Bare Knuckle Messiah That Which Preys On The Dead CD Review

When the release of the upcoming Tigertailz box set was announced a few months back it immediately put me in the mood for all things related to the band. This also meant I needed to look up and see where the 2^nd lead vocalist of the band, Kim Hooker had gotten off too. After some digging, I found that Kim had dropped out of the scene for a while. However, he didn’t stay dormant long, in 2019 he released an album entitled “That Which Preys On The Dead” with his new band the Bare Knuckle Messiahs! For those with prior knowledge of Tigertailz, the members in the band aren’t new as two of them were in/on the Wazbones album. I still can’t quite explain what happened there, there was a name change due to legal issues or something along those lines. The result is still the heaviest album from the band to date, and it leaned into the Industrial sound that was popular at the time. Listening back on it, it’s not quite as Industrial as I remember, there’s still a ton of Glam/Sleaze influence to be soaked up.
 
Moving along with the Bare Knuckle Messiahs “That Which Preys On The Dead”, the band picks up where they left off with Wazbones except they leave some of the Glam/Sleaze influences at home this time around. Admittedly, the music isn’t as Industrial as some would have believed. I’d say musically, it leans more toward Modern Heavy Metal with some Industrial tendencies tossed in.  The most important factor of BKM is Hooker, his voice and songwriting skills are on full display here. I’d always known his impact on Tigertailz was pretty evident, when he joined, the band immediately took on a heavier/in your face approach even though they were a Glam band. On this new effort Hooker and his co-conspirators lay down ten tracks that can be best described as Groove-oriented Metal (not to be confused with that terrible junk from the 90’s). All the tracks here have a distinct Pop sensibility and depend heavily on big choruses and melodic hooks. Lead single “Blood Brothers” is a great example of this, there’s melody lines running rampant all throughout the song and the consistent gang like shouts of “hey hey” add a lot of color/warmth to the fun, it’s a fist pumping anthem, no doubt. “An Eye for An Eye” is packed with groove and while it tends to be slower than a lot of the other songs here, the chorus and the lead up is fantastic. The same can be said of the title track “That Which Preys on The Dead”. I’ve mentioned the band left the Glam at home, but some of the lyrics do fall into that category, specifically on the tune “We know it’s Cool to Break the Rules”. There’s also a Slade quality to the feel on this song. I’m sure in another dimension this song would’ve fit in nicely on Bezerk 2.0. The last track on the disc could easily be considered Glam/Sleaze as well – “Smash It Up”, this is probably the closest the band comes to the early days, so if that’s what brought you to love the Hooker era of Tigertailz, this song isn’t to be missed.

I’m happy to see that Kim Hooker is still going even if there were a few years of quiet in between releases. I'm sure the Pandemic had a great deal to do with a lot of that.. Hooker’s talent is undeniable, I’m still dumbfounded that the Bezerk album wasn’t a smashing success that pushed the band into the upper echelon in that era. I have it on good authority that the Bare Knuckle Messiahs are currently recording a new album and that fans of Tigertailz will definitely be pleased. Any way that I can get an album with Hooker’s vocals and lyrics, I’m there! In the meantime, this album, “That Which Preys on The Dead” is readily available via the band’s bandcamp page and it’s autographed, no upcharge, just good ole fashioned autographs for the love of the fans. This album isn’t to be missed, it’s a well-produced effort that should be praised for years to come. What are you waiting for, go and grab a copy right now and be on the lookout for the band’s up and coming release!

~Black Angel