North Carolina hard rockers The Fifth are set to hit the boards once again with upcoming live shows in Raleigh, NC and Pekin, IL, doing photo shoots, adding a new band member, writing and demoing new music and just preparing to take the latter part of 2014 by the balls.

"While our bass player, Franko, has been overseas we've taken advantage of the time to work on new material and find the perfect drummer that fits with The Fifth," says frontman Roy Cathey. "Welcoming Darius Rose into the fold has really given us a sense of stability and dedication we've been needing. Guitarist, Icky Jim and myself also made an appearance last year at the 2013 Skullfest in N.Platte, Nebraska playing an acoustic set of material from The Fifth, Cold Sweat and Gibraltar (Cathey's pre-Cold Sweat hard rock outfit). This gave us a chance to reconnect with the melodic rock audience that may still remember me from my Cold Sweat days.

The band's new material leans in a heavier direction while still keeping it's melodic sensibilities. "When we added Franko to the band after recording 'Confessions of Man' so many new doors were opened musically and allowed Icky and myself to really stretch ourselves," states Roy. "With a bass player influenced by Geezer Butler, Steve Harris and Cliff Burton it's going to change your sound and we feel it's for the better. We've yet to even come close to reaching our potential. It's very exciting.".

On the live front, The Fifth has upcoming shows on November 1 at The Deep South in Raleigh, NC, the Rock N' Skull Festival in Pekin, IL on November 15 (alongside Black N' Blue, Tuff, Babylon AD and others) and on December 5 at The Lincoln Theater in Raleigh with Rubicon Cross.