In these trying times for music, and especially the underground scene which does not have the reserves of larger labels and a back catalogue to tide them over, it is always heartening to see a new label come forward, and said label take a chance at a new band. The new label is Petrichor, a subset of Hammerheart Records, whilst the act is Empress, hailing from Canada’s British Columbia.
Knowing nothing of the band prior to settling down to the album (put “Empress band” into an online search and there are far more hits on either a current Leeds based covers act or a short lived 80’s funk act), so I could experience the album without expectation or bias. Opener ‘The Pale Wanderer’ started strongly enough, building a wave of misery with the repeating riffs and laissez faire vocals. There is even some interesting guitar work very much in the vein of Elder, a band they openly admit to being influenced by, and frankly, as influences go, that’s a bloody good one in my books. After this 8 minute plus dirge, in which shoes are strongly stared at, the faster, heavier ‘Sepulchre’ follows, hammering in with a guitar battering that then wanders into the proggy territory so well trodden by Mastodon with repeated time changes and a morphing form, vocals going from a tired and undersold delivery to angry shouts and back again, all before the rather grungy ‘Passage’ meanders in.
By contrast the band follow up with ‘Trost’, a number that frankly I wanted to end but just kept going, seeming so much longer than the six minute timer, the opening angry screams and post metal string battery just setting my teeth on edge before the track slowed into an introspective middle before the angsty cries started up again. This same mixing and matching of pace continued through ‘Hiraeth’ and into the title track ‘Premonition’, the gloom being ladled out thickly for the opening of the latter before the band embark on another up and down journey of quiet introspection interspersed with a full on sonic assault, the album being closed by the gargantuan ‘Lion’s Blood’ where the band distil all the elements shown in prior songs, mixing bleak nihilism with quiet passages, sludgy screams, and full on instrument abuse.
Sadly, the whole thing did not sit quite right for me, something I hate to say about three musicians who clearly have more skill and dedication to their art than I ever had or could have. It seemed sometimes like they were trying to do too much with each track, and to my ears that meant they lost cohesion, and sounded a bit messy. There are some inarguable skills on show here, and each of the three piece is clearly adept with their chosen instruments, it’s just that it wasn’t my thing. It may be with more development and time the band will find their style rather than trying to grab a bit of Yob and nail it to a riff from High on Fire, and that’s a potential that I’m looking forward to.
(6/10 Spenny)
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