Album Review: Category 7 - Category 7
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
This should in theory be one of the easiest reviews that I ever get to write, as what you effectively have with Category 7 is a true heavy metal supergroup, led by one of the best voices in metal, John Bush, with Phil Demmel and Mike Orlando on guitars, Jack Gibson on bass and Jason Bittner on drums, I mean what’s not to like, right?
The band, named after the numerical designation for the most powerful windstorms, brings together a group of musicians who wanted to play music they loved with people they enjoyed hanging out with. With Orlando and Demmel becoming friends after taking part in a bunch of tributes to the late Randy Rhoads, it snowballed from there. The main challenge was getting the right singer, with Bush being the one they all wanted. And after sending him some music his verdict was “wow, this is pretty scathing stuff” and the rest is history.
The most pleasing aspect of this band is that the music is as good, if not better than you expected from the quintet. The songs from the off are crushing and confrontational, with the piledriving double bass drums on opener “In Stitches” complimenting the fiery thrash guitar riffs, and Bush is on superb stuff from the very beginning with his distinctive voice.
It’s great to hear more melodic music that compliments the harmonised vocals from Bush on songs like “Land I Used to Love” and “Apple of Discord” but they don’t forget the searing guitar fills and the epic riffs that are splattered amongst the music. Listening to “Exhausted” is an absolute pleasure, the stop start beginning, punchy riffs dominating the sound, pulsating drums complimenting the song composition, it’s a cracker.
With Bush on board, it allowed the writing to develop further, with Demmel saying “there was a cognizant effort to give the versus some space and to let John create his vocal melodies for them and the choruses” and they don’t waste the man’s undoubted vocal range and ability. He is an awesome frontman, and you can see why they wanted him in the band.
“Runaway Truck” is a scintillating song, full of killer riffs and the double bass from Bittner is like a rapid fire gun, with the lyrics across the album dripping in ambiguity, with Bush admitting that he didn’t “want to spell out exactly what these songs are about” which is exactly what my favourite song on the album “White Flags & Bayonets” does. The riffs, ahhhhh, the riffs!!!!!! Songs are meant to make you think, and these 10 will certainly do that.
The album sounds fresh but also familiar. It has elements of NWOBHM, thrash, punk and heavy metal, and lets the talent shine through. Bittner embodies fire and passion and the lead drum intro for “Mousetrap” is a fine example of his skill, with the bass of Gibson getting a heavy line here, and Orlando’s guitars injecting the raw aggression across the sound. There is no let-up in the heaviness with “Waver at the Breaking Point” hitting you square between the eyes like 2x4 plank of wood.
The album’s penultimate track is “Through Pink Eyes” which offers another demonstration of Bush’s talent for serene and calming vocals, amongst the complex rhythms and sometimes complex melodies, and it finishes with the explosive instrumental “Etter Stormen” in which there is an epic guitar duel between Demmel and Orlando that is as good a thrash song as I’ve heard in quite a while.
Supergroups sometimes flatter to deceive; Category 7 have now set the standard that all others must follow.
