Birds of Prey - The Hellpreacher

March 22, 2009

Reviewer: Jesse

“What I’m about to tell you, made me the man I am today.” This opening statement from the song “Mama” accurately and poignantly sets the tone for the rest of the album.  A concept album of sorts, Birds of Prey’s third full-length album, The Hell Preacher, is an angry testimonial and a dark take on groovy death metal.  What started as a sort of side-project/supergroup of veterans from various bands has apparently turned into a full-time entity that is being taken absolutely seriously by all involved.  What might have been just a good time and a glorified jam-session when created, Birds of Prey have clearly matured and have brought their talents together in a way that is going to surprise many people.

As mentioned above, the song “Mama” kicks the album off in the perfect direction.  Upbeat, aggressive and very catchy.  Ben Hogg’s vocals are full of anger and passion which excellently compliment the entire mood of the album.  In several instances, he’s just relentless and can go for a while without breathing it seems.  In fact, one thing that really attracted me to this album from the get-go is the vocal intensity and outright aggression that Hogg displays.  He sounds genuinely mad sort of like how a boxer will imagine that his opponent is his abusive father or something and just become fully enraged.  I’m impressed.

Granted, none of that would matter without the help of some incredibly well-written material which is superiorly catchy to boot.  Several of the songs build amazing crescendos where Hogg will explode at just the perfect moment.  “Juvie” is a great example of this.  A mid-tempo song that chugs away in total groove with a few very nice sections of lead soloing.  “Tempt the Disciples” is very anthemic in its delivery and again the vocals play off the building momentum.  This song has a few moments of sludgey doom which is a nice contrast overall.  “The Excavation” is easily one of my favorites from this album.  An awesome lead riff with a totally headbangable beat and plenty of short solos mixed throughout.  I don’t have any lyrics as this is just a streamer promo, but “Taking on Our Winter Blood” clearly uses a well-known verse from Suicidal Tendencies, but without any words to read, I can’t tell where the worship ends.  Obviously it was intentional so I’m certain that it is meant to be in homage in some sense.  There are two short instrumentals that basically serve as intros or lead-ins that I find to be mostly a waste of time, but not to the point where it bothers me or anything.

The only gripes that I could mention with any real interest are that it’s mostly a short album and a few of the songs seem a little like filler to me.  None of the songs are overly long, but that might be part of the charm in the end.  Even the best songs on this album could have used maybe a minute or so more of material to just completely wow people, but then again, maybe that aspect is what keeps people listening to it over and over.  The good far outweighs the bad in any case though.

Overall, fuck yeah.  This album is easily one of the best so far in this short year.  A total adrenaline-fueled, head-banging excursion into personal and turbulent experiences.  Given the nature of their previous albums, I get the feeling that The Hell Preacher sort of began to create a life of its own during the writing process and they couldn’t stop it.  This album comes across as very organic and devoid of sensationalist nonsense.  Just purely pissed off with the aim to display it in a down to earth and recognizable fashion.  Excellent work.

Release Date: April 28th, 2009
Label: Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Mama
2.  Juvie
3.  As the Field Mice Play
4.  Alive Inside!
5.  Tempt the Disciples
6.  Taking on Our Winter Blood
7.  The Excavation
8.  Blind Faith
9.  False Prophet
10.  The Owl Closes In
11.   The Hellfighters
12.  Giving up the Ghost

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