Band: Birds Of Prey
Title: The Hell Preacher
Label: Relapse Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux
Release date: 04/05/2009
Review: CD

Birds Of Prey have always been an unconventional formation because of both their lyrics as well as their music. The first gets proven by the titles: Alive Inside, Taking On Our Winter, Warriors Of Mud… The Hellfighters etc. Musically, the band gloriously combines different styles and elements, with a leading role for (American) Sludge and (Swedish-oriented) Death Metal. The tracks are surprisingly varying, yet all of them are pretty recognizable at the same time. Birds Of Prey incorporate elements from Hardcore, Punk, Doom, Thrash and Rock, they vary a lot in tempo and melody, and the performance is done with a surgical precision. Besides, the sound is superb: grungy, rough, low-tuned, heavy! But The Hell Preacher consists of nothing but magisterial pieces, filled with epic and wisdom. Total running time: 41:24 minutes.

Very warmly recommended to fans of everything between, let’s say, Unleashed and Grave, Blessing The Hogs, Eyehategod, Baroness, Disfear or Entombed.

83/100

Ivan Tibos.