Prior to the Fire

Prior to the Fire
Studio album by Priestess
Released	October 20, 2009 (2009-10-20)
Recorded	October–November 2008
Genre	Hard rock
Length	46:40
Label	Indica (Canada), Tee Pee Records (USA)
Producer	David Schiffman
Priestess chronology
Hello Master (2005) Prior to the Fire (2009)

Prior to the Fire is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock group Priestess. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer David Schiffman, the album was initially released on October 20, 2009, by Indica Records in Canada. By design, the album lacks the production values of the band's debut album, Hello Master, in order to achieve a more natural sound. As the band took more progressive rock influences and applied them to their songwriting, they changed their lyrical focus and wrote about themes considered to be more unusual for rock music, such as film and television characters, for this album.

The record is known for the difficulty Priestess encountered in trying to release it. The band's extensive touring schedule for their previous album Hello Master consumed much of the time they would have used to write new material, and after they began doing so, they had disputes with RCA Records, their international distributor at the time, as to whether the new songs were acceptable. After the completion of the recording sessions, which were themselves problematic, RCA ultimately refused to release the album, fearing it was not commercial enough, but allowed the group to release it on another label. Tee Pee Records signed the group thereafter and released the album internationally. Priestess were still signed to Indica Records, but only for Canadian distribution; the release on Indica was withheld until an international distributor was found.

Critical reaction to the album was mixed, but largely positive. The departure in style from Hello Master was frequently noted for better or for worse, and comparisons of the group to influential hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath were once again made.