With veteran musicians from such legendary bands as Anthrax, Armored Saint, Adrenaline
Mob, Machine Head, Overkill, Exodus, and Shadows Fall, it’s hard not to think of Category 7
as a supergroup. 'I think we’re pretty super,' jokes guitarist Phil Demmel, who has earned
mega-metal cred over the decades as a member of Machine Head, Vio-Lence, Kerry King,
and has also played as a fill-in road guitarist for Slayer, Lamb of God, Overkill, and others.
'Really, I feel like this is a band, not a side project. And I feel like we have written this
incredible piece of music, and we’re not done. I’m so proud of the way this came together
and the people who were involved. And I think we all feel super positive about this and what
else we can do with it going forward.'
The songs on the band’s self-titled debut speak for themselves. As crushing and
confrontational as an armed rebellion, as rhythmically thunderous as a storm of golf ballsized
hail, and as fiercely melodic as infectious riffs and aggressive vocals can be, Category
7 is a new breed of metal that lives up to the storied histories of its members. They’re as
heavy as a battleship, yet the songs are meticulously structured, skillfully balancing thrash
beats, New Wave of British Heavy Metal rhythms, punk metal attitude, blistering and
ferocious dual guitar work, and scar-inflicting vocals. 'It’s all about big verses and big songs,
and it has a lot of the elements we’ve explored in our other bands,' explains guitarist and
main songwriter Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob, Sonic Universe, Noturnall).
