Track By Tracks: Precious Blood - False Prophets (2025)

1. False Prophets:

The title song. This album is called False Prophets, and we take you on the journey from life to death, lifelong suffering to the imminent grave. Our whole existence, we are lied to by imbeciles cloaked as idols, fools veiled as prophets. Whether religion or government, we have no other choice but to play by their rules and adapt to their ways when all we want is our personal freedom.

As life goes on, more pain, dread, and helplessness set in. Everything that we hold near to our heart disappears, memories of light fade gradually with tim,e and ultimately turn into darkness. Death breathes on your neck, and with every step, you feel your ultimate imminent fate, the grave.

The Music and Lyrics to this song were written by AJ. It is the third song he wrote for Precious Blood. It’s almost exactly the way he originally wrote it, without any significant changes or additions. The outro melody is one of his favourite parts to play.

It is Dave’s favourite song to open a live set with, as it is a straightforward, in-your-face banger that introduces us loud and clear.

2. Bludgeoned & Charred:

The first single from the album.

This song was inspired by classic Italian gialli, specifically Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, a film released in 1964. Lyrically, this song is written from the perspective of a serial killer, and is a study of a human perversion, what it feels like to stalk another human being like prey, imagining what it means to take someone's life, feel their last breath.

AJ sings the verses over blast beats with melodic breaks on the choruses. We wanted to have the crowd sing along on the part where Dave and Grace’s back-up vocals come in with ‘’ You are dead!”.

Chronologically, this is the last song AJ wrote for the album. Originally, it had a completely different feel. He changed the verse's vocal melody around and added an almost bluesy chorus. This song has one of the most unique arrangements on the album.

3. Footsteps Of Babylon:

When people ask us, "What does ‘Blackened Caribbean Doom mean?”, this song is the answer. Footsteps of Babylon summarizes the term Blackened Caribbean Doom.

This song is about the overreach and omnipresence of Babylon, the corrupt, oppressive, and materialistic governments, institutions, and societal structures.

We honor the Rastafarians who use music, particularly reggae, and a philosophy of self-reliance to "chant down" or dismantle this oppressive system and reclaim their identity.

In the choruses, we call out to Burn Babylon, directly referring to a specific event, the St. Croix Labor Riot of 1878, also known as the Fireburn.

It was a crucial historical event of resistance and labor hardship in the Danish West Indies, illustrating the lasting effects of slavery and systematic exploitation of liberated laborers.

Even after emancipation was declared in 1848, formerly enslaved people were forced into contracts that would keep them working and living in harsh conditions.

On October 1, 1878, Contract Day, a protest against these injustices erupted into a rebellion, led by women dubbed the "Four Queens". It was important to us that the Burn Babylon lyric would have a female voice (Grace’s), to channel that raw power that comes from the most unexpected sources.

This uprising is still remembered today as a symbol of resistance to systematic oppression. Musically, the hi-hat break after the bridge is inspired by Sly Dunbar’s style of playing and is a great contrast to the rest of the song.

This song is completely unique for all of us; it defines us not just thematically and lyrically, but also musically. It was originally conceived on AJ’s acoustic guitar. In the studio during the recording, he added a completely different vocal pattern.

4. Shadow Of The Cross:

Inspired by Aj and Grace’s jams in the cemetery in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Every day they would watch the sun setting behind the gravestones into the Caribbean sea, lighting up the skies blood red.

The juxtaposition of being in a place this beautiful, yet knowing it will end, served as inspiration for this song. Also, being in the Caribbean, you are constantly reminded of the colonizing past of this part of the world.

The empires saw a rare gem they wanted a part of, and stopped at nothing in getting what they wanted. Whether it was with the crosses or the cannons, they force-fed their propaganda to the locals and reduced them to submission.

The shadow of the cross with a dead man on it, just like the setting sun, will eventually kill us all.

The verses were inspired by Death’s song Symbolic. Originally, AJ had a clean conversational verse vocal line, but changing it to the rougher sound really brought the song together.

5. Cemetery Burn:

Inspired by the age-old saying of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and written lyrically in the cemetery in Sint Maarten, this song loudly states that what doesn't kill you now will, in fact, kill you later, and cause a whole lot of pain in between.

The most interesting drum line Grace has played to date. It is a flam-filled, Igorr Cavalera-inspired tribal-esque drum beat to complement the guitar.

Overall, it is a High On Fire-inspired tour de force, no-holds-barred riff bonanza.

6. Old Man Abbadon:

Inspired by the HELL HOUSE LLC horror franchise. Also, a study in human aging, and holding on to ‘what used to be’.

In religious and mythological contexts, Abbadon is often portrayed as the angel of the abyss, the demon that guards the pit of hell. His purpose is judgment and destruction. However, while guarding the said pit of hell, our Abbadon realizes that he can not be inside of it anymore, and now just watches and rules from the outside.

That yearning for action that once was, knowing that your time has passed, and instead of ever encompassing a destroyer, you are now just a ferryman of souls, a night club bouncer that lets cool people in instead of being the king of cool yourself.

AJ wrote the music for the verses in Paris on an acoustic guitar.

The chorus was inspired by Orion Inc by Metallica and put together during a Barcelona jam session.

7. El Muerte:

An ode to the resilience of the Caribbean people and the brutality of nature. Based on a true story that unfolded in 1902 on the beautiful island of Martinique, often referred to as the Paris of the Caribbean.

A town drunk, Ludger Sylbaris, got into yet another bar brawl and got arrested by the local policeman. He did not go down quietly and fought the policeman. The policeman threw the island hell raiser in prison, which just happened to be located in the basement, right by the glorious Opera house. The whole island and visitors from the mainland rushed into the Opera house for a tantalizing performance that night, leaving the streets of Martinique virtually bare. Sylbaris was stewing in his underground jail cell, enraged and restless.

All of a sudden, a cloud of black smoke rose from the top of Mount Pele, indicating that the island volcano came alive. Mount Pele exploded and engulfed the entire island of Martinique in boiling hot lava, claiming the lives of the entire island, except one person, Sylbaris.

The town drunk was the lone survivor, sustaining burns all over his body and almost eviscerating his lungs from inhaling the ash-filled hot air. But even in that tiny cell, he fought for his life. He took off his clothes and urinated on them, and blocked the door and window with them. He lay on the ground, trying to breathe carefully and measure.

He survived.

This song is about just that: your fight to survive, even when everyone around you is dead.

AJ wrote the main verses in Barcelona.

The chorus is an ascending minor riff inspired by Merciful Fate.

8. Whore’s Grave:

Every woman is categorized into 3 types during her life: a mother, a bride, or a whore. After we die, most of us become angels. This is an exploration of a female essence, being all of those 3 things at once, and yet being remembered and appreciated only after death.

With every verse, you succumb deeper and deeper into the grave, looking back at your life and what it could have been, till you finally arrive in absolute infinite darkness, and you can no longer see that cemetery light, the only thing that connected your soul to this life. Musically inspired by Black Sabbath, it is the ‘doomiest’ of all our songs. The true end of the journey, this song could only be the last on the album, and this is also the last song we always play live.

AJ wrote this song as his Ode to Black Sabbath at their most Doomiest of Albums, Masters of Reality. The verse riff was inspired by an old chorus he had written for a previous band, but it really came to life with this song.

The Outro is a melodic cacophony of modal assault, which is a great finale for the album.