EPK – Category VI – Firecry (2023) (Moribund Records)
For fans of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, Dio, Mercyful Fate
Band: Category VI
Album Title: Firecry
Release Date: March 24, 2023
Label: Moribund Records
Distribution: Moribund Records
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“a promising band worth watching.” – Â Rock Hard (DE)
âthe band, with their sound rooted firmly in the early 80s, play with real charisma.â – Â The Independent Voice
âa really nice slab of metal that should please fans of the old and new heavy and power metal genres.â – Â Metal Crypt –
âIf you dig acts like Seven Kingdoms, Mindmaze, or Helion Prime, then I’d call this a no brainer although Category VI do separate themselves from their contemporaries with a more pugilistic edge, and a lethal injection of classic metal attitude which would call to mind Judas Priest or Mercyful Fate. Overall a solid record. You could do far worse than check this out. â – The MetalCrypt
âSo if you like your metal aggressive yet smooth, soulful while never failing to thrash, and resonating without sacrificing in that certain visceral punch, War is Hell is a must â an album that will appeal to the diehard fans of a forgotten generation of thrashers and headbangers, while bringing sufficient juice and sizzle to lure wayward fringe fans of the millennium and beyond. â – Â Metalheads Forever
âThis album, their second full length, is a power metal tour de force. Â Although I donât think they sound like either band per say, they do give off a classic metal vibe like JUDAS PRIEST or MERCYFUL FATE. â – Â Metal Temple
âMusically, Category VI are a storming True Metal band with no pretentions and no excuses made….Unlike the trend-driven sub-genres, the sound of Category VI is timeless and WAR IS HELL has already shown that they are ready to take it to the international stage.â – Metal-Rules
Band: Category VI
Album Title: Firecry
Release Date: March 24, 2023
Label: Moribund Records
Distribution: Moribund Records
Track Listing:
1. Firecry – 6:10
2. Valkyrie – 6:05
3. The Vultures Never Came – 4:10
4. She Runs With Wolves – 4:12
5. Heavy is the Crown – 3:47
6. Coven – 4:52
7. The Cradle Will Fall – 4:53
8. Burning Bridges – 3:49
9. Barracuda (Heart) – 4:21
Album Length: 42:18
Album Credits:
⢠All songs performed by: Category VI
⢠All songs written by: Category VI
⢠Produced by: Category VI
⢠Mixed by: Category VI / Keith Jackman
⢠Mastered by: Keith Jackman
⢠Album Artwork by: Cover art by Ivan Radnic
⢠Member of SOCAN
⢠Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
Amanda Marie Jackman: vocals
Geoff Waye: guitar
Keith Jackman: bass
Brian Downton: Additional drums
Jason Williams: session drums
Live Band Line Up:
Amanda Marie Jackman: vocals
Geoff Waye: guitar
Keith Jackman: bass
Brian Downton: drums
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Describe the album as a whole:
Amanda: at its core, unapologetic. The concept of this album is about the burning of witches historically, but also, how we are still being âburnedâ after all of these years.
Describe each song track by track:
Firecry- The title track of the album, a fucking battle hymn. This song is about witch burnings, but conceptually, it’s about how being âdifferentâ is still causing us to be âburnedâ all of these years later.She Runs With Wolves- This song is about a woman who was beaten down so badly by society, she fled into the deep woods. One night she gets abducted by aliens and they befriend her by giving her shapeshifting powers: by turning into a man eating wolf!Valkyrie- Is about sexism and misogyny and my own personal experiences with this. Being told to shut up my whole life backfired. LOL
It’s about sisterhood and banding together like a bunch of powerful Valkyries against the assholes in the world!The Vultures never came- This song was written in memory of my friend, Jill Janus from the powerhouse band, Huntress. Jill sadly passed on a few years back, and I was lucky enough to get to know her before she died. I just really looked up to her, and was honoured that she was thinking about collabing with us on a track, but sadly this did not come into fruition. This song is an homage to her strength, mental illness is no joke and has taken so many bright souls. She deserved a good send off, and I think we delivered.Burning Bridges- The term, âBurning Bridgesâ often has a negative connotation, however, sometimes we actually NEED to burn them the fuck down. Some friends don’t deserve access to us anymore, so I wrote this song about how I unapologetically stopped talking to certain female friends that turned out to be bullies.The Reckoning- A few years ago, I was sexually assaulted at a show I played at. I received no justice for this crime, so I wrote a song instead. Music is my release, so this is my âfuck youâ to him, wherever he is.Cradle Will Fall- This song is about a child witnessing their mother being abused and sadly their mother turns into their abuser. Its also about the sad realization that this child is on their own, to fend for themselves, and having to grow up at a young age.Coven- Bassist Keith Jackman wrote this song, and is his first lyrical contribution This song is about our band seducing people into our witch lair and all of a sudden it turns into an oven, we essentially want to eat you up!
Story Angles – Fun Facts:
1. The band name explained…. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. There is (currently) no 6 in the scale, so we named it âCategory VIâ and envisioned that next level would be a huge firecane destroying everything in its path.
2. Bassist Kieth Jackman plays in an AC/DC tribute band in the role of Malcolm Young.
3. Guitarist Geoff Waye has two side projects: Triskelyon (melodic thrash) and Artach (epic black metal).
4. Vocalist Amanda Marie runs her own business â a Spa!
5. Geoff created âMetal Rulesâ…ânuff said!
Hailing from the misty shores of the northeast Avalon, Category VI formed in early 2010. The band brings something new to the local Newfoundland metal scene as they are the only female-fronted melodic metal band in the province! Category VI has performed live in St. Johnâs actively since 2010 with other local hard rock and metal bands as well as with touring bands Including NAIL and ANVIL and to date has released two full-length albums.
The band self-released their first full album “Firebornâ in January 2014. The album received plenty of praise and great reviews on both the local and international levels. Two music videos (“Rebornâ and “Silence befalls the crowdâ) were produced for the album. “Silence befalls the crowdâ has been released 4/28/2017 on the DVD “Kill For Metal Vol. Iâ, a compilation of videos of label-mates on the KILLER METAL RECORDS label. The band has performed regularly for over 7 years at many venues.
Not long after the release of “Firebornâ, CATEGORY VI signed to Killer Metal Records. The band spent most of 2015 writing and perfecting material for their second album “War is Hell”. Recordings for the album took place throughout 2016 and wrapped up in June 2016 at Redhouse Recording in St. John’s, NL. Album mixing was done in the summer/fall of 2016 and mastering was completed in early January 2017 by Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto, Ontario. “War is hell” has been released globally as of June 9, 2017. The album was nominated for hard album of the year for Music NL and was favourably reviewed by several press outlets.
The band played several shows in 2017-2018 until pausing to write the 3rd album. Then, without a permanent drummer, and with the pandemic, the band was in hibernation. The band has now emerged from the shadows with a new drummer and with the third album FIRECRY ready to be released in 2023 via Moribund Records.
Discography:
2014 â Fireborn
2017 â War is Hell
2023 – Firecry
Shared Stage with:
Anvil, Nail, Manacle, Emblem, Devastator, Winterhearth
