CATEGORY VI – Firecry

Category VI - Firecry album cover
  • 7/10
    CATEGORY VI - Firecry - 7/10
7/10

Summary

Label: Moribund Records
Release date: March 23, 2023

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If there was ever a question as to whether Traditional Heavy Metal was losing traction in the music world, Newfoundland, Canada’s Category VI has shown us that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Their newest release on Moribund Records titled Firecry has all of the blistering guitars and high powered screams one would expect from 80s metal giants like Judas Priest during their Painkiller era.

About the Album

Their 3rd, and most polished release, Firecry includes 8 original Traditional Heavy Metal tracks, and ends with a cover of Heart’s classic galloping masterpiece “Barracuda”. The album is lyrically crafted around themes of personal pride and triumph (“Valkyrie”, “Heavy is the Crown”), witchcraft persecution (“Firecry”), and women’s strength (“She Runs With Wolves”). Vocalist Amanda Marie Jackman tells us her inspiration for the song “Valkyrie”:

“This song 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!”

Final Notes

Category VI – Firecry is a good Heavy Metal album. The guitars are punchy and in your face, the drums and bass are solid, and Amanda Marie Jackman has a strong Metal voice, though she does seem to be a bit monotone on some of the songs. The cover of Heart’s “Barracuda” doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and certainly can’t compete with the original, as Jackman just can’t hit all of the high notes that Anne Wilson could. When a band covers a classic, they really should bring something new to the song to make it their own. That said, the album is a fun listen, and the originals are the gems here, making it worth adding to your list of head banging bands to check out.

Category VI band photo.

Lineup

Amanda Marie Jackman – vocals
Geoff Waye – guitar
Keith Jackman – bass
Brian Downton – drums

Firecry – Tracklist

  1. Firecry
  2. Valkyrie
  3. The Vultures Never Came
  4. She Runs With Wolves
  5. Heavy is the Crown
  6. Coven
  7. The Cradle Will Fall
  8. Burning Bridges
  9. Barracuda (Heart)

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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