Hail! Present your team, hehe!
Riku: Hails from the north, Milen. Here with me answering the questions is Ari.
Ari: Hails!

On the 25th of April 2005 your new album "Winternight Tragedies" is coming out. Tell us what is it like?
Ari: This album will be the most hardest, aggressive and melodiest Catamenia album ever. The athmosphere at recording session were so amazing. First time the whole band could focus only to music, you know. Earlier times there were always some shit coming on mostly Riku's and mine necks. Now the spirit inside the band is totally something else. And it will show on this album.
Riku: What could I say more. It is best album we have recorded so far. It's more versatile than previous ones, but not too versatile of course, cause then you would lose the thin red line betweeen the songs. And as Ari said, the band feels more complete now, and it really can be heard on the new album.

It contains a cover of Satyricon's "Fuel For Hatred". How did you decide it?
Ari: Well, this song were in Riku and mine project band called Unwrap's repertuar. We find out that this would work with Catamenia and so it did. We tried to put a cover song onto "Chaosborn", but you know, this complaining issue were there back then.

The album contains two songs in Finnish. In your previous album there was one. Do you think in the future you will sing more in your native language?
Ari: We'll see, there is no plans to do album only in Finnish. Those things just come on their own. Of course it's great to put Finnish lyrics also on the album.
Riku: Heheh. You never know what Catamenia will do next. So, we can not predict even ourselves what's going to be on next album. Speaking of lyrics.

In "Winternight Tragedies" the bass is performed by Mikko Hepo-oja instead of Timo Lehtinen. Why? Who is your permanent and live bass player?
Ari: Mikko is our permanent bassist and does his work very well. The biggest reason that Timo had to leave was that he lives in Helsinki nowadays and it was impossible to Timo to enjoy rehearsals, so time run out, there were studio waiting. Mikko played with us in Unwrap and we know that this guy had talents and right attitude, so it wasn't hard to pick up new bassist. And now there is much more balls in basslines, 'cause Timo went too much in proge shit ways, and it's hard to put proge and black metal smoothly together.
Riku: Well, there you go. Nothing to add on that.

How actually was founded Catamenia. How it all began?
Ari: I was in drunk somewhere else back then, so this is for Riku.
Riku: It was me and Mika who were the original founders of Catamenia. We were already good friends back then. It was in 1995 when we decided to put a band together and to play some music. We asked few guys to join us from my class, and started to play in our drummer's garage. The first songs were more like something death/punk-styled, but from that time, the Catamenia music has taking steps to it's current forms.

How did you choose your name? ("catamenia" - Physiol. another word for menses)
Ari: I know this, it was Mika Tonning who watched dictionary and search good bandname. Bang, Catamenia, there it was. He just didn't had the time to watch translation of this word, hehehe. No fucking worries, Catamenia sounds good.
Riku: Actually Mika just invented the name. And later on, one of our fans contacted us and told us that the name has one meaning. I was like pretty amused when I heard the meaning, heh. We thought of changing it, but why the hell. We've had just recorded our debut album, the name sounds good and for us the name does not mean anything - so why to change it.

Desribe with a few words the thematic of your music and lyrics!
Riku: I do not know do we have a certain thematic on our songs. Of course the wolves on the covers brings some elements to our music, the wintry aspects on a lyrics in a different kind of views. But really hard to say it in few words, cause we do our things what come in our minds. Maybe in general we want to create atmospheres where you can find "peace", where you can be just you, just enjoying the music.
Ari: What the fuck is thematic? Ok, Fast, Hard, On-Limits, Royal...

How did you make this choice? Riku: Our style has developed into it's tracks by these years we've played. There hasn't been any choices or decision towards it. Only in a bigger scale, we decided to play metal music, but what kind, only the time did tell us.
Ari: Easily?

Who creates your music and lyrics?
Ari: Riku is our composer. He does the songs ready for rehearsals and then we train those together. There are just little tuning sometimes for some songs, but almost everything goes all the way to the album just like Riku has written. Lyrics are mostly done by Riku and me.
Riku: That's about how it goes.

What are Catamenia out of the scene - as people?
Ari: Crazy motherfuckers who listen Topi Sorsakoski and do things that most people dont even dare to dream :) Actually, we are quite normal people, we do all normal things like everyone else, we are no idol posers. Riku is our drunken master (has been drunk every day since recordings, I appreciate that), I am the clown of the band, can't stay serious, and ok, sober so long. Mikko is Mr. Spender, he buys all shit all the time. Veikko is nudist, he want to show his miserable penis to everyone. Tero is Hippie. Ole is our tattooing master and man on the mission, will tattoo us all from forehead to toes within a year.
Riku: Again, is there anything to add on that, heheheh. Like one man said few decades ago something like this: Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a good-looking corpse.

Are you friends with the other bands from the Finnish scene? Are there any hostilities between you?
Ari:There are many bands who are friends with us. No hostilities shown, I'm a big man, the daddy. :)
Riku: Yeah, we are friends with few bands, but absolutely we do not have any hostilities between anyone. We do get along great with different kind of people and bands. And I think the hostilities between some bands are kind of childish I think. I could be wrong, but I think there's not that much of those conflicts and hostilities between bands these days..?!

What do you think about Dimmu Borgir?
Ari: Dimmu is good band and do their own thing with style.
Riku: Dimmu Borgir is great band. They have done also always their own things. Especially I like their album "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia", it is awesome. The new one I did not like that much.

Which bands do you like? Do they influence what you create?
Riku: I like many bands a lot, but if to mention few of them: Immortal, Old Man's Child, Hypocrisy, Samael, Dimension Zero, Withering Surface, Suidakra, Helltrain, In Flames, Norther, and many others. Of course some of these bands has left their own "influence" on our music, but we have always played our own style. If someone says that they do not have any influences, they're lying, heheheh.
Ari: Now we all are in very strange and dangerous situation with this Finnish artist Topi Sorsakoski. :) His music is far from metal and fuck, we love it. Bands which are now in my player are Mercenary, In Flames, Helltrain, Wasp, Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row Bach) some to mention. Of course all good music has their influece, but not nothing that shows too much. Catamenia have own style and will grow as own style.

What is your philosophy of life?
Ari: Aargh, no deeper philosophies, I leave those things to shrinks.
Riku: I will say the words again, which one man has said: Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a good-looking corpse. I think that is quite a good quote to say. Even though it wouldn't come true, heheh.

What people are the Finns?
Ari: We Finns are straight people and we wont complain very easily. For outsider Finns might seem very silent and blunt, but when you get to known us, you see that we are not. Only thing that make us low-spirited is this goddamn long, cold and dark winter.
Riku: ...niin, PERKELE!