The Birds Of Satan are Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Wiley Hodgden and Mick Murphy
For anyone asking who/what/why are The Birds Of The Satan – there may or may not be a clue in the lyrics of the track ‘Thanks For The Line’. As to the musical nature of this beast, that question is answered in short order by the album’s opening manifesto – the near-10-minute ‘The Ballad of the Birds of Satan’, which progresses from a typically frenetic Hawkins drum salvo into an outright heavy-prog epic concluding with an undeniable boogie groove.

The group’s eponymous album is a hard-hitting, gritty rocker that owes a debt to the muckiest Seventies recordings by Aerosmith, Queen and Alice Cooper. Hawkins’ voice is raspy and maxed-out as he sings about paranoia and trusting oneself, while his bandmates play a mix of rhythm-heavy off-boogie rock with a dash of theatricality. On the other hand, there will also be a power ballad titled “Raspberries” and, according to Hawkins, “the first documented recorded Van Halen style guitar solo of this decade” on “Wait Til’ Tomorrow.

Guest musicians on the eponymous album include Dave Grohl (guitar), Pat Smear (guitar), Drew Hester (percussion), and Rami Jaffee (keyboards), among others. The Birds Of Satan was produced and engineered by John Lousteau and mixed by Drew Hester.”