Being indoctrinated into the world of Metal in the ’90’s meant that the Anthrax I was exposed to was of the John Bush variety and Sound Of White Noise/”Only” my go-to going forward and while I did do a deep dive on pre-Anthrax Bush with Armored Saint, I never did a pre-Bush Anthrax deep dive as I did with other “Big 4” bands (I would get into Joey Belladonna era finally after reading Scott Ian’s first book many moons later) because I dug this new heaviness that still had the shreddy of old but was a little more nuanced than previous iterations. And I’ve been a fan of Bush ever since.
That said, when Bush gets announced as the singer for ANY project we’re immediately in. With new outfit Category 7, though, the hits just kept coming with the announcement that guitarists Phil Demmel and Mike Orlando, bassist Jack Gibson, and drummer Jason Bittner were also on board. So you may be asking how this all sounds knowing that artists involved in Vio-Lence, Overkill, Adrenaline Mob, Machine Head, Shadows Fall and more are involved? Almost EXACTLY as you’d expect from people involved in the creations of such classics as The Blackening, The War Within, Symbol of Salvation, and countless others would sound.
The debut full-length from the certifiable “Supergroup” plays like a greatest hits from start to finish with Bush’s uncanny delivery playing like the eye of the self-proclaimed Category 7 and bringing a hard-charging fierceness and anthemic howl to each track as Demmel, Gibson, Bittner, and Orlando swirl around the singer bringing the thunder and lightning sonically. The instant “In Stitches” begins it’s a familiar feel that’s ever present with so many threads from other bands coming together for one completed Heavy Metal quilt that’s still uniquely Category 7 with Bush’s killer chorus and overall vocals front and center, shred-tastic stylings from Demmel and Orlando, and Bittner’s unmistakable percussive punch with Gibson’s rhythmic rumble completing the package.
Elsewhere on the debonair debut, the band display a penchant for Hard Rawk heaviness on “Land I Used To Love”, NWOBHM-like anthems with “Apple Of Discord”, and straight up bangers like “Exhausted” which barely takes listeners into half of what the record holds. “Runaway Truck” is ripe with riffs and embodies Groove Metal with Bittner bringing the Vinnie Paul-esque drumming, “White Flags & Bayonets” is blissful bombastic heaviness, and “Mousetrap” is something else entirely and the kind of song that embodies what Category 7 is all about with its’ influx of styles so perfectly fused together. Later still, “Waver At The Breaking Point” features a thunderous rhythm section performance out of Gibson and Bittner with Bush’s gruff croon bringing it all home while “Through Pink Eyes” channels Thrash of old with some Testament and Slayer-type sounds creeping into the mix. And what Metal masterpiece of a debut would be complete without a gargantuan closing number which, with Category 7, comes by way of “Etter Stormen” and the perfect soundtrack for wrapping up this perfect storm by dropping eight minutes and change of furious instrumental Heavy Metal insanity.
Category 7 arrives on July 26th through Metal Blade Records with pre-orders available when you head here. For more from Category 7, follow the band across the interwebs via their socials when you click here, here, or here.