US power metallers KATAGORY V have completed the pre-production phase of their fourth album, which is going under the tentative title Hymns Of Dissension, and have revealed they will begin recording the album sometime in early February. As previously reported, the band is planning to record the album live in the studio, and some of the song titles said to be appearing on the album are 'The Workforce', 'Lies and Illusions', 'Listen to you (Listen To Me)', 'Apologetic Heart' and 'Kings Of The Valley'.

Bassist Dustin Mitchell had this to say about the progress.

"We are finished with pre-production and working out the demos of the songs, and things are sounding really good, and very energetic. Many of the songs have been augmented and orchestrated to our satisfaction, and now we'll take a few weeks to rehearse the material and tighten all the loose nuts and bolts, and then hit the studio and record this thing!

Most of the songs have seriously come together quicker and easier than we anticipated, and it sounds like this one will have even more variety and hooks than the previous (albums) we've recorded. Some songs that we wrote, which most of the us felt were not going to be very strong in the beginning, ended up becoming some of our favorites through the demo process, so it has been fascinating to watch some of the songs unfold and blossom in the demo stage, and is making us very anxious to get in and record the album."

When asked if the band was going to post demo versions of the new songs on their website, Dustin stated, "As much as we'd love to share them with everyone, we have no plans to do so right now. We know that some of the fans want to get a taste of what is around the corner, because we have always done this in the past, but we are going to hold off on doing so for right now. It's possible we might not post them at all, and wait until the album is complete before we throw anything out there on the website, who knows. It will depend on several factors between now and then if we do it or not. However, if the fans cannot wait, and really want to hear them, who are we to say no? we'll do it for them of course, we'll see how things go."

The band have also issued the following update regarding their second album, New Breed Of Rebellion:

"As some may or may not know, shortly after the release of Katagory V's second album in 2003, A New Breed Of Rebellion on MetalAges Records; the label that released the album, closed it's doors, and Katagory V ended up acquiring the remaining copies. These copies were then picked up by Nightmare Records for distribution. Due to this, the band wanted to let their fans know that the copies that remain are all that is left and it is officially out-of-print! Because of this, there are some vendors and collectors that are selling it for a very inflated price, but there are still affordable copies available on the bands web store as well as through Nightmare Records. The band has officially confirmed this, and has no plans at this time to have the album re-released. So, if you don't own this album yet, you will want to pick up your own copy of this classic album while you still can!"