2 August 2024
All-Star band news always creates excitement. Of course, it is not easy, for a band to be launched as an All-Star, the musicians who make up the band must have proven their maturity. Category 7 is one such band. John Bush on vocals, Mike Orlando and Phil Demmel, one of the mediatic names lately thanks to Kerry King, on guitars, Jason Bittner on drums and Jack Gibson on bass. It is impossible not to be hopeful when looking at the discographies of the musicians who make up the band.
The music of the band, which consists of musicians with heavy and thrash metal roots, is, as expected, a mixture of these styles. However, the fact that these two basic styles are performed by top-tier musicians does not guarantee that something incredibly beautiful will come out. The band has definitely put forth a performance where their experience stands out. There is a brilliant performance in the album both instrumentalism and vocal crafts wise.
Guitarist Mike Orlando took on the engineering and production work, and the recording has turned out to be enjoyable to listen to. In terms of musicianship, the performances of Jason Bittner and Jack Gibson in particular are really top-notch. Bittner, coming from metalcore roots, has written incredibly dynamic, groovy drums with plenty of double bass, with the instrumental control he has put on with the experience he gained in Overkill’s last two albums. One of the best drum performances I’ve heard in a long time. Jack Gibson also manages to create enjoyable moments with the dominant bass parts that stand out from time to time.
It’s as if they thought; Hey, we are an All-Star band and we should put everything we have in our hands, we should show what we are. I don’t think the situation is that bright when it comes to song writing. Although the experienced vocalist, who is in his 60s, has done everything he can to present an entertaining 50 minutes, and all the members have done top-notch work within their own fields of duty, the music becomes routine and boring at certain moments.
The album opens with the first single In Stitches which I find weak and caused me to have prejudiced expectations towards the album. Although the album is generally consistent with the songs that follow, they have put forward an up-and-down performance in terms of writing quality and song traffic. Personally, I really liked the closing song, the wonderful instrumental Etter Stormen (Norwegian for After the Storm), as well as songs like Exhausted, White Flags and Bayonets and Through Pink Eyes, but I would recommend that you keep your expectations low. I think this work is a warm-up tour for such a lineup. I believe they will do much better in their next album.
7/10
