Catamenia, two years after their last release, return with their new album "VIII: The Time Unchained". This is the eighth full-length album that the experienced Finnish band has released the last ten years. Catamenia manage to remain faithful to their melodic black metal style despite the significant changes in the bands line-up.

The band's singer in their two previous albums, Olli-Jukka Mustonen, left the band and the gap was filled deservedly by the rhythm guitarist Ari Nissilä who took charge of the lead death vocals as well. Another change is the addition of Mikko Nevanlahti in drums after the departure of Veikko Jumisko.

This does not prevent the experienced Finnish band to create the most aggressive album of their career, which is also the first in which there is no use of keyboards. Very fast and aggressive riffs from the guitars with several melodic elements and death vocals with some alternations to clean vocals constitute the key elements of the record. The album starts strongly with "Garden Of Thorns" and "Tuhon Oma" standing out, with the wild and fast riffs alternations with the melodic guitar parts. Following, is the excellent "The Time Unchained" with an impressive riff and with the excellent rotation between death and clean vocals: it is the peak of the album, while the melancholic "Fallen" is the most peaceful and accessible song of the album (and perhaps of their career) with the beautiful slow riff setting the mood and the clean vocals dominating. Unfortunately, the other tracks on the disc are moving in a moderate level, without offering nothing in particular, delivering most of the times uninspired riffs and mediocre vocals. Furthermore, the disc includes three cover songs with the most important being "From Out Of Nowhere" of Faith No More, but the result is mediocre (without being bad) and it just doesn’t justify the selection of the song.

Ultimately, "VIII: The Time Unchained" leaves a bitter-sweet taste, having very good and mediocre moments. Catamenia fans will surely be pleased because the disc is one of their best works. As far as the rest of the fans of this kind of music, this album has songs that will surely satisfy them all but as a total the album is not anything special.