JANUARY 2006- Frankly, things had gotten sort of dry around the dog site. The year end thing was over, and we had that sort of post-year hangover from spinning every disc in the house three times to get a pecking order going. Then this PRIESTESS disc hits, and on the first listen brothers and sisters, it's quite clear that these young Canadians have decided to become part of the solution, not part of the problem. Guitar harmonies, rattling drums, hook-heavy choruses, and Angus-approved geetar assignments had us gasping for a collective cigarette after the first spin. Read on a touch and find out why a copy of their debut disc "Hello Master" needs to find it's way to your door.

Marchman: Please articulate the details and rationale behind the inception of PRIESTESS.

Mikey Heppner: Well, we got together almost three years ago in Montreal (where we've all lived for at least 7 years). We're all from either the surburbs or small towns in the mountains nearby. I sing lead mostly, and play lead guitar. Dan plays guitar and sings a bit. Mike plays bass, and Vince plays drums, and sings a bit too (he's responsable for the hot baritone action on "Blood"). We just all had the same passion for playing songs good and heavy, but still singalongable. So we started this band.

Marchman: It's hard to believe there's not another band called PRIESTESS. It's so simple and perfect. Any battles over the name?

Heppner: No! For some reason, we lucked out big time on that one. The closest things we've been able to find are Wendy O'Williams being the "Metal Priestess", and Nina Simone being the "High Priestess", which is pretty close, considering that we're a bit metal AND high. It's funny cause it's such a "band name" word, it just hasn't already been taken!

Marchman: I've gotta tell you, I think I hurt myself the first time I heard that cowbell breakout in "Run Home". That is some of the nastiest hot rockin' I've ever encountered.

Heppner: While we were writing that song, we all pretty much creamed our pants when Vince started doing that. We had to stop playing, laugh excitedly for ten minutes, then we got all serious about it. Then when we started playing it again, and it just felt so glorious.

Marchman: Funny that you mention "Blood". I was going to ask you about that one. Seems to be a surreal hero vs. vampire theme going on in it.

Vince Nudo: It's interesting that you mention "hero", cause I think there is a hero. The vampire theme is pretty obvious, whether you take it literally or not is the question I guess. A vampire is manipulative and destructive, sucking the life out of people, and I think there are a lot of similarities between the myth and humans, which is what inspired the song. I am a big fan of vampire mythology, and at one point or another I think everyone has encountered a vampire (off the screen or pages of a book). I guess the hero is the good guy who sees what's coming and battles their way out. But in this song the good guy loses.

Marchman: "Time Will Cut You Down" seems to have an odd time signature thrown in there somewhere.

Heppner: Yeah, there's like a bar of 3 in there, I just sort of wrote it that way to make it non-boring. The fact that I'm singing the word "time" in that chorus is just a coincidence.

Marchman: "Two Kids" seems to have a very dark theme as well.

Dan Watchorn: The first line of the song had been lingering in my head and haunting me for days. After I developed a loose theme around the initial phrase I quickly understood that it wouldn't be the happiest of songs. I don't think that I have a pattern for writing lyrics but I generally like it when one verse (in this case the first one) is very straight forward and another one opens things up and perhaps confuses matters slightly.

Marchman: Like "Sing me a song, you're a singer, Do me a wrong, you're a bringer of evil"?

Watchorn: There ya go. See here, in the first verse, the case is set up as a possible murder but we aren't ever really allowed to know who the narrator is. The rest of the song puts a lot of people on trial by asking questions. Perhaps the lack of answers makes it all the more dark?

Marchman: What do you think of bands like DIAMOND NIGHTS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, and THE DARKNESS and their attempts to bring classic rock styles with real guitars and solos back to the mainstream?

Heppner: Well, we happen to be pretty close to the DIAMOND NIGHTS (same management), and we really like their record. If they get big, I'd be pretty damn happy. THE DARKNESS was a pretty big crush for me when their first record came out (Dan and Mike hated it). I saw what they were doing as less a of a joke than most people saw, seeing as their songs were actually good. I haven't heard the new one enough to comment. All four of us do not like AVENGED SEVENFOLD very much, they're kind of a mix of all kinds of things we don't like. But if kids start to listen to that instead of rap I'd be pretty happy.

Marchman: Is this your first tour of the US?

Heppner: This will be our first major US tour, we've already been through Minneapolis, Chicago, Detriot, Cleveland and New York with EARLY MAN, on our way back from our last Canadian tour out west. That and a shitload of New York dates before that, Austin and LA. We look forward to seeing the whole thing though!

Marchman: I'm not familiar with Gus Van Go as a producer, but the sound is very 80s Bob Rock (especially "Talk to Her"). Did you guys deliberately set your sights on a slightly FM friendly sound?

Heppner: I'm pretty sure he wouldn't like that comparison, but I know what you mean. The sound he was after was pretty slick, super tight and sheen. Something that doesn't happen to much with records like ours, so we thought it'd be different. FM was not on our minds at all, however.

Marchman: For the record, I was thinking more "Sonic Temple" than "St Anger", Bob Rock-wise.

Heppner: No, I get it. Gus just happens to not like Bob Rock, even though you aren't the only one who has made that comparison. If he reads this he's going to think I'm a dick.

Marchman: Do you already have some songs in the can for the next disc?

Heppner: Yeah, we've got a couple of new songs in the works, they should be ready for the tour. They're in the same vein as "Hello Master", guitar riffs and heavy action. They kind of feel like they're going to be a little more intricate (slightly more metal, and maybe even a tiny touch proggy). There's one that kind of makes us think of "Presence"-era ZEPPELIN. We're getting good feelings from them, they're going to be fun to play live.

Marchman: Some people were emailing me a couple of weeks after we posted the review, saying the CD was listed for $40 or something like that.

Heppner: That is way too expensive, who the hell is trying to sell our record for that!? For now, it's only in stores in Canada and it's like 15-20 bucks. Everyone else should buy it off our website, it's $19. We'll have vinyl ready in a couple of weeks too, that will be available in the states as well. Just check the website once in a while (see below).

Marchman: Thanks guys! Great to hear some insights about the album. See you guys at the Baltimore show!

Heppner: Thank you!

PRIESTESS are Mikey Heppner- Vocals, Guitar Mike Dyball- Bass Vince Nudo- Vocals, Drums, and Dan Watchorn- Vocals, Guitar. Their latest record "Hello Master" is available through their website www.priestessband.com. You can also hear some of these explosive tracks on their myspace page: www.myspace.com/priestessband.

**The web version of this article can be found at www.peacedogman.com/priesintie**