It's a wonder the recordings survived in the first place, laid down in the heat of a scorching summer a couple of years back with a bushfire blazing nearby. Kim Volkman, a stalwart of Australia's rock 'n' roll scene, recalls in vivid detail the day his band the Whiskey Priests took up an offer to record a few songs in country Victoria.

Originally, there was no plan to release any of the tracks, in fact just getting away from the sessions without getting baked was an achievement in itself. Fast forward a few years and those same recordings have risen from the ashes, making it the first Whiskey Priests' long player since 2013's Setting Sun album.

"A few unexpected things happened, a few things fell into place and we've ended up with an album I'm pretty proud of," Volkman said. "It's been released through Beast (Records) on vinyl which is another great thing ... nobody buys CDs at gigs these days anyway, so it's good to have Beast on board and supporting the album and putting it out this way."

The finished product, titled The Devil Won't Take Charity, sounds like it was forged in a fire with Volkman's guitar blazing away, tracks such as Alive and Well and Closing Time backed by a blistering rhythm section. The Whiskey Priests have long been a staple of the local rock 'n' roll scene, while Volkman was previously the guitarist with Ian Rilen's mighty Love Addicts. As well as sticking with his music through thick and thin, Volkman has branched out into writing, most recently penning a collection of short stories.