PREDATOR
“Unsafe Space”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Predator are a heavy metal band from the USA originally forming in 1984, releasing their debut album ‘Easy Prey’ in 1986, and sophomore album ‘Unsafe Space’ an incredible thirty nine years later!

Founded by guitarist and vocalist Jeff Prentice, Predator enjoyed a period of success during the eighties, gaining a reputation for fast soaring songs and touring with such luminary bands as Flotsam And Jetsam and Bloodlust. During the lengthy gap between the band’s two albums, Prentice pursued many other musical activities, reactivating Predator and recruiting Ninth Circle bassist Frank Forray to re-launch the band onto the world metal stage with eleven new songs that span the genres of speed, thrash and (of course) traditional heavy metal. And although I just said there’s eleven songs on the album, the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed there’s actually twelve – the twelfth a ridiculously vivacious cover of a classic rock song from the nineteen sixties! Hell, even I wasn’t born that far back!

The album is quickly into its stride with opener ‘Saviors’, Predator pounding the ground with a little heavy/power metal fuelling the band – the chorus break an immensely sing a long-able affair to engage every listener and concert goer into becoming the bands backing singers! A barnstorming start to the new album continues apace with ‘Raping The Population’, the intensity just as strong – if not stronger than ‘Saviors’, the band keeping the hammer well and truly down to roar along the freeway at top speed. There’s a little thrash metal ferocity here too, Predator straddling the border between thrash and traditional metal to deliver an offering that’s gonna be widely attractive to a myriad of metal fans – ‘N.L.M.’ the heaviest of the opening threesome by some margin! The ground is shuddering as ‘N.L.M.’ marches on with a foot stomping mentality and an in your face attitude with a cracking chant style rabble rousing chorus that’s gonna have everyone singing along.

And the level of thunder rises to deafening levels as ‘The Fascism Variant’ thunders into sight with intense pace and purpose, Predator bludgeoning a worldwide audience with a no holds barred thrash fuelled heavy metal rampage to knock everyone off their feet! All bar two of the eleven (sorry twelve) songs on offer clock in at under four minutes in length, the first to break the four minute mark ‘Winter Wars’ displays the iconic metal gallop in all it’s glorious glory – the band planting their feet firmly on the old school heavy metal monitor to sound like an eighties metal band! Oh wait a sec, they are – formed during the mid eighties heyday for NWOBHM. And even though the band are an American one, there’s a very British sound oozing out of ’em right now, ‘Sons Of Liberty’ surging forth with an incredible upturn in pace and power – the sound of heavy/power metal making an emphatic return! The relentless “rat-tat-tat-tat” riffing of the album so far sounds like a machine gun with the trigger permanently pulled and an unlimited supply of bullets to feed on – it’s simply unforgiving and unapologetic! And I like it! As I’m sure you will too!

The heavy metal hurricane just keeps on going, ‘A New Civil War’ rumbling into view like an advancing tank platoon heading into war, Predator delivering just as much terror and devastation as tanks do! The band haven’t really been that aggressive, but you can certainly feel the aggression simmering away just under the surface of the bands music – music which takes one helluva right turn outta sight with a cover of a classic rock song written over sixty years ago in 1963! Older than the band and older than me, ‘California Dreaming’ was written by John and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by American singer Barry McGuire. However, the best known version is probably by the American folk rock vocal group The Mama’s & The Papa’s in 1965 – Predator’s version (as I mentioned earlier) a ridiculously vivacious cover, retaining very little of the original’s pace and feel! ‘Cause I reckon anyone who doesn’t know it’s a cover, are just gonna think the band have gone a little loco here, merging heavy metal and hard rock into one mighty melodic march that’s so far out in left field Predator are in danger of being sectioned! Right then, let’s back to the metal – ‘Plague Of The Deceivers’ is meaner than everything heard up to this point, the band driving forward with renewed energy and vigour, the heads of every listener, fan and follower rocking back and forth at a fairly quick pace.

And talking of pace, one of the quickest songs on offer enters the fray here as ‘Violent Objection’ storms off at full throttle, the band once again stepping over the border into thrash metal territory – the worldwide mosh pits turning into a sea of frenzied head banging maniacs! And to be honest, the level of head bang ability all album long has been off the charts – ‘Saboteur’ returning the glorious metal gallop heard earlier, the band once more oozing the iconic NWOBHM sound, every metal traditionalist around the world drooling as ‘Saboteur’ marches on with shoulders back and head held high such is the majestic nature right now! And with a sudden injection of menace, the doom laden (album closer) ‘The Crow Upon The Cross’ strides purposefully in and stomps hard as Predator bring a little seventies Black Sabbath to the fore, the slower much heavier pace in stark contrast to everything else on offer.

Overall, a lively and up tempo march of traditional heavy metal with touches of thrash and a sky high level of head bang ability.

TRACKLIST

Saviors
Raping The Population
N.L.M.
The Fascism Variant
Winter Wars
Sons Of Liberty
A New Civil War
California Dreaming (The Mama’s & The Papa’s cover)
Plague Of The Deceivers
Violent Objection
Saboteur
The Crow Upon The Cross

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