Catamenia shows a huge amount of maturity both musically and lyrically on Winternight Tragedies and shows a much darker and more agressive side than ever. The aggression is in part due to the concept of the whole album, which is "War". This darker emotion is shown on every angle, from the brilliant cover artwork by artist Thomas Ewerhard, the music contained within the cover, to the grand finale of closing the album with a more than perfect cover to Satyricon's "Fuel For Hatred". Despite showing this darker and faster side, Catamenia slows it down from time to time while still maintaining their perfect mixture of melody and brutality. The songs are expressed with both English and Finnish lyrics and contain both grim vocals and array of operatic/clean vocals. Most impressive are the vocals of O.J. Mustonen- while brand spanking new to the band it is as if O.J. has been there since the beggining. Also notably impressive is the drum work from Veikko Jumisko who shows a huge amount of range on this release as do veteran guitarists Riku Hopeakoski and Ari Nissilä, keyboardist Tero Nevala and other newcomer; bassist Mikko Hepo-oja. All and all Winternight Tragedies has done the task of defining the sound that is Catamenia and very much seperating the band from any other acts of similar genres and sounds.

Notable Tracks: Verikansa, Strength and Honor, Verikansa, My Blood Stained Path and Iced Over.

written by Sam Chronic

Playing time: 47.21