EP Review - Dead Empires - Poughkeepsie, NY

On this second posting,  we take you on an intensified trip through some of today's heftiest experimental psychedelic metal, Dead Empires. The band examined today is an act local to the Hudson Valley, a heavy tour-de-force in the now blossoming NY post-metal scene. A trio,  (and sometimes a 4 piece when they play with a 2nd drummer) plays a heavy, familiar, but strangely unique band of instrumental metal. (Warning: May contain toxic soundgasms, keep away from children!)

Coming straight out of Poughkeepsie, these guys released their debut EP Monuments back in February.
Let's break it down song-by-song.


The 4-song EP opens with an ominous speech from Chaplin's The Great Dictator before breaking into the dirging riff-fiesta that defines the record.

1. The first song, Mount Misery, delivers a slow heaviness which intermingles with ambient pentatonic ornamentation, before blasting off into the rampaging fury of the second song, Hello to Oblivion.
2. The 2nd song rips through with incredibly assertive drum lines (complete with edgy double bass for added flavor!)
3. Song number 3, The Escape Artist, oozes Savannah-style sludge. Echoing the likes of Coliseum with it's driving guitar line, it eventually divulges into a series of dynamic breaks which build and fall like an Isis tune - by the end of the song we are thrust into a part that begs the banging of the head - slowly, and heavily.
4. The final song, Villains, captures all the aforementioned qualities, whilst also showing some evidence of djent influence, begins soft before breaking into a Matt Pike-esque roar. Eventually it segues into a psychedelic guitar solo before firing into a drum laden burn-fest.

This album could be typified as the product Kylesa going at it with Karma to Burn in the backseat of Russian Circles' van whilst listening to the Melvins!  The combined assault of the guitar and bass with absolutely angry drum parts makes for a psychedelic sonic spectacle of vicious riff-based music. If you dig any sort of instrumental metal or post rock, I suggest you keep these guys on your radar.


-MS


You can check Dead Empires out at any of their websites or email them at

deadempiresmusic@gmail.com

http://deadempires.bigcartel.com 
http://www.myspace.com/deadempiresmusic
http://www.twitter.com/deadempires
http://www.last.fm/music/Dead+Empires
http://soundcloud.com/deadempires
http://deadempires.bandcamp.com/

The Burn

Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.- William S Burroughs 


When we decide to build our universe, we must do it in the way that only we see fit. We spend countless hours trying to discern what is right for everyone else, the shoes we should wear, the amount of compassion we should regard others with, and most importantly, whether or not their band sucks. Those things later reveal themselves to be distractions from the main truth, the idea that we have to build our lives wholly for ourselves and none else. It is than that we have to ask ourselves, how far deep into the farthest reaches of our minds can we go in order to make the darkest corridors of our dreams a reality? How can a human push him or herself to the bounds of space in order to become- a master of the universe?


Simple. Psychedelic domination! 

To start our journey into craziness, I'm going to be featuring the music of a very interesting and highly renowned space rock combo. A little ole band straight out of jersey, Monster Magnet built their psychedelic grind by combining the bombast and machismo of 70s punk rock with the absolutely epic fury unleashed by early space rock bands such as Hawkwind and Captain Beyond

Lets check a gem which was originally banned on regular television

Heads Explode off 2001's God Says No

This new blog will focus on promoting as much out-there hyperspace neo-psychedelic concoctions and alternative art concoctions as possible (on this dimension). If you wish to submit art or music, just email electricreligionlive@gmail.com