Priestess - Hello Master

I remember when bands like Wolfmother and Velvet Revolver came out everyone was screaming about this new revolution of Hard Rock. They were supposed to be the new Sabbath or Zeppelin or something and for a while it seemed like they were going to dominate rock music for years to come (although now, I can't even recall any of their hit songs). I remember not finding anything extraordinary about them, but I never thought anything bad either, they were just some rock bands playing some rock songs, but as far as being a new rock revival, I always felt like something was missing.

I am still not sure what it was, but I'm pretty sure Priestess figured it out and then recorded Hello Master.

Rock and Metal drummers are a dime a dozen. Everyone loves to chime in on how they taught themselves to play drums by playing along to Metallica and Gun's and Roses records, but ninety percent of them never take it any further. When they do, you get a guy like Vince Nudo.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Priestess twice, once opening for Motorhead, and once while I was on tour in Hamilton, both times for free. I intended to pay, but once they found out who I was and what blog I wrote for, they couldn't possibly charge me*.

Vince is one of those guys who is just a solid all around rock drummer. The first track, I Am The Right, Colour Me Black is a good start. It's a bit more agressive than the rest of album and it has a slight hardcore feel to it, especially at the start. Vince loves to crash the hell out of his cymbals, but he always maintains a groove to his playing.

He also plays massive drums which is kind of refreshing, nowadays with kick drums getting smaller and toms following the trend it's nice to see a guy sit behind some 16 inch toms and 18 and 20 inch floor toms (this I am trying to recall from memory so it may be wrong). The size of his drums and the way he plays give the songs a lot more power than most hard rock records. While some guys try to hard to have finesse, Vince kind of takes an AC/DC approach, throw in a few rolls once in a while but mostly just keep your beats moving forward.

This is not to say he doesn't have his moments, but they are just well placed. Take for instance the sixth track, Time Will Cut You Down. It's a much slower number than the rest, but during the chorus there is a time skip that throws you for a bit of a loop. It's as if the chorus is 3 and a half beats instead of 4, but it works.

It may not be the most technical display, but maybe that's what is wrong with most hard rock bands, too much noodling, not enough rocking. Priestess stay true to form, and it makes for much more repeat listens.

*This statement is most likely false, I got in for free because I have more awesome/important friends than you do.

Audio/Video Evidence : I Am The Night, Lay Down