Review by Jeger on July 30, 2024.

A supergroup… yay… Category 7 - formed in 2023 with the mighty, I mean overrated John Bush (Armored Saint, ex-Anthrax vocalist) at the helm and Phil Demmel (ex-Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head guitarist), Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob guitarist), Jack Gibson (Ex-Exodus bassist) and Jason Bittner (Overkill, Shadows Fall drummer). On paper? Still doesn’t sound so great… I mean yeah, it’s more-than-likely a will-be thrill ride complete with ridiculous levels of high-octane riffing, tempestuous percussive onslaughts, and John Bush in all of his one-dimensional sub-glory, but I’ve run out of shit to review, so I guess I’ll give this one a fair go. Starting fresh here. Should at least be a fun one. Ready? Let’s get into it… Category 7 was released on July 26, 2024 via Metal Blade.

Let’s be clear: utmost respect for all parties involved, and John? Swell guy and a class act, important has he been to heavy and thrash metals, just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Like the Paul Rodgers of heavy metal… Phil Demmel? A thrash and groove icon who’s proven to be a pretty tough dude through some career adversity, and the embodiment of pretty much everything American metal stands for has he been, as have also Mike and Jack, but it’s Bittner who should really have a field day here - pretty much the greatest percussionist outside of Chris Adler to emerge out of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal - a fucking machine behind the kit.

Okay, so you’re definitely better off watching the visualizers than listening to the audio. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching legends at work? Striking visuals and no bullshit, dude, just the fucking band in this vids:'Apple Of Discord', 'Mousetrap', 'In Stitches' and 'Exhausted' - a little less is more here in the music video department to offset such flamboyant compositions. Yeah, not into it… Fucking lame like modern-day Exhorder as you can just feel the manufactured aggression. It’s all power stances and stage moves that these guys have been working on for the entirety of their careers set to boring, bordering on cheesy hard rock sleaze heavy metal. You know that lame as fuck Sirius radio station Octane? This shit fits right in there with Five Finger Death Punch and Ill Nino. Exponentially more talented but equally disappointing. Bittner? Having that field day and sounding great. EVERYONE sounds great and that’s the problem. Zero elements of heart & soul and devoid of character like the neighborhood in Edward Scissorhands (film 1990) or any one of those new developments where there are no trees, the houses all look the same and they’re all way too close to one another. You can definitely bang your head to this shit, and for those of a lesser-tier level of extreme metal connoisseurism, that’s all that matters, but for the snob, this shit is just like ear poison. Completely sanitized and Phil is really the only formidable weapon here; the only one possessing of any kind of testicular fortitude or imagination.

Where’s the shred? Where’s the triumph and that hold-my-beer moment that should transpire at some point during every track on this album? Deeper cuts like 'Waver At The Breaking Point' and 'Through Pink Eyes' both deliver such limp-dick choruses and vanilla compositions that you’ll most likely pull the plug at some point during the latter. Flashes of talent during every solo and that’s really it. Without the solos and without Bittner, this is one shit thrash / heavy metal album. Trash with ‘em, just not shit. Let me just cut this lambasting short right now, because it honestly doesn’t feel good to butcher such iconic artists and their album that they no doubt had a blast recording and put some fairly hard work into. 

The closing track, 'Etter Storman' - this is what the entire record should’ve sounded like. Don’t hold back when you’ve got a fucking circus of talent at your disposal: shock, obliterate, eviscerate and awe, man, you only live once. Glad I stuck around for the more-than-worthy grande finale. Downright otherworldly shit going down here as opposed to the entirety of the rest of this mundane record. Back to your bands, guys, epic fail, and what’s the deal with the logo/cover art? Is that a metal album or the next Sharknado movie? For shame… Watch the videos, don’t listen to the album. Or do, they’re your ears… 

Captivation: 5/10
Concept: 4/10
Cover Art: 3/10
Production: 7/10
Revisitability: 5/10

Rating: 5 out of 10