"Pride/Fall" is a brilliant debut full-length CD of melodic death metal from Finland. Featuring 10 tracks at over 53 minutes plus the "Heralds Of Fall" music video. At times Maiden-esque, and destined to be in the same league as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity or "Elegy" era Amorphis. Noumena mix catchy melodies, with great riffs, driving rhythms and folkish acoustic passages. On top of that growled vocals, and a subtle use of clean male and enchanting female vocals. All backed up by an excellent production courtesy of As­tia-Studio and Studio Watercastle

Noumena are a 5 piece melodic death metal band from Finland comprising of Antti Haapanen on vocals, Ville Lamminaho and Tuukka Tuomela on guitars, Hannu Savolainen on bass and Ilkka Unnbom on drums. Forming in early 1998 the members had been previously playing in bands together. Ville on guitars and vocals, Tuukka on guitars and Ilkka on bass in a more straight forward death metal band called Inferion, and Ville on vocals, Hannu on guitars, Antti on bass and Tuukka on drums in a more rock oriented band called Conspiracy Within.

They immediately began writing material and in the summer of '98 entered Studio Etnovox to record the "Aeons" demo, 3 songs where they also enlisted the female vocal talents of friend Hanna Leinonen. As the gloomy Finnish winter approached, the band worked hard on composing new material and in early '99 en­tered Studio Watercastle (Silentium, Enter My Silence) to record 4 new tracks for the "For The Fragile One" demo. This showing the band's progression. Both demo's were well received within the metal under­ground, with promising reviews, radio airplay and some wild gigs.

A breakthrough seemed close at hand when in the summer of '99 Noumena signed to Singapore label Dies Irae Records. In November 1999 the band entered Astia Studio (Children Of Bodom, Warmen, Impaled Nazarene) and co-produced their 10 track debut album with Anssi Kippo, once again utilising the vocal tal­ents of Hanna Leinonen (who seems to have become an unofficial 6th member). Unfortunately the worst h-a-happened, which led to a breakdown of the record contract and the debut album not being released. The band spent all of 2000 looking for a new label with no luck, and in April 2001 entered Studio Water-castle again to record the killer "Sala" promo. Also in May 2001 the band produced a promo video for the track "Heralds Of Fall" taken from their debut album.

After several months of no luck gaining a deal with any labels, Noumena was approached by Catharsis Re­cords in October 2001, and in December 2001 after some negotiation an agreement was come to for the debut lull length release from Noumena and debut release for Catharsis Records.