Robots and EmpireRobots And Empire Cast Shadows On Dragons Glacial Records by: Jeff Karbow
This self proclaimed post-hardcore act from Poughkeepsie, NY are also the owners of the label, Glacial Records. They have spent time together in When Dreams Die, and when that band came to an end, they decided to form this band in the fall of 2004. They had released their first EP, "Crawling From The Wreckage," in the following winter. These guys are influenced by a broad musical spectrum, everything from Black Sabbath, Failure, Burn, Unsane, Melvins, Quicksand, space rock and more.
Though there are only 9 songs on this full length, they total over 35 minutes, definitely fitting the criteria for a full length. For the most part the songs are on the long side, usually 4-5 minutes long, but there are a few tracks that are in the 2-3 minute mark. For the most part these guys manage to do a good of incorporating some good droning melodies with slow, churning riffs. There are breakdowns, but not the typical open, down stroked or triplet metalcore/hardcore breakdowns, they're more doom driven and rocked out than anything, but they match up nicely with what the band is doing. I'm surprised I was feeling the vocals as much as I was. There are no high pitched vocals or low growl stuff, or anything like that, just straight up singing via an effective shout delivery. The vocalist has a nice tone to his voice, he can sustain his notes exceptionally well. He sounds unique, yet familiar at the same time. He definitely adds to the overall sound of the band. The opening track, "Stampede," opens with some spaced out droning that goes into a nice sludge riff that dominates the bulk of the song. "Hammer Sledge" opens up with a real eerie intro, and to my ears sounds extremely similar to that end of the world single that Cold put out awhile ago. It builds up into a heavy chorus and goes back into the intro briefly. They then end the song off on a real trippy space rock section with an effect laden lead. "Mus Decumanus," at times sounds very similar to something Coalesce would've done, especially from their Relapse release, "0:12 Revolution In Just Listening." Definitely one of the highlights of the album.
Lyrically, these guys are on some crazy space type shit which for the life of me I cannot decode, so here's some lyrics from their song, "Hydro Axe": Through the bleak gloom I saw nothing. I wait, straining my eyes. Into incessant blackness I concentrate my mind. I lend my ears to the most faint and distant of sounds. I'm permeated with fathomless silence. Shivers of uneasiness. Fear I can't shake. The silence is overwhelming. Maybe I should slow down. Speeding up now.
The layout is dominated by red, with sparse use of black and yellow. The cover definitely lets you know you're in for a crazy listening experience, but it's not something that will immediately catch your eye. It features some crazy looking, mutant dragon with three cyborg heads with a chain wrapped around its neck. When you fold out the booklet, you see a dominating woman, who casts a shadow of a giant figure, holding the leash. Obviously, the cover art fits in with the title of the album perfectly. This huge shadow is than used again on the back cover with the lyrics going up the body, resembling the credits in Star Wars. The color is gone inside the booklet, it's real plain and minimal with just the lyrics printed.
Rating: 3/5
Songs worthy of replay: Hydro Axe, Mus Decumunus, Stampede
Thesis: Instead of calling this post-hardcore, I'd call it crazy off the wall space rock that happens to draw influences from hardcore and metal. It's refreshing to see a band try something new, so check them out and see if you can get down with it. You might just like it.