Priestess: Prior to the Fire (2009)
Today's introduction almost overwhelmed the review itself, so bear with me ...
Wolfmother's unexpected and quite inexplicable success in the mid '00s caused numerous labels to rush out and sign their own hipster-endorsed hard rock bands -- e.g. The Sword, Witch, Burning Brides, Graveyard, and today's subject Priestess.
Mind you, most of these bands had no idea why Pitchfork Media and other webzines had decided to anoint or reject them for the "hipster metal" or the equally vague "millennial retro rock" tag, but, as usual, there was little they could do about it other shrug and play along.
Hailing from Montreal, Canada, Priestess was formed in 2002 by singer/guitarist Mikey Heppner after the demise of his punk rock band, The Dropouts, and also featured guitarist Dan Watchorn, bassist Mike Dyball, and drummer Vince Nudo.
Their first album, 2005's Hello Master, was initially released through Canadian independent Indica Records before major RCA swooped in and offered a worldwide deal, then reissued the LP with new artwork (reminiscent of Rainbow Rising!) the following June.
Abundant touring opportunities in the U.S. and U.K. followed, and Priestess gained valuable exposure opening for everyone from Mastodon, to Megadeth, to GWAR, to Black Label Society, to Dinosaur Jr., to Nashville Pussy, to Motörhead.
I myself saw the band live at least three times between '05 and '06, in Brooklyn, New York (at CMJ), and Austin (SXSW), playing with Witch, Early Man, and The Hellacopters, and, while they weren't as entertaining as Danko Jones or The Darkness, Priestess usually held their own.
However, aside from placing the song "Lay Down" on the popular Guitar Hero III video game, RCA didn't know what to do with the group, and their second album, Prior to the Fire, would spend the next few years in A&R Purgatory (*) before both sides agreed to part ways.
When it finally arrived, almost four years after the band's debut, Prior to the Fire delivered much the same caliber of modern hard rock and metal as its predecessor with a sound that fell right in between The Sword's intricate riffing and Wolfmother's catchier revival act.
Heppner's gritty higher registers suited infectious standouts like "Lady Killer," "The Firebird," and "Sideways Attack," while his and Watchorn's inventive riff constructions enhanced extended numbers like "The Gem," "It Baffles the Mind," and "We Ride Tonight."
Yes, Priestess totally missed the mark on the acoustic intro to "Communicating Via-Eyes," which sounds like bad Jethro Tull (if you're gonna go there, at least bring a flute, boys!), and Nudo's lead vocal turn on "Lunar" was underwhelming, at best.
But it's still impossible to excuse RCA's unrealistic expectations based on these results and their reasons for signing Priestess in the first place -- and I say this as an RCA employee who would have worked the band in '07 and '08, had they not been dropped.
Alas, like countless bands that faced this sort of corporate impasse, Priestess were never able to recover, and after struggling to complete a third LP, announced an open-ended hiatus in 2012 from which they have yet to (and from which they will probably never) return.
* Meaning that RCA kept pressuring the band to write more songs in search of a "hit" -- like anyone can pick a hit -- until the label/artist relationship was damaged beyond repair.
More Priestess: Hello Master.
