Empire State Bastard, the recently formed extreme-metal group featuring members of Biffy Clyro and veteran drummer Dave Lombardo, have announced their debut album Rivers of Heresy.
The LP unveil follows the release of the trio’s fiery debut single “Harvest” and a freshly inked deal with Roadrunner Records. The group includes Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and Mike Vennart, alongside Lombardo (Slayer, Testament, Mr. Bungle) and live bassist Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon).
As heard on “Harvest,” the band is far removed from Biffy Clyro and makes proper use of Lombardo’s virtuosity to create absurdly brutal music, inevitably reaching heavy metal’s furthest extreme: grindcore.
“I set about making the most fucking poisonous vile music I possibly could,” admitted Vennart in a press release, “just unabridged hatred in musical form.”
Added Neil, “Lyrically, it’s as misanthropic and nihilistic as I’ve ever written.”
The idea for Empire State Bastard was conceived over a decade ago by Neil and Vennart, who would spend downtime on tour sitting on their bus sharing “the heaviest, most avant-garde and confrontational music they could find.” That one-time conceptual band has now become a reality, with Vennart writing the songs and recording guitars and Neil handling vocals and lyrics.
Considering Biffy Clyro’s popularity in the UK, Empire State Bastard were greeted with a string of sold-out live dates across Britain upon forming. Next up, they’ll make numerous festival appearances including France’s massive Hellfest in June, as well as Download, Glastonbury, and ArcTanGent before heading to the states for an appearance at Riot Fest this September.
Pre-order Rivers of Heresy on vinyl via Roadrunner Records. You can revisit the band’s debut single “Harvest” and see the album art and tracklist below.
Rivers of Heresy Artwork:
Rivers of Heresy Tracklist:
01. Harvest
02. Blusher
03. Moi?
04. Tired, Aye?
05. Sons and Daughters
06. Stutter
07. Palms of Hands
08. Dusty
09. Sold!
10. The Looming