Review Summary: A great fast paced EP that doesn't disappoint
The Word Alive is one of those bands that I never get tired of listening to. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this and their debut album Deceiver. But I can tell you that they do not disappoint and that I'm highly anticipating their second album Life Cycles. Anyway I'm getting side tracked, what can I really say about Empire?
Well for one the instrumental work is superb. Guitarists Zack Hansen and Tony Pizzuti is absolutely mind blowing. The solos the riffs everything is absolutely amazing and insanely fast paced. I also adore the synth work of (now former) keyboardist Dusty Riach especially on the track "Inviting Eyes". All the instrumental work is like candy to my ears.
The vocals don't disappoint either. This was the band's first release with current vocalist Tyler "Telle" Smith. His cleans sound very gentle without sounding whiny which is a very big problem for this genre. His screams on the other hand sound very aggressive but also sound very nice on the ears. The vocals match perfectly with the instrumentals.
There's many bad things I can about Empire, other than the lyrics aren't perfect. They aren't bad they're just not the best lyrics in the world and can sound a little generic at times. Like I said not bad just not good enough for me to give the release as a whole a perfect 5 out of 5.
Overall though Empire is a great EP from The Word Alive. A nice fast paced album that people looking for something new in the Metalcore genre or people just getting into the genre should not miss out on.
