‘Birds of Satan’ pleasing for classic rock lovers

The Birds of Satan: It’s a (terribly named) classic rock channeling side-project by Foo Fighter’s drummer and back-up vocalist, Taylor Hawkins. He teems up with guitar player Mick Murphy and bassist Wiley Hodgden to complete his new band, but the results are a rather mixed bag.

This album has a very simple and stripped down approach. Guitars vocals, drums and bass is what you get, without all the studio compression garbage. However, there is an underwhelming air that permeates almost every facet of this record.

Hawkins has noted that this album is like a love-letter to his favorite music with little touches. This makes sense, because many songs feel like an attempt at emulating some of the greats of rock, but fall short of true quality.

Take the first song, for example, “The Ballad of The Bird’s of Satan.” It sounds like Metallica with rhythmic breakdowns, epic length and varying non-linear patterns that don’t repeat. However, unlike Metallic, it feels like four mediocre songs stitched together without any consistent beat or hook. “Thanks For The Line” is reminiscent of Queen halfway through with a piano-laiden section and softer vocals – except it lacks the Queen polish and reveals Hawkin’s vocal weaknesses.

Let’s talk about his voice for a second. It’s very distinct in its gravelly tone and holds some nice variety. Although, there are some low, odd notes that aren’t appealing, and his higher pitches aren’t that great. Overall though, his voice is listenable.

The lyrics aren’t very noteworthy, either. Many songs will devolve into repeating the same phrases over and over, like in “Pieces of the Puzzle.”

There are also structural problems throughout the album. Some songs will start off with ten seconds of a really sick, pulse-pounding riff, only to be abruptly transitioned into a different and less appealing progression. Those progressions can take the form of cutesy or funky melodies that just don’t jive.

The instrumental elements are mostly decent, but also have issues. Hawkins’ drumming is good, but the sonic quality is a little off. The drums sound frail and don’t have much of a presence. Since Hawkins is known primarily as a drummer, this is disappointing. The same can be said for the bass.

The real star of this album is Mick Murphy’s excellent guitar work. When Murphy is freed from Hawkin’s mediocre shackles, his solos take on a life of their own and inject some much-needed energy. The solos are all varied and exciting. Also, like Hawkins, Murphy sounds like he is channeling classic guitarists, such as Jake E. Lee in “Give Me A Line” or Eddie Van Halen in “Wait Til Tomorrow”.

“Wait Til Tomorrow” is actually the high point of the album. It has good energy, an awesome solo and rocking vocals. The lyrics are also cheeky and relatable, like “Can it wait till tomorrow. I just wanna make one more bad decision.” If more of the album followed this model, it would have been much better.

It sounds like I’m ragging on this album pretty hard, but it’s not bad. It’s generic classic rock, but even that is leagues beyond anything you will find in Billboard’s Top Ten. There are never any truly bad moments, but very few great ones that take this album to another level.

It’s great that Hawkins is trying to revitalize classic rock sentiments and style with this album, which is something I respect. It pains me to not fully enjoy an album from such a likable guy on such a noble pursuit. This is definitely solid filler for Foo fans, or people who just want some decent classic rock style music. Unfortunately, it doesn’t achieve much beyond that.