Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
For hotly-tipped rising UK rock outfit Empyre, it made perfect sense to give their loyal fanbase the first chance to hear the forthcoming new album ‘Relentless’ in a cinema. If ever there was a UK band that served up their music in widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio as opposed to shitty phone screens, then it is the Northampton-based quartet. Henrik Steenholdt’s howls on ‘Waking Light’ – along with Did Coles’ gorgeous guitar tones – sound, even more, larger than life in surround sound than they normally are. And in the darkness of the Northampton Filmhouse, each song aired from the album takes on new levels as the sound washes over those savvy enough to grab a ticket as soon as the listening party was announced. Once the listening party and subsequent Q&A with the band are over, it’s over to a sold-out The Black Prince to hear the songs live in the flesh, up close and personal.
Unlike The Damned who are currently touring Europe and performing their forthcoming album from start to finish to fans who have not heard it yet, Empyre make the wise decision to mix it up and play the new album in its entirety, but not from start to finish, instead playing it out of sequence and mixed with several hits of older material. The aforementioned ‘Waking Light’ kicks things off and is perfect, anthemic set-opening material. Henrik’s low, rich vocals wrap those in attendance in an almighty hug and as the song progresses it’s easy to imagine that at a later date and after some time on the road, this one might move up the setlist closer to the encore stages. Although most would have been hearing it for the first time, ‘Waking Light’ contains heaps of Empyre trademarks to ensure that it was warmly welcomed like a family member returning from a walkabout. As it does on ‘Relentless’, ‘Parasites’ follows on from ‘Waking Light’ and the gentle, slow-building intro grows into a bit of a beast of a track, complete with sharp, aggressive riffing and some beef in the engine room from Grant Hockley on bass and Elliot Bale on drums. Another new track that has all the hallmarks of a future live favourite.
Breaking off from the new album, ‘My Bad’ and ‘Stone’ from the 2019 debut album ‘Self Aware’ are dusted off and give Henrik the chance to soak up the applause and joke about how the band are not used to having people sing the words back to them; remember, Empyre do have a “Know the rules” t-shirt that states that there will be “No singing. No clapping. No looking as if you are having a good time.” so they have a wonderful streak of self-deprecating humour, but deep down these guys know that they are onto something…you don’t throw in a cover of David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’ unless you can pull it off, but Empyre do just that and Henrik’s lower register works well on a song that normally features Sia hitting high notes. With its orchestral intro (“Would love a real orchestra but they are a bit expensive”), ‘Cry Wolf’ is one of the standout tracks on ‘Relentless’ and sounds massive live; Alter Bridge-like in places, the guitar work is top-notch and the many twists and turns throughout mean that you don’t have any clue where it is going next, if one track, in particular, got Empyre signed to the much-respected Kscope record label, then it’s easy to imagine that it would have been this one. Another new one, ‘Your Whole Life Slows’, is all about the bass, literally all about the bass. The gentle picking from Grant Hockley sets the tone of this spellbinding track that flows into a Jimmy Page-like guitar feel, and as Henrik jokes, Grant recorded his bass parts while his washing machine was ending its cycle so it played its part. Empyre does industrial? Not quite, but almost.
‘Your Whole Life Shows’ comes in the middle of a hefty section of new material, of which ‘Road To Nowhere’, the grungey ‘Silence Screaming’, and the powerful title track, all particularly stand out. ‘Hit and Run’ has Springsteen-ish qualities to it in certain places and thanks to some soaring vocal hooks from Henrik, looks like it could be one of the most memorable moments on the new album. Ending the evening on more familiar territory with the immaculate pair of ‘Only Way Out’ and ‘New Republic’, Empyre seriously whetted the appetite of the capacity crowd for the imminent release of ‘Relentless’.
Being signed to Kscope – the home of TesseracT, The Pineapple Thief, and Envy of None (Alex Lifeson’s new band no less) – should act as proof that Empyre offers up something a little bit different than straightforward meat and two veg classic rock. Music for lost souls and deep thinkers? Or music for those that enjoy their music a little bit off-centre? Find out for yourself when ‘Relentless’ is released on March 31st. Celebrate the release of the album with the official album release party on April 22nd at KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton…but remember the rules. No singing. No clapping. No looking as if you are having a good time. You will be having a grand time, just don’t look like you are.
Pre-order ‘Relentless’ here.
All live images – Dave Jamieson
