PRIESTESS – Hello Master

Priestess is a four piece band hailing from Montreal, Canada, formed in 2003. The band’s debut album comes with the title Hello Master, and takes the listener to a trip back in time, during the garage days of the late 70s, presenting strong influences from bands like Motörhead, Ted Nugent and Black Sabbath.

The band’s sound, besides the aforementioned and obvious music influences, has strong and distinct Stoner Rock foundations, with harsh vocals, low-tuned chugging guitars, and a great deal of groovy attitude. Among the 12 songs, one will find great keyboard melodies and some really cool guitar solos and fills. The band toured for two-week as the opening act with Lemmy’s gang. This gave a real boost to the band’s stage-confidence since Motörhead’s fans can be really picky when it comes to the “opening” bands.

The dynamic album opener comes with the title “I Am the Night Colour Me Black.” This song is fast and straightforward in its composition, keeping the banner of “dirty” Rock ‘n’ Roll in the highest position. A groovy Stoner Rock guitar riff opens for the next track, “Lay Down,” that moves towards to more melodic forms with some nicely worked Deep Purple-ish keyboards. “Run Home” features the catchiest refrain of the album that really sticks in your mind from the very first CD spin. The lead guitars deserves some additional credit for the solos even if they sound sometimes “buried” due to the average sound production.

“Two Kids” follow the enjoyable, yet monotonous, Garage/Rock pattern with Mr. Dan Watchorn’s flat vocals, while “Talk to Her” revives the old-school Grunge sound. Some Led Zeppelin influences can be easily tracked down during the mid-tempo and melodic track “Time Will Cut You Down,” where there is another fine guitar solo.

The backing vocals in “Everything that You Are” add some more points in the sound diversity, whilst the rhythm guitars in “The Shakes” bear the AC/DC trademark. In the next three tracks: “Performance,” “Living Like A Dog,” and “No Real Pain,” the band moves around the “noisy” territory of Grunge with tempo changes and some melodic moments. The last is one of the best tracks of the album, and is entitled “Blood.” This song has a modern sound with some clean and melodic vocals. The rhythm section brings to mind Queens of A Stone Age during the Songs For The Deaf era.

Well, Hello Master is the ideal debut album with powerful sound (but average production) and straightforward songs that will hit the heart of the old-time Grunge–meets–Stoner Rock lovers. The rumors say that the band is great on stage, so keep your eyes and ears open because they are on the road!