Supergroup of Metal Musicians Announces First Tour
A new metal supergroup is hitting the road for the first time ever in 2025. – Author: Scarlett Hunter, CATEGORY 7 photo via Rob Shotwell
Supergroups famously bring together popular band members from different bands to offer an entirely new experience. CATEGORY 7 is a new supergroup featuring former and current members of Anthrax, Exodus, Machine Head and Shadows Fall, so it’s heavy on the metal players. The group has announced their first tour, which will kick off in the U.S. in March of 2025.
Members of Anthrax, Exodus and More in New Band
CATEGORY 7 features vocalist John Bush (Armored Saint, ex-Anthrax), guitarist Phil Demmel (Kerry King, ex-Machine Head), guitarist Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob), bass player Jack Gibson (Exodus) and drummer Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, ex-Overkill). This is really a unique supergroup, because it brings together rather niche metal musicians, but they’re all from fairly big bands. Bush is obviously a significant name from his previous time in Anthrax and current time in Armored Saint, and Demmel is active right now with Kerry King of Slayer. It’s great to see so many different musicians from different subgenres of metal come together in one group.
The outfit will kick off their 14-date tour on March 6 in Baltimore, Maryland, and stay on the road through a March 23 date in Atlanta, Georgia. They’ll play major markets such as Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minneapolis and more on the run. As for support, Exhorder and Hand of the Tribe will open on most tour stops, and Dead By Wednesday and Engineered Society Project will open on select shows.
Pre-sale tickets are already available, and tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday (October 11). Tickets for select shows are available through Ticketmaster, and all other tickets are available via the band’s official website.
“Looking forward to CATEGORY 7 blowing off the roofs of some venues on the East Coast and Midwest in March of 2025,” Bush said in a statement. “This will be the first time the band will be playing live so come and check out some killer musicianship. Playing songs from the debut record should be fun. See ya there.”
“Batten down your hatches because the C7 tempest is about to touch ground in the U.S. this March,” Demmel added. “We are all so thrilled to launch this band and bring our show through the states. See you in the eye of the storm.”
CATEGORY 7 are fresh off the release of their self-titled debut album on Metal Blade Records, which arrived on July 26. The album reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart. The group formed in 2023, so they’re still very new. View the band’s full roster of tour dates below.
CATEGORY 7 2025 Tour Dates:
03/06 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage *
03/07 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom *
03/08 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (Downstairs) *
03/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts *
03/11 – Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s ^
03/12 – Cleveland, OH @ The Asylum at Temple Live ^
03/14 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop ^
03/15 – Joliet, IL @ The Forge ^
03/16 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II #
03/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line ^
03/19 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre ^
03/21 – St. Louis, MO @ Pop’s ^
03/22 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In ^
03/23 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Hell) ^
* = w/ Exhorder, Dead By Wednesday, Hand of the Tribe
^ = w/ Exhorder, Engineered Society Project, Hand of the Tribe
# = w/ H1Z1, Misfire, Engineered Society Project, Hand of the Tribe
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