Help Katagory V "Resurrect the Album!"

[Met-Al]

Hi, everyone!

My name is Albert, and I sing for the Salt Lake City-based progressive/power metal band Katagory V. I normally post on the ProgPower forum, but I want to spread the word about something that means the world to myself and my band.

For those of you who are not familiar with the us, you can learn all about the history of the band and find downloads of some of our songs from our previous four albums at www.katagory5.com. To briefly sum up our sound, I think we're best described as an amalgamation of the varying styles of melodic hard rock and metal, be they prog, power, AOR, traditional, and even a bit of tech and thrash. In fact, as a Seventh Wonder fan myself (I can't wait to see them again at this year's ProgPower!), I think you'll enjoy some of our proggy moments, too!

I come to you today to present an Indiegogo campaign to help us release our fifth album, "Resurrect the Insurgence." This marks the first album featuring the band's current lineup, and we truly believe that it's the strongest effort produced by any lineup of the group to date. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered between the latter half of 2010 and the first half of 2011.

You may be wondering why an album that's been finished for three years has yet to be released. Unfortunately, to produce an album that meets the top standards of the current recording industry, a lot of money was invested in recording equipment and professional mixing and mastering services (provided by none other than Dennis Ward of Pink Cream 69 and Unisonic fame!).

This is why we need your help. All of the work on the recording end is finished. We just need to put the package together to present a professional looking project. We've set a goal of $5,000 to acquire professional artwork, a proper layout and booklet, pressing, and distribution of the album. As with all Indiegogo campaigns, we're offering what we think are some nice little perks for helping us to achieve our goal.

To give you a taste of what you can expect from your investment, we present two of the album's songs ("Far Too Long" and "I Am Change") for you to hear at www.reverbnation.com/katagoryv.

Those interested in learning more about the campaign can visit the link below:
www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-katagory-v-resurrect-the-latest-album-and-get-it-released

On behalf of the band, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. We're grateful for any support you can give. Even if you can't contribute financially (which we completely understand, given the current economic situation), you can help us a great deal by spreading the word via the forums and websites you frequently visit. I'll check back in periodically to answer any questions and offer status updates. Feel free to let us know what you think of the tunes, and thanks again for your time!


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert
Lead Vocalist of Katagory V

 

[Met-Al]

Hi, folks!

I'm just checking in with an update on the campaign. Unfortunately,the first two weeks have been very slow. We've only raised roughly 11% of the funds that we need to make the release of our album a reality. We truly appreciate the contributions from those who have pitched in thus far, and we also appreciate the efforts made by those who have spread the word about the campaign on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and the various metal-related sites all over the web. We still have a long way to go, but we hope that with our combined efforts, the world will finally get to hear this album!

For those who are interested but haven't made a contribution yet, we've added a few more perks that may grab your interest. Aside from receiving the CD upon it's release, getting a bootleg DVD of the band's best performance to date, and taking lessons with our drummer and guitarist, you now also have the options of getting a drum head signed by the entire band, t-shirts from the releases of the past two albums, and even the band's entire discography to date! Yes, that even includes a copy of the long-out-of-print debut album, "Present Day!" There's even one absolutely ridiculous perk that you'll have to see to believe!

I'll check back in the coming weeks with another update. In the meantime, feel free to offer any feedback. Do you like the perks offered thus far? Is there anything you'd like to see us offer, and if so, what would you be willing to give to see it happen? Do you like the new material that we've released online? Do you think we should suck eggs? Let us know!


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[GhostMemory]

I'm fully intending to support but I have very little spare cash this month; luckily the campaign runs beyond payday so I should be fine to chip in on the 25th.

Unfortunately I don't have a large circle of likeminded friends who I can pass this onto, but I will do my best regardless

 

[Met-Al]

You rule, GhostMemory! Thanks a ton!

Trust me, I know how tight cash can be. I wish I had the money to cover the rest of the funding for this album myself. Our goal with this campaign is to never have to start another campaign. We feel like we're running a PBS pledge drive over here! That said, we really appreciate your help.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

Alright, folks!

We've now reached the halfway point of the campaign. Though we've received some outstanding contributions, we have yet to break 32% of our goal.

For those of you who aren't too keen on the idea of crowdfunding, I urge you to click on the link below and read an article written by our bassist and founder, Dustin Mitchell:
http://thetrichordist.com/2014/07/18...of-katagory-v/

If you read the article, you'll find that we're just as uncomfortable asking for money upfront as many people are uncomfortable to give said money. We realize that we're not exactly trying to fund a cure for cancer, but we're not exactly making potato salad, either.

That said, we truly appreciate all of the support that we've received thus far, and we really hope that those who have pledged their money can reap the rewards of their contributions.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

Well, folks, we're approximately two weeks away from the deadline. Despite the awesome contributions made by some outstanding folks, (a great number of which are from the Ultimate Metal forums!), we still haven't even reached half of our goal.

This is the time when I must beg any of you who are on the fence to take another look at the page. $15 gets you the album with shipping included. Just look at it as a pre-order. With the amount of money we've raised thus far, we would need about 212 people to contribute just enough money to get the CD in their hands. Another thing to keep in mind is that everyone will be refunded if we don't reach our goal. Thus, you lose nothing by making a pledge!

We would love for the world to hear what took so much time, labor, and money to create, but we really need your help to get over the last hump. If you haven't checked out the available tunes, please go to www.reverbnation.com/katagoryv today.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

First off, I want to thank all the folks that have contributed to our campaign in the past two weeks. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Sadly, though, we have less than four days left to raise more than half of the money we need to put the final touches on this release. Unless a miracle happens and, say, 192 people come out of the woodwork to pre-order this album, I'm afraid we're doomed.

This will be my final plea. If you've ever liked any of Katagory V's music, please visit the Indiegogo page, check out some of the new music, and make a pledge. I truly believe that there is something for every fan of melodic progressive and power metal on this album. The only chance of this band continuing in any capacity lies within this campaign, so it's up to you dedicated music fans.

Does this sound desperate? Indeed, it does. Does it kill me to beg you folks for money? With every last beat of my heart. I just hope you'll look beyond the desperation and find a good band that could use a little help.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

...and there you have it, folks.

On behalf of the band, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this campaign. Whether you pitched in $15 or $350, you gave us that much more hope toward realizing our dream. Unfortunately, despite your support, we weren't able to raise enough money to give this album a proper release. However, we decided from the beginning of this campaign that it would be all or nothing. Therefore, since we didn't raise the amount of money needed to get this album in your hands, you will all be refunded.

A huge thank you goes out to Deron Blevins for essentially allowing me to (I hate this term) spam numerous band forums on Ultimate Metal. You had the authority to boot me off and tell me to get bent. However, you were supportive enough to let me spread the word throughout this online community. To top it off, you made a contribution to the fund! That was mighty awesome of you.

For anyone interested, bassist Dustin Mitchell has written a press release regarding what the future holds for the members of Katagory V that you can read on our Facebook page. Thanks again for all of the support.


Albert