KATANA will release their new album, Storms Of War, on May 14th in Europe and June 19th in the US via Listenable Records.

The band has now released the track ‘Kubilai Khan' for streaming. Check it out below:

Guitarist/songwriter Tobias Carlsson recently issued the following update on the new album:

"It was once again recorded, mixed and mastered at Sonic Train Studios by KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque. We were very focused and determined right from the beginning to create a sound that no one had heard on an album since the 80s. To accomplish this, we and Andy listened a lot to albums produced by Martin Birch when mixing and setting the sound. Mostly RAINBOW, Heaven and Hell by BLACK SABBATH, Killers by IRON MAIDEN and Assault Attack by MSG. It became almost our motto in the studio to ask, 'How would Martin have done it?', whenever we had doubts about something. The songs are mostly completely new, mixed in with some very old ideas and stuff that weren't finished in time for the last recording.

"The band has been around for nearly ten years now, and for the first album we had that long to write the material. This time, most of the songs were written and rehearsed over a period of a couple of months. This has been a challenge, but a positive one that has forced our song writing to its best, and beyond.We have broken new ground with this album and played around with things that we have never done before, thus widening the range of what we are capable of musically. But at the same time, we feel that we have come a long way in defining a unique style and sound for Katana. I would say the album is as diverse as the first one musically, yet more uniform.

"The Japanese influences are there, especially in the epic song about the great Mongolian emperor Kubilai Khan who twice tried to invade Japan, and failed miserably both times. It is a grand story of Japanese history and mythology. But we are not limited by the Japanese influences and there are songs on this album that explore both other mythological subjects as well as themes taken from popular culture and everyday life."

Tobias confirmed that musically, a fan of early 80s heavy metal will feel at home in this album as much as the previous one, and the influences are still very much early SAXON, early Iron Maiden, JUDAS PRIEST, Rainbow, GRIM REAPER, MANOWAR and so on. But more than anything, this album represents 100% Katana.

The cover artwork for Storms of War can be seen below:

Katana lineup:

Patrik Essén - Guitars

Tobias Karlsson - Guitars

Johan Bernspång - Vocals

Susanna Salminen - Bass

Anders Persson - Drums

More on Katana at this location.