Priestess - Hello Master
RCA Records
Heavy Rock
12 songs (40:23)
Release year: 2007
Priestess, RCA Records
Reviewed by Ross
A couple of months ago a neighbour of mine, being a long time Megadeath fan, went to their gig in Glasgow, a gig he had been raving about since it was advertised. Next day he was hammering at my door clutching what I thought was the new Megadeath album. He started jabbered on about how awesome the gig was, I should have been there, the best band he’d seen for long time, etc, etc... This kinda confused me as I knew he’d seen Megadeath plenty times so I said they must have put on a helluva show to get him that excited. “No, no, they were alright; Priestess, the support band, fucking awesome man!” Now this, coming from a dyed-in-the-wool Megadeath fan grabbed my attention, so, Hello Master the Priestess debut album he was waving around was slapped into the player and cranked up to window shaking level. After the first spin my grinning faced neighbour was all “Well was I right, or was I right!” I had to concur, to Metalheads of our advanced years, Priestess kicked in memories that hadn’t been jogged in a long time. But, although Hello Master stirred memories of bands of yore; their sound is definitely from here and now. What I think some of the bands that first got me into Rock and Metal would sound like if the formed today, including a few that are still around, that I listen to when I feel in a reminiscing mood. Argent, Nazareth, Average White Band, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Electric Light Orchestra (Minus full orchestral backing) are but a few band names that were shaken loose as well as AC/DC, (Original) Guns ‘n’ Roses (Sans Axl Attitude), Black Label Society and Queens Of The Stone Age.

Kicking off and setting the pace for Hello Master is I Am The Night, Colour Me Black where the opening guitar riff is hammered into your head to a count of 12. The tracks are all chock full of killer guitar riffs and hooks, masterfully constructed solos and memorable choruses. Well memorable at the time of listening, trying to recall them once the disc stops spinning proves difficult. It’s kinda like the sonic version of a Chinese meal, you feel quite filled at the time but the feeling fades fast making you want more. You really need to listen to this album a helluva lot of times before it really sinks in and you get to humming some tracks as you go about your daily business; even then it’ll probably only be a chorus or two. I’m not saying that Hello Master can’t be all that good because it doesn’t stick in your mind. No, I’ve got a boatload of albums like this that I pull out when ‘Party Music’ is required, like for keeping the crowd wound up between bands at live gigs. One track that grabs your appendages is the Sludgy, chunky Blues riffed Time Will Cut You Down that has this strange quirk of timing twixed instruments and vocals in the chorus that sticks out like tits on a bull but seems to instantly disappear as soon as you notice it; leaving you wondering if you heard right – Awesome piece of songwriting! What will stick out at you straight away is album closer Blood which is a bit of a rip-off of Queens Of The Stone Age’s No One Knows, with vocalist Mikey Heppner changing the singing style he has used throughout the rest of the album to sound a close facsimile to Josh Homme. This kinda brings me to another point; Heppner’s voice doesn’t seem to have the strength and power to compete with the guitars and drums. This may be a production (mixing and mastering) issue as my neighbour assured me that this was definitely not a problem live.

Personally, I like Hello Master and will probably play it when I’m on a downer and need cheering up. I’ll probably also have a copy for my car for long journeys. It will also be an excellent CD to play on the way to a gig to get you into the groove and, as I’ve mentioned already, a good album for keeping an audience simmering between bands at live gigs. As a debut album Priestess has created a sound album that should get them noticed and although being signed to major label RCA may look like a good thing for them on the surface, RCA aren’t really a ‘Dedicated’ Metal label and may have their eye more on the Corporate Dollar than the development of the band. I also get the impression that Priestess are still a ‘Will play for beer, anywhere’ band and would be in their element spending a large chunk of the next few years trundling round the world building a good, solid fan-base that will snatch up their next album as soon as it hits the shelves; I know that’s what I’ll be doing. And hopefully, before they release their next album, I get the chance to see them live. You can get a listen to some tracks Hello Master and view some Videos at their My Space Site; spookily, the tracks featured on their My Space site are my favourite tracks from the album. They also have a website at - www.priestessband.com that has other Videos but it looks like the band update their My Space site more regular.

Y’alls should keep an eye on this band, I’ve a feeling they’re gonna be getting invited to support some major stadium filling bands, get slots on some of the big name festivals and all of a sudden they’re gonna appear from nowhere and be an overnight success. If they keep their creating to the same formula, they will come to the attention of many an old Metalhead and fans of ‘Old School’ Rock and with the aid of the Interweb and word of mouth, Priestess will have the curious thronging to their gigs. However, and I don’t know why I think this, I don’t think they are going to get the recognition they deserve States-side but Europe and Japan are going to lap them up.
Killing Songs :
Lay Down, I Am The Night, Colour Me Black, Talk To Her and Time Will Cut You Down
Ross quoted 80 / 100
Other albums by Priestess that we have reviewed:
Priestess - Prior To The Fire reviewed by Khelek and quoted 85 / 100
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