Katagory V – Awaken a New Age of Chaos (2025), MP3+FLAC

Who knew the end times could be so much fun? Well… not these times. Not that we’re literally living out the end of days; although, what better sign of the times than the plausibility that such a statement could be about these times, even if it’s hard to imagine what’s fun about it. No, the classic kind of apocalyptic Judeo-Christian story-telling favored by Ft. Wayne, Indiana’s ECHOSOUL.

Built on a framework of U.S. Metal and fleshed out with Prog Metal ideas and style, EchoSoul’s second album, ‘‘Time of the Dragon”, embodies the spirit of ’80s bands with current progressive metal. Though not quite a concept album, it is heavily inspired by the Book Of Revelation, which means songs about global corruption and the coming of the antichrist, the rise of the devil, and the ultimate victory of God, of Good over Evil.

EchoSoul might be the epitome of a passion project. Guy Hinton started the project in 2019 and it is clearly his baby, his deep and abiding love of the music shining through more brightly with every listen. Hinton writes the songs and lyrics, plays most of the guitars, and handles harsh vocals, and he devotes commensurate energy to the selection of bandmates to realize EchoSoul’s sound.
Rob Lundgren has his own strong, versatile voice even if it’s pretty clear he’s modeled his singing after Russel Allen and, to a lesser extent, Bruce Dickinson. Randy Walton on bass and Tyler Witte on drums reflect Hinton’s vision perfectly in rounding out the bottom end.
Of course, there’s always room for a special guest and Hinton hit the jackpot with a visit from Andy LaRocque, whose solo on “Hollowed Ground” reminds us all of why you just don’t ever pass up a chance to feature Andy LaRocque.

Other guests include Giampiero Presilli, Brady Gladieux, and Artem Iefimov (also mixing and mastering), all on guitar and all kicking ass (some sources, but not mine, also mention Joseph Michael of Witherfall). Hinton, of course also plays guitar and also kicks ass, his solo on “Invisible Empire” seeming to say that, if there are going to be guitar solos among the flames and plumes of Armageddon, this is what they’ll sound like.

Oftentimes, it seems, what separates the wheat from the chaff among albums drawing on an old style is that intangible quality of authenticity, nearly impossible to define yet pretty much immediately felt by the discerning metal fan. These are albums that feel like they were made for metalheads by metalheads, from the sound, style, and themes, obviously, down to album length, structure, and flow.
”Time of the Dragon” checks all these boxes at the same time it nimbly flexes its modern relevance. (We could talk about the logo design, but that’s about as perfect an example of between Then and Now as there is, no?) In fact, a lot of Hinton’s heavy metal history shines through, as Time of the Dragon bridges old and new schools very nicely.
For example, the juxtaposition of a pretty modern sound with an emphasis on the song- and album-making tradition from which heavy metal was born, featuring ten tracks within a 49 minute runtime including, of course, a ballad and an instrumental.

That ability to bridge, to balance, comes through so strongly. Time of the Dragon bridges power and prog, achieving optimal proportionality between heaviness, kick ass riffs, interesting composition, and compelling melody. Critically, Hinton prioritized the story above all else and then built the songs around it using the pieces that tell its elements best to balance dark and light, seriousness and fun, and yielding all the energy you might expect from the battle at the end of the world.

Now it may be tough for some to get past the gauzy white-gold glow of The Trinity all over this album. On the other hand, the storytelling lands way closer to, say, the Mad Max and Terminator movies than Left Behind, and feels real and sincere, genuinely committed to the values emphasized in the story. This feels like a band that believes it and lives it with steely determination which is, after all, such a huge part of what makes great power metal, that marrow-deep sense of righteousness, the indomitable spirit of the crusader.

So much of Time of the Dragon is might and power and glory and all the things that get hearts pumping and fists raised. And like so much great heavy metal it also remembers our humanity, acknowledging our fears and the frailty of the human condition reflected so clearly in the jaundiced cynicism of modern times.
“Sister Suicide” is this album’s ballad, written with sincerity, validated by the little bit of info from the band about the struggles of loved ones, with which listeners can surely relate. It may feel a little out of place at first but earns its place in the order.
And if there’s a ballad then, of course, there must be an entry for that other grand old tradition of the heavy metal album, the rockin’ and epic instrumental. “Split” answers the call with gusto, slotted strategically in the latter third of the album.
Highly Recommended

Tracklist:
Disc 1 (55:53)
1. Empire of Ignorance (4:18)
2. Absolution Divide (5:39)
3. Legacy in Blood (4:02)
4. Night Wing (6:09)
5. Blood Siphon (4:02)
6. Through Fate’s Eyes (8:25)
7. Prophet of Sorrow (5:52)
8. Spirit of Vengeance (4:46)
9. Escape to Beyond (7:55)
10. I Miss You (4:40)

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