- Priestess (band)
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Priestess Genres Stoner rock
Hard rock
Heavy metalYears active 2003-present Labels Indica
RCA
TeePee RecordsAssociated acts The Dropouts, The Stills, The Other Children Website priestessband.com Members Mikey Heppner
Mike Dyball
Vince Nudo
Dan WatchornPriestess is a Canadian stoner rock band formed in 2003 by Mikey Heppner (vocals/guitar), Mike Dyball (bass), Vince Nudo (vocals/drums), and Dan Watchorn (vocals/guitar).
Contents
Biography
Priestess was formed in 2003. Mikey Heppner was playing with The Dropouts at the time when three of its members headed to New York to form The Stills. Left on his own, Heppner formed a new band in the form of Priestess. In 2005, the band released their debut album, Hello Master. The release was issued via Indica in Canada and on Ace Fu in the U.S. A major-label recording contract with RCA followed in January 2006. North American tour dates opening for Dinosaur Jr. followed that spring. Priestess also toured with The Sword, Early Man and Diamond Nights in the spring of 2006.
A remastered version of Hello Master arrived in June, and additional shows with the Riverboat Gamblers and the Bronx coincided with its release. Upon the album's re-release, tracks such as "Talk to Her" and "Lay Down" also began finding airplay on mainstream rock satellite stations such as Octane and Ink'd. On October 27, 2006, Priestess joined Black Label Society and Black Stone Cherry's already-in-progress tour which lasted until mid-December. Priestess toured with Converge and Mastodon from January 26 - February 17, 2007. The band toured Europe for their first time ever with thrash metal pioneers Megadeth as a part of their "Tour of Duty" tour in June 2007.
Priestess was joined by Murder By Death and Clutch on their North American 2007-2008 tour.
Priestess toured with GWAR and Cattle Decapitation in early 2009.
The band made more than one attempt at recording Prior to the Fire; the first attempt failed, wasting a lot of time.[1] When it was finally done, however, RCA was unwilling to release the new album and their originally slated early 2009 release date was missed completely.[2] RCA ultimately let them go when the band made it clear that they would not alter the album further (RCA was waiting for what the company hoped would be a hit single), but the group were allowed to take the new album in its current state with them to a new label. That label was TeePee Records, and the album was released in October 2009 in Canada[3] and in early February of the following year in the United States.[4]
In support of the Canadian release, the band toured with Early Man and Trigger Effect in Canada[5] and the US,[6] and for the international release, with Bigelf in Europe[7] and High on Fire in the US.[8] The band undertook another Canadian tour that July.[9]
On March 28, 2011, the band posted an update on their facebook page that read "Little update! The work has commenced on album #3! We'll keep you posted!"
Members
- Mikey Heppner - Lead vocals, lead guitar
- Dan Watchorn - Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Mike Dyball - Bass guitar
- Vince Nudo - Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Discography
Albums
- Hello Master (2006)
- Prior to the Fire (2009)
Singles
- "Run Home" (2006)
- "Lay Down" (2006)
- "Talk to Her" (U.S. Mainstream Rock #33) (2006)
- "Blood" (2007)
- "I Am the Night, Colour Me Black" (2007)
- "Lady Killer" (2010)
Gear
Heppner previously relied on a cherry Gibson SG as his main guitar, which, in early 2007, was replaced by a reissue Dan Armstrong Lucite guitar. Also Heppner used his Gibson Flying V at some concerts on his 2008 tour.[10] Watchorn is always seen with a sunburst Gibson Firebird(He is also seen using a Gibson Explorer when playing songs of their latest album), while Dyball normally plays a Fender Precision Bass. Nudo uses a clear and red striped Ludwig Vistalite set with Paiste cymbals. For amplifiers, they all use Richtone stacks, which are made by an old friend of theirs in Montreal, Québec.
See also
References
- ^ "CANOE - JAM! Music - Artists - Priestess: Priestess high on tour plans". Jam.canoe.ca. 2008-11-13. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/P/Priestess/2008/11/13/7396696-sun.html. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ 09/15/09 12:22pm by Siobhan Ozege (CHARTattack). "Priestess Album, Tour This Fall". CHARTattack. http://www.chartattack.com/news/74442/priestess-announce-canadian-tour-dates. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ 10/30/09 2:10pm by Andre Mihsin (CHARTattack). "How Priestess Made Prior To The Fire". CHARTattack. http://www.chartattack.com/news/76244/how-priestess-made-prior-to-the-fire. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ "Priestess Set U.S. Release Date For "Prior To The Fire"". Theprp.com. 2010-08-03. http://www.theprp.com/2009/11/13/news/priestess-set-u-s-release-date-for-prior-to-the-fire/. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ 2:39 PM. "Trigger Effect To Tour Canada w/ Priestess - in Metal News". Metal Underground.com. http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=50008. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ "Priestess to Release Prior To the Fire in 2010 « www.hardrockhideout.com". Hardrockhideout.com. http://hardrockhideout.com/2009/11/10/priestess-to-release-prior-to-the-fire-in-2010/. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ "Full Dates Revealed For Priestess And Bigelf’s European/UK Tour". Theprp.com. 2010-08-03. http://www.theprp.com/2010/01/14/news/full-dates-revealed-for-priestess-and-bigelfs-europeanuk-tour/. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ "Priestess". The Gauntlet. 2010-02-08. http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1656/17850/Priestess.html. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ bravewords.com. "> News > PRIESTESS Announce Canadian Dates In July". Bravewords.com. http://www.bravewords.com/news/139163. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- ^ “”. "Priestess - We Ride". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek73vmju0vk. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
External links
- Official website
- Priestess at Allmusic
- Priestess at Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Priestess at MySpace
- School of hard rocks
- "Parce que ça sonne metal"
- MUSIC: Interview with Mikey Heppner of Priestess
- Richtone amplifiers' website
Studio albums Hello Master · Prior to the FireVideos Lay Down · Run Home · Talk to HerSingles Categories:- Stoner rock musical groups
- Canadian heavy metal musical groups
- Musical groups established in 2003
- Musical groups from Montreal
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