Empires Fade

Manchester’s Empires Fade have done a really kind thing by making their Reflection EP available for free. No, that’s not free as in how your computer hacker friend gets all his music. It’s free in that fans can simply go and grab it from their Facebook site.

With a harsh sound that is a lot like August Burns Red in places, this five-song set features angry vocals, with a few clean vocals mixed in, in addition to rapid fire drumming, pounding bass lines and thick guitar riffs as well as more melodic ones.

Although it’s many times difficult to make out specific lyrical lines, song titles like “Virtue,” “Hope” and “Reflection” suggest that this group is positive, if not outright religious.

This album’s best track is titled “Volition.” Along with the guttural vocal screams, the song also features some really nice jangling guitar bits. The way pretty guitar lines coexist with bloody murder screams is unusual, unexpected and nearly impossible to ignore.

When the group sings “Hope” as though they were on a sinking ship going down fast, it comes off more than a little ironic. If you’re singing about hope shouldn’t you – oh, I don’t know…sound hopeful? Apparently, the metal genre in which Empires Fade reside, doesn’t require musical moods to match lyrical directions. Such can be quite confusing for those not ‘in’ the scene.

Empires Fade is still an unsigned band. However, on the strength of this EP sample, these five musicians likely won’t remain unsigned long. There is a growing hunger for extreme metal bands like Empires Fade, and because their music is so professional, their audience can only continue to grow. Therefore, this is an EP you should seek out and download right now if it sounds like your kind of thing. Be advised, however, that Empires Fade won’t be giving away their music for free too much longer.