Empire State Bastard, the new band featuring Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) and Mike Vennart (Biffy Clyro, ex-Oceansize) alongside Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, ex-Testament, Mr. Bungle) on drums and live bassist Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon), is now streaming their new single “The Looming”. The song seems to be split in two, with the first half being a concerted shoegaze-y effort and the second half leaning into the heavier side of things.
The music Empire State Bastard has been putting out is pretty solid and well written – there’s no denying that, and it’s not surprising given their lineup. What is confusing, however, is the marketing around their debut effort Rivers Of Heresy. Billed initially as a grindcore-styled band, Empire State Bastard seems to instead tread the line somewhere between Dead Cross madness and Melvins sludge. Which isn’t an insult, but let’s maybe drop the whole “this is catch-all extreme metal” bit, yeah?
Rivers Of Heresy is due out on September 1.
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