April 18th, 2025 - Awakening a New Age of Chaos in Your Monkey Mind!

 

Hey there thrashers, rebels, and craft beer fiends!  Happy Friday!  The Meista here with another killer pairing for you!  I've got an advanced copy of the kick-ass, brand spankin' new album "Awaken A New Age Of Chaos" (thank you Dustin Mitchell!!) by progressive power metal band Katagory V and a very crushable and hoppy Monkey Mind Double Dry-Hopped IPA from Red Rock Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Katagory V
• Title: "Awaken A New Age Of Chaos"
• Recorded:  at Streamline Sound Studio in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Release date: May 16th, 2025 (6th full-length studio album by Katagory V)
• Record company: Metallic Blue Records / High Roller Records
• Production: Katagory V
• Album cover art: Ed Repka
• Personnel: Dan Coxey (guitars and backing vocals), Dustin Mitchell (bass and backing vocals), Curtis Morrell (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, and additional instrumentations and sounds), Albert Rybka (lead and backing vocals), Matt Suiter (drums)
• Guest musician: Lynn Allers (co-lead vocals on "Escape To Beyond", and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, progressive metal, power metal with elements of thrash metal and neo-classical metal
• Sound: With aggressive as well as soaring guitars from Coxey and Morrell, powerful and emotive vocals by Rybka, the thunderous, powerful, and intricate rhythm section of Mitchell and Suiter, and complex, yet engaging melodies, the sound on "Awaken A New Age Of Chaos" is passionate, electrifying, and mesmerizing... and definitely rockin'!  These guys always hit it out of the park with every offering, but "Awaken A New Age Of Chaos" is seriously next level!  They've totally outdone themselves this go-round; they've harnessed their love of '80s old school thrash metal, '80 European power metal, and '80s and '90s progressive metal, along with more modern rock and metal elements into an amalgam of sonic perfection and depth!  And having original Katagory V vocals Lynn Allers provide guest vocals is an added bonus!  It's been a long wait since Katagory V's last album, but it was well worth it my friends!  You will definitely want to grab a copy of this wonderful album when it is released next month!  You can preorder it on CD here: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
• Major themes: Life, death, violence, rebellion, change, pain, darkness, sorrow, revenge, fantasy, anti-heroes, etc.
• Tracks: 
1. "Empire Of Ignorance"
2. "Absolution Divide"
3. "Legacy In Blood"
4. "Nigh Wing"
5. "Escape To Beyond"
6. "Blood Siphon"
7. "Through Fate's Eyes"
8. "Prophet Of Sorrow"
9. "Spirit Of Vengeance"
10. "I Miss You"

 Brew Info:

• Brewery: Red Rock Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://redrockbrewing.com/ 
• Brew: Monkey Mind Double Dry-Hopped IPA 
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Ingredients: Sabra, Mosaic, Cashmere, and Citra hops
• Pour: The Monkey Mind pours a slightly cloudy golden-yellow hue with frothy and billowy, 1-finger, bright white head with great retention and lots of sticky, soapy, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, fruity, floral, and malty.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, orange zest, tangerine, fresh mango, freshly sliced pineapple, wildflowers, light herbal tea, crackery grains, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of Monkey Mind follows the nose with big notes of pink grapefruit juice, orange juice and pith, tangerine, mango, lemon zest, and more subtle notes of pale malts, crackery biscuit, and sweet toffee/caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Monkey Mind is very crisp and juicy, yet smooth with a dry, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Monkey Mind Double Dry-Hopped IPA from Red Rock is very crushable, yet a very punchy and flavorful brew ... a perfect beer to accompany the aggressive guitar attack, and thought-provoking riffs and themes of Katagory V's killer new album, "Awaken A New Age Of Chaos" album!  And those colors on the beer label look great juxtaposed with the legendary Ed Repka's phenomenal album artwork!  'Nuff said! 

And make sure to check out my most recent interview with the boys from Katagory V here: https://youtu.be/J8Xqo9Yn7ok 

Cheers and hails!!