Review | Priestess ‘Prior To The Fire’

Priestess new album ‘Prior To The Fire‘ hit U.S. shores February 2nd, 2010 and I recently spoke to Guitarist/Vocalist Mikey Heppner about their new record.

Since the release of their debut album, ‘Hello Master‘ in 2006, the guys in Priestess have grown as musicians and song writers by leaps and bounds which is evident on their new album, ‘Prior To The Fire‘ I haven’t heard creative raw energy like this come out of my speakers in a long time.

Prior To The Fire

This is no nonsense in your face hard rock music at it’s best, the record has all the metals (heavy, thrash, and speed) along with the rocks (hard, progressive, and punk) mixed into one incredible high energy sound that will blow you away!

Prior To The Fire, released in Canada only (US release in Ferbruary 2010) October 20th, 2009, will establish Priestess as serious players in the high stakes game of rock music and will take them to a whole new level, this is some serious kick ass music.

From the blistering opener, ‘Lady Killer‘ (see the video below) to the smokin’ closer ‘Trapped in Space and Time‘ these guys never let up. The record, produced by Dave Schiffman (System Of A Down, Nine Inch Nails, Mars Volta) possesses a sound that represents what Priestess does best, play live.

In regard to the new record, Mikey Heppner, the bands lead singer and guitarist told me they wanted to achieve a truer representation of who and what Priestess is, a live band that loves to tour.

“Hello Master was more calculated and a very polished sounding record, and with ‘Prior to the Fire‘ we just kind of like went for it, we didn’t use a click track, it’s sort of more raw sounding. He continued, “So many people who know us from the record and then see us live or people who see us live first and then listen to the record, would tell us it’s like two distinct things, we were like a two headed beast.”

Sonically the album pushes the boundaries of the loudness war waged by producers, engineers, and the bands themselves, recording their albums at maximum volume, teetering on the edge of the cliff of distortion, but not quite going over, and I like it. This record sounds big and alive, it smacks of rebellion against a lot the over produced safe records of late. It screams here we are check us out. Good hard rock music was meant to be played loud and with an attitude, let me tell you, ‘Prior To The Fire‘ has plenty of that. There is something about this record that is addicting, I have listened to it a lot, and it just seems to get better and better.

Mike Heppner of Priestess

Heppner’s gritty vocals exude a youthful aggressive style that can’t be denied and compliments the no holds barred, big thick crunchy guitar sound he and band mate Dan Watchorn play throughout this record. Their duel guitar licks, reminiscent of vintage Thin Lizzy and heavy riffs from the early days of Black Sabbath make for some amazing hard driving songs. Mikey’s guitar solo’s are no frills blue collar jams, performed with taste, not over indulgence, with just enough licks and riffage to bring it all together.

You won’t hear any catchy vocal hooks or sing along melodies on ‘Prior To The Fire‘ this record is from the gut, free from the tired old formula of preconceived rock music structures such as, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, lead, chorus, end of song. The arrangements kept me guessing and the songs continued to seem fresh after numerous listens, a tribute to the brilliant writing of Heppner and Watchorn.

Bassist Mike Dyball and drummer Vince Nudo have come into their own as the power house rhythm section of Priestess. Dyball’s monster bass lines come at you like a runaway semi truck on a path of destruction but don’t dominate the mix. Nudo’s ferocious drumming is progressive and heavy handed at the same time with hard hitting fills and off beats that drives the bands intensity. Just listen to the drum beat on, ‘It Baffles the Mind‘ or the cymbal work on, ‘Sideways Attack,’ Vince can flat out play. There’s a lot of technical shredders and virtuoso players out there, and that’s great, but Priestess reminds me of a hard working band that plays from the heart and just lets it rip. Like Heppner said, “We just kind of like went for it.”

I asked Mikey what type of venues the band would be playing on their upcoming tour in Canada supporting ‘Prior To The Fire‘ and he told me “Clubs with three to six hundred person capacities.” I’m telling you, once this record is heard by the rock music world, that is all going to change, and Priestess will be headlining large venues all over the world, trust me.

This is by far the best hard rock album to come out in 2009 and I see big things on the horizon for the band.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Favorite Track: (This was tough) ‘The Gem‘

Track Listing:

One Response to “Review | Priestess ‘Prior To The Fire’”

1. Boshrok says:

   April 27, 2011 at 11:13 pm

   The ending of The Gem is one of the greatest endings of all time