Eskhata

I was quite surprised with Catamenia on this album; the band definitely changed their sound but have still have retained what makes them Catamenia (plenty of cold, melodic riffs and melodies, not to mention good production!) Some major criticisms I had of their previous albums were their lack of drive, lack of strong riffs, and boring songs- fortunately for the band, this was not the case on "Eskhata."

For example, by the first track, Catamenia already sounds like a different band. The songs are faster, the riffs are more memorable, and the band overall just sounds more energetic and mean. The altered lineup for this album was likely the catalyst for this change- "Eskhata" features new drummer Janne Kusmin (of now Kalmah-fame, who is easily the best Catamenia drummer thus far) and absence of keyboardist Heidi Riihinen, although the album does indeed have keyboards on it (however, it is no longer a major instrument in the songs, as the guitars now seem to be the focal point of the music on this release).

It was definitely a wise decision for the band to switch to a more guitar oriented sound, as the riffs are strong and, for the first time, somewhat interesting and memorable. To highlight this, the synth does add another dimension, even if for the most part it just follows the guitars or bass, but I've noticed that they seemed to have experimented with more sounds and effects as shown in numerous places on the album (the end of "Rain of Blood" and parts of "Flames," for example).

I'm also impressed with the thought put into making sure the album doesn't get monotonous or stale by having every song be "fast" or "mid-paced;" the band instead provides a good balance of tempos throughout the album. I'm really glad they decided to mix it up, as it definitely keeps the album sounding fresh.

One of the biggest surprises for me came later on, when the band really started experimenting with their sound. Beginning with the instrumental "Karma," the band begins to mix elements of space rock and clean guitar passages with their melodic BM- more than half of "Time in My Hands" has harsh vocals mixed with some semi-clean vocals, and undistorted guitars with a warm bass and subtle keyboards. Although the songs at this point in the album have become less "heavy" (a lot more melodic and less thrashy), I believe the band is showing that it has matured.

This abrupt and subtle change in style demonstrates that at this point, Catamenia is a different band than they were on the previous three albums. I have a feeling that if I had heard this album without having having listened to Catamenia's previous releases, I would not be terribly blown away, but because this is such an improvement I can't help but be impressed. The band at this point is still far from releasing something I could truly call excellent, but for fans of melodic BM, I would still recommend this album as a good purchase.

This was bound to happen – Catamenia weren’t meant to keep up such momentum. Once again, there isn’t any spectacular change; theoretically we’re still going on with wolves on the cover, synths supporting, and the keys mixing up with the guitars to (according to the goal) thrust us into a land where ice rules all. Eskhata runs itself into the ground by losing its focus – it forgot what the mission was all about. Many offensives begin on the right foot, but there must always be room to prepare for dragging on or drawing away from the purpose. This far into the war, we’re left with production imbalance, redundancy once more, and sluggish music with lacking atmosphere.

Experimenting with clean vocals and less keys are the least of our worries with this one, but we’ll hit them up as we go. Vocally, you still have those very shrieky screams to choose from amongst less enthusiastic growling (again, reminding me of Kalmah) and sometimes pretty frail (and quiet) clean vocals. They come off more as calm yelling in the background, but they’re highly ineffective and I think the band got desperate. Its not an amateur move, but its an amateur execution; don’t be surprised if this also marks another turn in Catamenia’s music, because things that aren’t prominent on this album will likely be much more abundant on later ones.

Bass is incredibly grumbly, vibrating on its own and establishing that thicker tone that I wanted on the last album. They’re not even hiding anymore – you can distinctively hear them aside from the other instruments. Guitars seem quieter in the mix than before, which means that they’re less impressive and lack any thrashy punch that characterized their sinister ways from before. Now they’re much more tame and friendly, but still tremolo and running the show. There is surprisingly less of a keyboard impression on this one, opting more for more melodic leadwork showing off what the keyboard would otherwise handle by itself. The atmosphere is still chilly, but there is less magic and invigorating moods than one would hope.

The worst are the drums, which have been given more of a back-handling job. They’re still a little bit relentless when it comes to drumming patterns, but the bass drum is incredibly soft and inoffensive. The kit just sounds much weaker this time around, with much less standing in the music.

It isn’t too hard to imagine a band fucking up, but a respectable one like Catamenia wouldn’t be a likely candidate for throwing out their original sound. Songs are a bit longer this time around, but that just makes the redundancy even worse and only a mission partially complete. Aside from a lack of keys to bring on the magical atmosphere, the weaker guitar sound serves as an accomplice for making the album more boring than it should have been. They can barely hold this album together, since the keys served as part of the band’s unique sound once everything was brought together.

If I were to count anything solid, then “Landscape” and “Beyond The Starlight” would be the two best bets. They holds everything that the band forgot about with the past albums, yet they are the shining moments that serve as the hopeful light that will guide the band to further success later on. The later tracks on the album also show more hopeful signs, sounding like Eternal Tears Of Sorrow if anything. They may have faltered, but this shows that there’s still room to go down swinging.

This album was actually a nice surprise after Eternal Winter's Prophecy. The previous album while still good was a bit subpar to most other Catamenia albums. It felt stale, and there was something missing. It was also back in the days when Catamenia had more black metal influence in their music. This album evolves in many ways. First, the production is louder and much better, it fits the music very well, and secondly, this album loses a bit of the raw black metal feel of the previous albums. That is not a bad thing here though. This album sounds more mature, it is more agressive, it is more melodic, and it just sounds better overall.

I like this album more also because of the fact that it is more consistent. There really are no throwaway tracks on this album. There are no masterpieces like "Kuolon Tanssi" or "Tribe of Eternity" (although "Storm" comes close), but everything just sounds well done overall. The vocals are more mature here, the riffs are melodic, they're not very repetitive, the drumming is great, and quite fast at times, you can also hear the drumming clearly most of the time. There are also some keyboards and synths that pop up in this album from time to time.

Some highlights are definitely "Storm" which is a great opener and the best song on the album, "Rain of Blood", "Flames", "Landscape", and "Eskhata". "Storm" starts off pretty slow, with a nice guitar riff and pretty loud drums, the song slowly builds up, we get a nice painful screams, and then the song just explodes with another more growly scream, quick and melodic riffs, great drumming, and even some keyboards which give the song a very chaotic feel. "Rain of Blood" starts off with a guy panting and some screaming in the background, it seems like they're preparing for a battle with the sound of guns shooting and arrows flying, then the song explodes into a faster, heavy, and melodic battlefest. The song is heavier than most Catamenia songs, and it also has the chaotic feel which every battle should have. "Flames" is a different song, because it is much more melodic and slower-paced. It is still very good however, and we have some pretty decent clean vocals on here mixed in with growling which creates a pretty cool effect. "Landscape" starts off with acoustic guitar before it explodes. This song is mid-paced, a bit heavy, but filled with great melodies and what almost sounds like bells in the background. "Eskhata" is the last song, and it is a long song by Catamenia standards. It isn't too heavy, it is melodic, has good growling vocals which are actually heard pretty loud here compared with other songs, has a somewhat chaotic feel. It is almost as if a blend of most of the songs on this album which is basically a summary of the album, or like a conclusion in an essay.

Overall another very good, powerful, and melodic album from Catamenia. This one is recommended and will be liked by most fans of melodic metal.

Catamenia has been one of my favorite black metal band for quite some time now. Eskhata went beyond my expectations. This opus oozes creativity and aggressiveness, thanks to the malevolent aura that drapes the songs. This album is quite dark and has a sense of structured chaos. You will understand what is going on because of the melodic element (this is due to the excellent recording). I did not find one bad song on this album (maybe the song Karma is borderline, I did not find any purpose for it in this release). All instruments are cohesive to what they are trying to achieve: an obscure, powerful and depressive music.

This album is also catchy. The first time you will listen to the song Storm, it will get stuck into your head for a long period of time. The riffs are simply extraordinary, you will be put to a dismal and conquerable state and you will be sudued with the grim nature of the album. On a personal note, I will have to say that the most perverse and hateful thoughts came to me while listening to Eskhata.

Catamenia has pushed the enveloppe further with this piece. I have not found one bad release by this band actually. Chaos Born, the newest album, is of gargantuan proportions. You may buy Eskhata blindly, Catamenia has proven to me once more that they are black metal geniuses.