Tonning and a transparent production achieve, keyboardist Heidi Riihinen manages to negate. This could have become the son of Sentenced's North From Here. Instead Halls Of Frozen North is little more than a vessel gone astray, adrift in the waters of a thousand lakes. - Ali "The Metallian"
CATAMENIA – BRINGING THE COLD TO POLAND (DVD) – METAL MIND 
The band may have been misinformed about the Polish winters but Finland is of course colder musically too. The band themselves play an odd combination of energetic riffing and atmospheric, keyboard accompanied, for lack of a better term, black metal. Perhaps the featured cover of Satyricon’s Fuel For Hatred is apt here but one is tempted to think more of the likes of Sentenced and Amorphis. Besides also covering WASP’s I Wanna Be Somebody the band have skipped their debut, Halls Of Frozen North, altogether and play an additional ten songs from 1999’s Morning Crimson to the present. The bonus material included are two recording sessions from the Location: Cold album, a video clip for Tuhat Vuotta and audio versions of their 1995 and 1996 demos. - Anna Tergel
Interviews
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