Ardent historians of the metal landscape may remember this California heavy/speed metal act Predator. Probably best known for having one of the worst record covers in history for their debut album Easy Prey in 1986, the group would fade away into obscurity until recently. Now back with their second full-length for Unsafe Space, the duo of Frank Forray (guitars, bass) and Jeff Prentice (vocals, guitars, drum programming) aim to please with a decent cocktail of classic riffs that have more steps in the past while also advancing the production values / tones to possibly gain a modern audience.
Obvious lyrical / social commentary insights lean towards the fight for democracy on “N.L.M.” (“No Lives Matter”) where Jeff spits forth the key tag line ‘democracy is toast’, media manipulation through internet means on “A New Civil War”, as well expected war strife amongst political leaders within “Violent Objection”. The main hooks sit in a conventional mid-tempo groove to slightly speed/thrash-oriented riff parade, very easily digestible next to Jeff’s very potent, melodic vocal delivery. The crunchy opener “Saviors” next to the blitzkrieg barnburner “Raping the Population” serve a one-two combination that should get most listeners adequately warmed up, the two-piece injecting the instrumental sections with some tasty lead breaks and harmony tricks. A surprising power metal version of “California Dreaming” (from the Mamas and the Papas) contains plenty of the multi-part choir passages that made the song a hit, the layers of guitars adding a classical touch to really stand out as a killer reinterpretation of a non-metal track.
The finale “The Crow Upon the Cross” as the longest cut (almost 5 minutes) features a doom-oriented pacing, traversing old Candlemass and Black Sabbath in terms of the atmosphere, deliberately slower guitar chords and note bends, as well as Jeff’s soulful register that seems even stronger than his work almost 40 years ago before kicking into high gear two-thirds of the way through this arrangement. A minor disappointment lies in the drum programming. It’s not bad – you just wonder how a human drummer would have been able to add more vitality (and unpredictability) to the rhythm section parts. The fiery eagle on the cover may also seem similar to what one would expect from a Primal Fear album – but it definitely blows away the stalker-ish creep factor that made Easy Prey a tad cringeworthy.
When looking at the twelve tracks for Unsafe Space as a whole, Predator plays best to their power/speed metal strengths on this effort – creating an album that will appease the faithful and possibly bring some new recruits to the fold. One hopes that the third album won’t take until 2064 to hit our ears.