The newly formed outfit Empire State Bastard, featuring legendary metal drummer Dave Lombardo and members of the Scottish band Biffy Clyro, has signed to Roadrunner Records. Their debut single “Harvest” is set to drop on March 24th, and the group has shared teaser of the new track.
Empire State Bastard were founded by Biffy Clyro members Simon Neil and Mike Vennart and is self-described as a “grindcore extreme metal band.” Lombardo and bassist Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon) make up the rhythm section.
The snippet of “Harvest” is enough get the gist of what Empire State Bastard are about — namely, excessively harsh hardcore. Grinding riffs repeat in a circular spiral along with the blast-beat drumming, as Neil’s raspy unintelligible howls cut through the mix. On first impression, it sounds like music that requires serious chops — hence Lombardo’s involvement.
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.
Empire State Bastard are set to play a run of sold-out UK shows later this month, with numerous confirmed festival appearances to follow: Download Festival (June 9th), HellFest (June 18th), 2000trees (July 7th), and ArcTanGent (August 17th).
Below you can stream the teaser for “Harvest,” which drops in full on March 24th.