TAYLOR HAWKINS' THE BIRDS OF SATAN: Entire Debut Album Available For Streaming

FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins has launched a new side project called THE BIRDS OF SATAN with bassist Wiley Hodgden and guitarist Mick Murphy. The trio's self-titled debut album will be out April 15 through Shanabelle Records and will feature guest appearances from FOO FIGHTERS members Dave Grohl and Pat Smear. The disc was recorded in less than a week and is available for pre-order now.

"The Birds Of Satan" is now available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below.

Hawkins told The Pulse Of Radio a while ago that working on other projects helps keep him in playing shape when FOO FIGHTERS are not busy. "I'm not really the kind of guy that sits around like, 'I'm gonna go play drums by myself for two hours,'" he said. "I just don't. Not interested in that. I've always only ever played in bands and with other people. And yes, I do think it keeps my ears fresh and my hands in shape and it keeps me in shape so I can go do the crazy three-hour FOO FIGHTERS shows."

Hawkins' previous side acts include THE COATTAIL RIDERS and, with Hodgden, the metal cover band CHEVY METAL.

For anyone asking who/what/why are THE BIRDS OF THE SATAN... Well, there may or may not be a clue in the lyrics of the instant grat track "Thanks For The Line", but 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 previously mentioned "Thanks For The Line" and the straight-up hard rocker "Pieces Of The Puzzle" showcase THE BIRDS' unabashed (some might say shameless) love of rock and roll flash and grandeur, with Hawkins in fine vocal and drumming form (also contributing piano) aided and abetted by a magnetic chemistry with Hodgden's bass and Murphy's guitar. Elsewhere, sublime ballads "Raspberries" and the somber finale "Too Far Gone To See" showcase additional emotional dimensions of THE BIRDS OF SATAN sound — and if that gets too heavy, the listener can always skip back to "Wait Til Tomorrow" for the first documented recorded Eddie Van Halen-style guitar solo of this decade.

THE BIRDS OF SATAN are Taylor Hawkins (vocals, drums, piano, guitar, keyboards),Wiley Hodgden (bass, background vocals),and Mick Murphy (guitar). 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.

The complete track listing is as follows:

01. The Ballad Of The Birds Of Satan
02. Thanks For The Line
03. Pieces Of The Puzzle
04. Raspberries
05. Nothing At All
06. Wait Til Tomorrow
07. Too Far Gone To See