The Pitch: Silent Pendulum Records debuts the latest album from progressive/mathcore/rock band Dead Empires; the first to feature maniacal new vocalist Jason Sherman of Torrential Downpour. FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Clutch
What I Like: I'm not familiar with the band's previous work, but apparently Dead Empires were an instrumental act prior to this release. We even get a nice taste of this on "Ones and Zeros" (dat bass tho). But if adding vocals was the right move, they couldn't have done much better than Jason Sherman. His sporadic, ecclectic style was a major draw in my discovery of Torrential Downpour, and it continues to be an essential flavor on Designed to Disappear. Jason's deliveries are always fierce, and crank up the intensity of this record to the next level; not to mention adding a certain experimental element a la Mike Patton's work with Dillinger Escape Plan. His electronic additions certainly expand the atmosphere as well.
But I can't give the new guy all of the credit. At the end of the day, this band belongs to the established musicians in the group. They deliver performances that are always equal parts entertaining and intriguing. John Bryan's guitars meld The Dillinger Escape Plan with pure rock and roll in a way that is actually quite different from Every Time I Die. These riffs are the foundation upon which Jason shapeshifts his style; sometimes to places I have not even heard on his work with TD. Likewise John becomes so much more thanks to the driving drums of Phil Bartsch. Phil lays crazy beats down all over this record, constantly playing with pace and timing. And did I mention that the aforementioned killer bass work is courtesy of none other than DJ Scully of The Number Twelve Looks Like You? That's gotta mean something.
Critiques: While I appreciate that Jason continues to find new ways to expand his vocal repertoire, I'm not particularly fond of his yowling on "A Summertime Song" and "Designed to Disappear," or the spoken word on "Ergot." These are definitely low points of the record for me. Regarding the album as a whole, the pacing could also be a bit smoother. It jumps around a bit too abruptly.
The Verdict: The raw charisma, talent, and energy of this crew could fill an entire stadium. Aside from the handful of vocal missteps and some pacing issues, Dead Empires have created my first early contender for an early 2018 standout.
Flight's Fav's: Slay Rider, Reverse Speak, Ones and Zeros
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.