KATAGORY V – Hymns Of Dissension

Utah-based Katagory V is at long last back with its, long in the making, fourth release. The band takes on the musical tradition grounded by legends such as Fates Warning and Queensrÿche at the time, with slabs of early Savatage and Vicious Rumors to boot. The follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Rising Anger, which had brought along a new level of exposure to the band, has met with its hardships during its creation. Live shows were far in-between and bassist Dustin Mitchell was diagnosed with severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in his right hand, with surgical treatment to follow. After a year, the album that could have just as easily been bearing the title Hymns Of Agony And Frustration, was completed.

The Fates Warning influence is clear in opener “Listen to You, Listen to Me” … choppy, staccato riffing and punctuated rhythms intertwine here, with a great chorus to top it off. “Workforce” moves things along and takes on the band’s more melodic stance.

The ever-changing rhythms risk to rub the listeners ears the wrong way as the group constantly strives to remain unpredictable, unfortunately; just as you lash on to a great melody, along comes a contrast. The band’s catchier moments are rather plenty when looked at in breaked-down parts. ”Do Feelings Remain” serves as an example, where plenty of good ideas result in no general sense of direction, and the vocal melodies end up feeling ”iffy.” The core of Katagory V’s direction remains relatively straight-ahead, with influences of Power and Thrash baked into their Progressive leanings, but the band tends to ruin a good idea in their desire of presenting the next one, often too soon.

A more modern course is taken on ”Lies And Illusions,” where crunchier values in the vein of mid-tempo Trash can be heard. In contrast, the band switch into semi-acoustic mode on ”Can You Hear Them,” where, again, the vocal melodies seem written for another song entirely.

The sonic mix is very clear and should be enjoyed via headphones first and foremost for desired effect. Each instrument has its place in the final mix and complement rather than tread into others territory -– definitely much needed, especially where this type of direction lies, in order to prevent the result from being a total mess in the end.

Hymns Of Dissension should have further solidified the band’s reputation in the Progressive Metal field, but the band tends to stumble, making the songs flow less … being more complicated than they actually need be.