Review Summary: Unquestionably beautiful and amazing - one of the greatest futurepop albums ever made
As a whole, I can honestly say that futurepop (and a greater part of the EBM genre as a whole) tends to run on the wilted side. The genre has a nasty habit of simply sounding repetitious and bland, a negative trait that I've noticed over the years. I've encountered many admirable acts such as VNV Nation and Assemblage 23 (not to mention, I can definitely say that I've had my fair share of lackluster bands who can't seem to get 4/4 "pulsating" beats out of their archive), and during that time I've realized that groups like these are hard to come by. Thankfully, this is where
Empires comes into action, and to be perfectly honest, this is easily one of the most grandiose, original, and atmospheric futurepop albums I've ever set my ears on.
Between the bubbly synthesizer melodies, therapeutic lyrics, and hypnotizing atmospheres, this album is far from average or mediocre.
Empires is an album that is on full display; every little zone of musicianship here is crafty and honorable, something that separates itself from a pretty large fraction of futurepop records. The buildups take a while to get fully adjusted, but once they do, they blast off and never retreat downwards for a long while; "Savior" is definitely a good example of this. With a shocking time of 7 minutes, this song never fails to tone down with the musicianship and innovation; the song continuously evolves into something greater, larger, and something more intense. Out of the entire album, this song is easily the most layered in terms of atmosphere, melody, and complexity. There are multiple melodies and atmospheres here, ones that crackle and beam like a firework show at its climax; luckily for us, that never manages to quiet down for an entire 7 minutes. The song carves itself into a truly monumental piece of music, something that is possibly VNV Nation at their apex musically.
Empires is an album full of warmth and loyal sincerity, an album you can listen to when you need to escape the stresses of everyday life, or any other type of cold-earthed aspect that one might associate it with. This album is a very intense journey, one that begins with a haunting orchestral introduction and leads into a fiery wrath of synthesizers and intensity. Here the atmosphere is very organic and serene, a type that is very consistent and rather trancey to the touch; they have always had a knack for atmosphere, and on it shines at incredible lengths on this record. There's a sense of passion and devotion with their musicianship on
Empires, a prominent factor that helps shape its identity; you can
really tell that they put their heart and soul into the tracks. 'Standing' is one of the best tracks on the album for that reason, most notably for its eerie melody and devastatingly beautiful chorus, lyrics that seem to be very desperate and in need of (..."and will the world stay standing still, at least for me); a beautiful flower is dying. 'Fragments' is equally as mystifying as the rest of the tracks, but for a different reason; every musical aspect of the band seems to be camped up on adrenaline here, as the tempo, melody, and overall gist of the song is incredibly energetic and almost angry sounding, albeit a use of voice effects. Everything about this song feels like a devastating natural disaster is about to hit; I'd go with a hurricane. 'Darkangel', another personal favorite, also features a "something is about to happen" feel, only this time a bit more uplifting and not as intimidating.
Overall, this album paints a glossy picture of futuristic mold; the album basically
sounds like the future. Thorough quality went into the making of this album, and it definitely paid off in the end with breathtaking results.
Empires is honestly a pretty scary record, but there is a certain type of depth of kindness and tenderness that lurks around the album; a gentle giant, perhaps. I'd recommend this album for a starting point in the band even futurepop for that matter, as it easily trumps a good range of albums in the genre for its consistency, passion, depth, atmosphere, and lyrical delivery.
