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/