Armored Saint and former Anthrax singer, John Bush, may be best known as one of the finest voices in metal, but he's planning something very different. Once sought out to replace James Hetfield in Metallica, the vocalist is keen to secure a release for a new rockabilly project.
Speaking to eonmusic about his new band Category 7, a supergroup which also features guitarist Phil Demmel - formerly of Machine Head - Bush revealed that he's working with guitarist Tara Novick in a project called Electric Spaghetti.
"I have this kind of blues country band that I also would like to put out a record with because we've written a bunch of songs", said Bush; "we have like, ten songs, but they're very different [to what I usually do]."
Going on to describe the project as "Little Richard meets Steve Earle", John said that working on the project gives him a chance to do something different; "It was really helpful for my brain to write these different types of songs; Category 7 is metal, of course, and then Electric Spaghetti, some songs sound like Little Richard meets Steve Earle."
Bush also revealed that the band has played a number of low key gigs, and even incorporated a rare Anthrax '90s gem into their set; "what was cool is, when we played live, we did like three shows, and we played 'A Toast To The Extras'. It was perfect because I was like, I have this song with Anthrax that we never played, and I played it for the band, and they're like; "that's great, let's do it!" And so we played it live, and it was awesome."
Read more at eonmusic.
Category 7, the heavy metal supergroup featuring the iconic lineup of John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax), Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob, Sonic Universe, Noturnall), Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Kerry King, Vio-Lence), Jack Gibson (Exodus), and Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Overkill), will issue their self-titled debut full-length on Friday, July 26, via Metal Blade Records.
Named after the numerical designation for the most powerful windstorms, Category 7 came together from a batch of musicians who strived to play music they loved and weren't hearing elsewhere and wanted to do so with bandmates they enjoyed being with. Together, the band has created an album that is fresh and familiar; a new breed of metal that lives up to the storied histories of its members. The mixture of NWOBHM, thrash, punk-metal, and traditional metal is cohesive and sonically rewarding, establishing an eclectic musical backdrop for vocalist John Bush's instantly identifiable vocals.
Category 7 was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Orlando at Sonic Stomp Studios with art and layout by Carlos Fides at Artside Studio (Angra, Evergrey, Kamelot).
The record will be available on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
- Storm Surge (US + EU)
- Sable Smoke (EU - Ltd. 300)
Find pre-orders here.
Category 7 tracklisting:
"In Stitches"
"Land I Used To Love"
"Apple Of Discord"
"Exhausted"
"Runaway Truck"
"White Flags And Bayonets"
"Mousetrap"
"Waver At The Breaking Point"
"Through Pink Eyes"
"Etter Stormen"
"Mousetrap" video:
"Exhausted" video:
"In Stitches" video:
Category 7 are:
John Bush - vocals
Phil Demmel - guitar
Mike Orlando - guitar
Jack Gibson - bass
Jason Bittner - drums
