Ari Nissilä

AM : First can you tell us if your previous album was successful, both for the medias and for the fans ?

Ari : Yes, i think our prevous album was successful for media and of course for the fans. We have faced so much good feedback from media about Location: COLD and fans dig the album very much. Most of peoples comments are that they think this is the best Catamenia album so far.

AM : You’re still in contract with Massacre Records since your debut album, it seems both parts are very satisfied of this collaboration, even if there are not many extreme metal bands on Massacre…

Ari : Yes, we are very happy with Massacre Records. They have done so good work with promotion and distribution, so we didn’t even consider other labels when we renew our contract with them. One thing that makes us to feel good, is that they have trusted on us all these years.

AM : The studio session was quite difficult du to some problems with your singer but it seems you had some fun too…

Ari : Right, there was problems with Olli’s voice. He sang few songs, but then his vocal chords infected or something. We had to use other vocalist, ‘cause studio time was running out and we had to finish the album. We find our friend and great vocalist Antti ‘Hape’ Haapsamo to replace Olli and we get album ready in time with his help. Fun..hell yeah, like usually our sessions in studio are always quite ‘wet’ and so it was this time. While we spend some time when all instruments were recorded, we decide to shoot own video diary...Ok, in this point everything started to go wrong ? The diary became our own funny video. We realize that we cannot do any serious material, because we were having so much fun. Today there’s two ‘Cataventures’ videos wondering thru internet, so everyone can see whatkind of idiots we really are. At least people now know that we ain’t those ‘all-time-evil-pose-no-laugh’ guys.

AM : The new album shows an evolution of your sound : much variations in tempos and also clean vocals but I think we still can recognize your style with catchy refrains and harmony loaded riffs, do you agree, was it intentionnal ? Was Riku again the main compositor ?

Ari : I think there’s regocnisable ‘Catamenia’ sound on every album we have done so far. We just put something new to every album. This time it ment more clean vocals, few slower songs, few fastest songs, more melodies, but keeping the sound still brutal. These things comes on their own, we don’t spare time to change our sounds and we don’t feel this ‘oh, we need to do hit’ pressure. In this issue i think we are fucking lucky band. Things just roll so smoothly on their own. And yes, Riku is our composer and will be in the future too. Once our former keyboardist try to create something, but it ended to catastrophic laugh. So, there is only one man who can create music for Catamenia, Riku.

AM : How about the lyrics of the new album, what is “Location : Cold” talking about ?

Ari : Location: COLD is our wicked vision of future. The ruling species is wolf and human has destroyed his way of life by disregardness and belief that he is immortal and upon everything. This is no serious greenpiece shit, but only our fanciful story and concept for album. So, Location: COLD is everywhere...soon ?

AM : Why this coversong of Wasp, as this is not useful on Catamenia’s albums ?

Ari : Hey, it’s damn good song. W.A.S.P. is one of our big influences and one reason why this band exist, so that cover is our bow to great band. Why this song from Wasp, we just jammed it in rehearsals and find out that it fits very well to our liveset. Then, there was no big step to do it on our album when we think a cover song for it. About cover songs, we have few things in mind for next album and in my opinion we are going really strange areas with those. Just wait and see ?

AM : According to your website, you’re going to tour in the whole world, how do you feel about this, don’t you fear to be far from your families, how are you going to prepare yourselves ?

Ari : Well, touring around the world has been so long in our hopes and dreams that now, when the door for it is opening we don’t need to think twice do we go or not. Besides, Catamenia is home on stage, so this is great chance to show people what we are made of. How we are going to prepare ourselves? We drink so hard as we can, so we can manage all the ‘Motley Crue’ styled parties ? No, seriously, we rehearse as much we can and...ok, we still drink as hard we can.

AM : Our last, ritual question : ask yourself a question, and answer

Ari : Is Homer Simpson god or what?

HELL YEAH ! But so is Zakk Wylde !