By David O’Neill
This gig had been on my radar since Henrik Steenholdt (Empyre’s singer) announced it at Steelhouse in July. Adding Ethyrfield to the bill was an added bonus for me. I have been a fan of both bands for a while, having seen Ethyrfield supporting the Von Hertzen Brothers at Thekla last year and Empyre at Steelhouse in 2022.
Kicking things off with their unique blend of prog and rock, the three piece from Newton Abbot have a very different sound to many heavier main stream NWoCR bands that I tend to see. Booming bass driven riffage opened ‘Sunstroke’, from their latest album, ‘In Delirium’. The vocals of Zach Cornish are unusual and remind me of much of the late ’60s prog genre, whilst brother Ben Cornish is equally heavy and ethereal on times.
‘Free The Dog’ has a rapidfire opening riff before Zach’s vocals open up the lyrical light and dark of the track, equally well supported on backing vocals by Ben. Meanwhile, Dan Aston sits at the back keeping the brothers in time and adding occasional drum flourishes especially during the breakdown.
There is significantly heavy opening to ‘Laying On Of Hands’, which demonstrated the versatility of the trio and it reminded me a bit of Muse in parts. ‘The Hunter’ is a cracking track so I’m rather glad it looked like it was a late addition to the setlist. The lyrics of ‘Remembering’ are very emotive if you know a relative who is suffering or has suffered from dementia, especially the line “falling asleep, eyes open wide”. The guitar is quite gentle and ethereal in parts capturing the emotion of the track. However, there are heavier sections that could be representative of the sufferers frustrations.
Overall, this was a great opening for Empyre and I really liked the set, hopefully see them again soon.
Ethyrfield support Sons Of Liberty at The 1865 in Southampton on Wednesday 15 November and again at the Cart & Horses in London on Thursday 16 November.
Anyway, onto Empyre‘s first headline gig in South Wales. A barnstorming show on a soggy Sunday afternoon at Steelhouse ensured a vast crowd of people turned up at the signing tent.
The sound is huge, and filled the venue: from the very first notes of ‘Waking Light’ the crowd were as miserable as the music was dire (not). The band have several “rules” that they posted before a set, these include “no clapping/cheering”, “no enjoying yourself” and “no singing along” as they aspire to reach the depths of misery that their music demands. Its no surprise that the locals stick their tongues firmly in their cheeks and resound with frequent “boos” and shouts of “rubbish”. However, this is not aimed at the music nor the band.
They are very adept at their art form and whilst it is of a very different style to many bands it is no less unique nor unaccomplished. Henrik’s tenor voice carries clearly across the venue and the and the slow clear guitar riff opens up ‘Parasites’ and the first verse before the upbeat second and the booming riffage and drumming section that precedes the slower third verse which appears to criticize “hangers on”; it’s a very artistically built track.
‘My Bad’ from ‘Self Aware’ follows and holds that honour of being one of my favourite tracks from the album was next up. The far more ethereal opening to the track ‘Stone’ ebbs and flows between low key guitar and booming vocals comes a close second. So, needless to say I was finding it difficult to not enjoy myself and then they go and play ‘Cry Wolf’ – another five-plus minutes of absolute misery! Which rapidly became more depressing when ‘Quit Commotion’ got its airing.
Now to add some variety to the depression the band did a cover of ‘Titanium’ which was depressingly good with enough of the original track by Sia to enable the audience to recognize the song and appreciate the range in Henrik’s vocal arrangements. The lighter guitar touches on ‘Forget Me’ superbly underlie Henrik’s continued melancholic vocal style. The airy guitar playing continued throughout the track. I really wonder where they get their inspiration from to continue with the stylistic intent. ‘Your Whole Life Slows’ reminded me of Chris Rea in parts, both vocally and musically.
After this quiet interlude, something much more “upbeat” – if you can call it that – is presented in the track that really shows off Henrik’s vocal range: ‘Road To Nowhere’. The guitar playing of Did Coles is exemplary and the bass lines of Grant Hockley and drumming of Elliot Bale do their bit on this track (not that they are doing nothing throughout). Thus it continued throughout the remainder of the 16 track set: doom, gloom, misery and dismay.
‘Hit And Run’ is another of my favourite tracks by the band, decrying a long delayed visit to his home town (I know how he feels when I visit my hometown!) There is only one way to end the set and that is with ‘New Republic’.
Misery loves company and these guys are going to get a lot of company! Fantastic (sorry, awful) night and such awful people to talk to as well. See you again soon when I need another shot of diazepam to bring me down 🙁
- Empyre play Leo’s Red Lion in Gravesend on Saturday 21 October and Blackbox in Hastings on Saturday 16 December.
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