Release:
High Roller Records (European Release)
16.05.2025
Info:
KATAGORY V are a progressive power metal band formed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in early 1999. Their full-length debut »Present Day« was released in 2001, followed by four more albums: »A New Breed Of Rebellion« (2004), »The Rising Anger« (2006), »Hymns Of Dissension« (2007) and finally »Resurrect The Insurgence« (2015).
The band has now inked a deal with High Roller Records, the first result being their brand new effort »Awaken A New Age Of Chaos«. The album was recorded by Dustin Mitchell (bass), Curtis Morrell (guitar) and Matt Suiter (drums), all from the original line-up, plus singer Albert Rybka and their newest addition, Dan Coxey on second guitar.
“The album was recorded and mixed over a four-year time span at Streamline Sound here in our hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah,” explains founding member and bassist Dustin Mitchell. “The studio is owned by one of our songwriters and guitarist, Curtis Morrell, and we produced it ourselves, with Alan Douches (Fates Warning, Cannibal Corpse) mastering it.”
With riff-heavy stuff like “Empire Of Ignorance” and “Blood Siphon” or more melodic numbers such as “Absolute Divide” or “Through Fate’s Eyes” »Awaken A New Age Of Chaos« turns out to be a masterpiece of contemporary progressive power metal.
In the past, people have compared KATAGORY V to Fates Warning, Queensryche, Hades, Sanctuary and Lethal, which doesn’t seem to be too far off the mark: “Yes, those are bands we are certainly influenced by for sure, but we also are influenced by a lot of the speed/thrash/doom bands of the late 80s and early 90s as well old school thrash bands, such as Realm, Death Angel, Helstar, Flotsam & Jetsam, Atrophy, and we also are influenced by a lot of the heavier melodic hard rock bands, especially ones from Germany, like Bonfire or Jaded Heart.”
This should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from KATAGORY V if you haven’t heard of them before.
Overall, »Awaken A New Age Of Chaos« possesses a distinctively dark mood, which is pretty unusual for the band. “Oh yes, very much so,” confirms the bassist. “This is a much darker, angrier album, darker than anything we’ve done in the past, maybe with a slight exception to our second album, which is also a bit darker and thrashier. Over the course of our career as a band, we have taken several solid punches to the gut, which is why we retired a decade ago, so it’s only natural that those feeling are going to come out in our music.”
"Blood Siphon" - Official Track Stream: https://youtu.be/3UjfsFltFPw
Tracklist:
01. Empire Of Ignorance
02. Absolution Divide
03. Legacy In Blood
04. Night Wing
05. Blood Siphon
06. Through Fate's Eyes
07. Prophet Of Sorrow
08. Spirit Of Vengeance
09. Escape To Beyond
10. I Miss You
Line-up:
Albert Rybka - Vocals
Curtis Morell - Guitar
Dan Coxey - Guitar
Dustin Mitchell - Bass
Matt Suiter - Drums
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