Birds of Prey (band)
Encyclopedia
Birds of Prey is a Southern influenced Death Metal
Super group, hailing from Richmond, Virginia
, they have just released their third full length album entitled The Hellprecher, through Relapse Records
.
and Bo Leslie from The Last Van Zant on guitars, Summer Welch from Baroness
handling Bass duties and Dave Witte, from numerous bands including Municipal Waste, Burnt by the Sun
and Discordance Axis
on drums.
Focusing on old-school death metal
, the band has made a name for themselves in the metal community ever since forming in 2005. The band entered the studio in December of that year before even signing to a record label and started work on their debut album entitled Weight of the Wound with Cory Smoot at Karma Productions Studio in Richmond, Virginia
. Shortly after the new year started Relapse Records
, which is home to many of the band members other projects including Baroness
, Alabama Thunderpussy
and Burnt by the Sun
signed Birds of Prey and set out to release their debut album internationally. Weight of the Wound was officially released on July 25, 2006, and it introduced the world to the newly formed super group, who before this point had never released a single song or ever played a live show. Reception for the album was spectacular with about.com
, Allmusic and allthatisheavy.com giving the album excellent reviews. Despite the band member's other commitments, Birds of Prey wasted no time jumping back into the studio to record their second full length album entitled Sulfur and Semen. This time the album was recorded at Sniper Studio's in North Carolina with Vince Burke producing the project. After wrapping up recording in late 2007, the album was officially released on January 29, 2008 through Releapse Records. The band, now with a dedicated following, released the tracks, "Turning Big Rocks into Little Rocks" and "Lice Halo" onto their myspace before the official release date as promotional teaser tracks to hype the upcoming release of Sulfur and Semen.
Still with all the continued success Sulfur and Semen brought the band, Birds of Prey have never been able to play a live show because of each member's commitment to their other projects. Even with this huge roadblock in the way, Birds of Prey have never allowed that to stifle their artistic creativity and in 2009, the guys returned to Sniper Studio's to record their third full length album through Relapse Records
entitled The Hellprecher. The album saw the light of day on April 28 in the U.S. and May 4 internationally. The Hellprecher expands on the band's creativity and continues to broaden Bird's of Prey's musical showcase. The Hellprecher is a concept album telling the story of a prison inmate turned priest. The album is the bands most successful release yet being carried in national stores including Wal-Mart
, FYE
and Virgin Records
super stores. The band released "Momma" and "Juvie" to their myspace before allowing the album to be streamed in its entirety the week of its release at www.thehellpreacher.info. With the release of their third album the band has finally set their sights on playing live and have scheduled their first live show to be at Maryland Deathfest VII, may 28th through the 30th along side metal giants such as Eyehategod
, Converge
, Incantation
, and 16
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
Super group, hailing from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, they have just released their third full length album entitled The Hellprecher, through Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
.
History
Birds of Prey, was formed in 2005 as the side project to five very busy musicians who were all looking for additional creative outlets besides their own pre-existing projects. Composed of Ben Hogg from Beaten Back to Pure on vocals, Erik Larson from Alabama ThunderpussyAlabama Thunderpussy
Alabama Thunderpussy was a Stoner metal band from Richmond, Virginia. It was founded by Bryan Cox, Erik Larson and Asechiah Bogdan in 1996.-History:...
and Bo Leslie from The Last Van Zant on guitars, Summer Welch from Baroness
Baroness
Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I...
handling Bass duties and Dave Witte, from numerous bands including Municipal Waste, Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union...
and Discordance Axis
Discordance Axis
Discordance Axis was a grindcore band from East Brunswick, New Jersey.-Biography:Frontman Jon Chang on the history of the band:"Discordance Axis was a three piece grind core band that started in NJ around 1992. The band started after myself and Rob's previous band disintegrated and we found Da5e at...
on drums.
Focusing on old-school death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, the band has made a name for themselves in the metal community ever since forming in 2005. The band entered the studio in December of that year before even signing to a record label and started work on their debut album entitled Weight of the Wound with Cory Smoot at Karma Productions Studio in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Shortly after the new year started Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, which is home to many of the band members other projects including Baroness
Baroness
Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I...
, Alabama Thunderpussy
Alabama Thunderpussy
Alabama Thunderpussy was a Stoner metal band from Richmond, Virginia. It was founded by Bryan Cox, Erik Larson and Asechiah Bogdan in 1996.-History:...
and Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union...
signed Birds of Prey and set out to release their debut album internationally. Weight of the Wound was officially released on July 25, 2006, and it introduced the world to the newly formed super group, who before this point had never released a single song or ever played a live show. Reception for the album was spectacular with about.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, Allmusic and allthatisheavy.com giving the album excellent reviews. Despite the band member's other commitments, Birds of Prey wasted no time jumping back into the studio to record their second full length album entitled Sulfur and Semen. This time the album was recorded at Sniper Studio's in North Carolina with Vince Burke producing the project. After wrapping up recording in late 2007, the album was officially released on January 29, 2008 through Releapse Records. The band, now with a dedicated following, released the tracks, "Turning Big Rocks into Little Rocks" and "Lice Halo" onto their myspace before the official release date as promotional teaser tracks to hype the upcoming release of Sulfur and Semen.
Still with all the continued success Sulfur and Semen brought the band, Birds of Prey have never been able to play a live show because of each member's commitment to their other projects. Even with this huge roadblock in the way, Birds of Prey have never allowed that to stifle their artistic creativity and in 2009, the guys returned to Sniper Studio's to record their third full length album through Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
entitled The Hellprecher. The album saw the light of day on April 28 in the U.S. and May 4 internationally. The Hellprecher expands on the band's creativity and continues to broaden Bird's of Prey's musical showcase. The Hellprecher is a concept album telling the story of a prison inmate turned priest. The album is the bands most successful release yet being carried in national stores including Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, FYE
Fyé
Fyé is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
and Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
super stores. The band released "Momma" and "Juvie" to their myspace before allowing the album to be streamed in its entirety the week of its release at www.thehellpreacher.info. With the release of their third album the band has finally set their sights on playing live and have scheduled their first live show to be at Maryland Deathfest VII, may 28th through the 30th along side metal giants such as Eyehategod
Eyehategod
Eyehategod is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans who formed in 1988. They have become one of the most well known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene...
, Converge
Converge (band)
Converge is an American band from Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and metal since 1990, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.-Description:...
, Incantation
Incantation (band)
Incantation is an American death metal band that was formed by John McEntee and Paul Ledney in 1989. They are one of the leaders in the New York Death Metal scene along with fellow bands Suffocation and Immolation, even though the band is currently located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.The band has...
, and 16
16 (band)
16 is a sludge metal band from Los Angeles, California that is currently signed to Relapse Records. Their latest album, Bridges to Burn was released in early 2009.-History:...
Current members
- Ben Hogg (VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) - Eric Larson (GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Bo Leslie (GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Summer Welch (BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Dave WitteDave WitteDave Witte is a professional drummer currently living in Virginia. He is known for his work in numerous extreme metal or hardcore punk bands including Municipal Waste, Discordance Axis, Black Army Jacket, Birds of Prey, and Burnt By The Sun among others. He has also played as a session drummer for...
(DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
)
Albums
- Weight of the Wound (Relapse RecordsRelapse RecordsRelapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, 2006) - Sulfur and Semen (Relapse RecordsRelapse RecordsRelapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, 2008) - The HellpreacherThe HellpreacherThe Hellpreacher is the third full length album from death metal supergroup Birds of Prey. It was released April 28, 2009 through Relapse Records.-Overview:...
(Relapse RecordsRelapse RecordsRelapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
, 2009)