Birds of Prey is a Southern-influenced

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

supergroup hailing from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. They released their third full-length, '' The Hellpreacher'', through

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

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 Thunderpussy Alabama Thunderpussy, originally known as Alabama Thunder Pussy, is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. It was founded by Bryan Cox, Erik Larson and Asechiah Bogdan in 1996. History Bryan Cox, Erik Larson and Asechiah Bogdan f ...

and Bo Leslie from The Last Van Zant on guitars, Summer Welch from

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...

handling bass duties and Dave Witte, from numerous bands including

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Burnt by the Sun ''Burnt by the Sun'' (russian: Утомлённые солнцем, translit. ''Utomlyonnye solntsem'', literally "wearied by the sun") is a 1994 film by Russian director and screenwriter Nikita Mikhalkov and Azerbaijani screenwriter Rustam ...

and

Discordance Axis Discordance Axis was an American grindcore band from East Brunswick, New Jersey. Biography Frontman Jon Chang stated on the history of the band: "Discordance Axis was a three piece grindcore band that started in NJ around 1992. The band st ...

on drums. Focusing on old-school

, 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 (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Shortly after the new year started

, which is home to many of the band members other projects including

and

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 positive with

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Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

and allthatisheavy.com giving the album excellent reviews. Despite the band member's other commitments, Birds of Prey soon returned to 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 were unable to play a live show because of each member's commitment to their other projects. Even with this impediment, Birds of Prey have never allowed that to stifle their artistic creativity and in 2009, the musicians returned to Sniper Studio's to record their third full-length album through

entitled '' The Hellpreacher''. The album was released on April 28 in the U.S. and May 4 internationally.Lambgoat.com '' The Hellpreacher'' expands on the band's creativity and continues to broaden Birds of Prey's musical showcase. '' The Hellpreacher'' is a concept album telling the story of a prison inmate turned priest. The album is the band's most successful release yet being carried in national stores including

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, FYE and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

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 finally set their sights on playing live and scheduled their first live show to be at Maryland Deathfest VII, May 28–30 alongside renowned metal acts such as

Eyehategod Eyehategod (also abbreviated and referred to as EHG) is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana who formed in 1988. They have become one of the better known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene. Their core lineup has re ...

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

Incantation An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...

and 16.

Personnel

Current members

* Ben Hogg (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

) * Erik Larson (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

) * Bo Leslie (

) * Summer Welch ( bass) *

Dave Witte Dave Witte (born August 11, 1971) is an American drummer. He is known for his work in numerous extreme metal or hardcore punk bands including Municipal Waste, Melt-Banana, Discordance Axis, Black Army Jacket, Birds of Prey, Burnt by the Sun, a ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

)

Discography

Albums

* '' Weight of the Wound'' (

, 2006) * '' Sulfur and Semen'' (

, 2008) * '' The Hellpreacher'' (

, 2009)

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Birds of Prey
at Myspace Musical groups established in 2005 Heavy metal musical groups from Virginia