Prior to the Fire
| Prior to the Fire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Priestess | ||||
| Released | October 20, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | October–November 2008 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, stoner rock | |||
| Length | 46:40 | |||
| Label | Indica (Canada), Tee Pee Records (USA) | |||
| Producer | David Schiffman | |||
| Priestess chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Pitchfork Media | 5.9/10 |
| Artrocker | |
| Spin | 8 of 10 |
| The Boston Phoenix |  |
| PopMatters |   |
| Rock Sound | 9/10 |
| The PRP | |
| Prefix | 5.0/10 |
| Phoenix New Times | B |
Prior to the Fire is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock group Priestess. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer David Schiffman, the album was initially released on October 20, 2009, by Indica Records in Canada. By design, the album lacks the production values of the band's debut album, Hello Master, in order to achieve a more natural sound. As the band took more progressive rock influences and applied them to their songwriting, they changed their lyrical focus and wrote about themes considered to be more unusual for rock music, such as film and television characters, for this album.
The record is known for the difficulty Priestess encountered in trying to release it. The band's extensive touring schedule for their previous album Hello Master consumed much of the time they would have used to write new material, and after they began doing so, they had disputes with RCA Records, their international distributor at the time, as to whether the new songs were acceptable. After the completion of the recording sessions, which were themselves problematic, RCA ultimately refused to release the album, fearing it was not commercial enough, but allowed the group to release it on another label. Tee Pee Records signed the group thereafter and released the album internationally. Priestess were still signed to Indica Records, but only for Canadian distribution; the release on Indica was withheld until an international distributor was found.
Critical reaction to the album was mixed, but largely positive. The departure in style from Hello Master was frequently noted for better or for worse, and comparisons of the group to influential hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath were once again made.
In 2005, Priestess released its debut album Hello Master, which spawned two minor hits: "Lay Down" became popular because it was included as a playable track in the best-selling video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and "Talk to Her" peaked at #33 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 2006. Even though the group have admitted that they were ultimately displeased with the sound of the record, which they described as "so tight and really produced", they remain proud of their Guitar Hero achievement. The band spent roughly two and a half years performing concerts on behalf of Hello Master, supporting such acts as Dinosaur Jr., the Sword, Mastodon and Megadeth. During that time they concentrated mostly on the existing material and had little chance to write anything new, and writing for the new album would not begin in earnest until the summer of 2007.
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