Customer Reviews

Say Your Prayers

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here is a band that has been around since the late 80's and haven't released a proper debut album until now, although their back catalog is full of independent releases and demos. Myke Hideous has become something of a Deathrock/Goth legend fronting The Misfits for a time, cult death punk/psychobillies Spy Society '99 and the Gothic Metal monster Bronx Casket Co. However his main outlet for creativity was the band that bore his name; The Empire Hideous. During the time that they've stalked cobwebbed Gothic clubs on the East Coast, they have established themselves as one of the finest, most confrontational and perhaps most shocking bands to come from the Gothic underground, with an Alice Cooper-esque Blood & Guts stage show to boot. This is their latest release. Say Your Prayers is a quintessential Goth Rock album and reflects how degenerated "Goth" has become in recent years. With EBM, Techno, and Future Pop polluting the underground, and mainstream bands like Evanescence, Coal Chamber and AFI receiving the "goth" label by a clueless public; Goth has pretty much lost its meaning. Similarly to Punk, it has become a corporate whore. But now with the revivication of Deathrock on the east and west coasts and the Heavy Goth movement in Europe, it seems that the Bats have once again been released and Bela Lugosi (thank God) is still undead. All this now gives bands that have been around for almost 15 years, like The Empire Hideous, an opportunity to become noticed. This album stands in stark contrast to the mislabeled piffle and radio friendly garbage that most consider "goth". This is a Rock & Roll album. It's simple, catchy and straight forward yet dark and apocalyptic, with strong Punk and Post Punk roots, a Metallic edge and a gloomy vibe that is unique to Myke Hideous alone. Most of all, it's honest; something lacking from most mainstream bands today. The "pure" Goth elements are there; shades of Bauhaus, Christian Death, The Nephilim, a lot of Joy Division and maybe a little of The Misfits can be heard. But don't think that this is another one of those Old School revival type albums. This is modern Goth as it should be. Original, unique, non derivative and totally Rock. Lyrically Hideous addresses the human condition intimately. The songs reflect a disappointment and loss of hope in humanity, but a will to stand defiantly in spite of it.
This is not the type of music you'll end up hearing on the radio, but that's ok. What this is is one powerful, moving and chilling rock album. If that sounds like fun to you (as it should) then give this disk a spin.

Despite what a few disgruntled people have said on here (what bands that have been around for 15 yrs *don't* have members that leave over time? And- Perry Farrell from Janes Addiction has been dj'g at clubs since the late 90's...) Back to the review... Empire has been one of the few larger bands left in the U.S. that play hard goth music. Myke Hideous' voice is a touch between Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim and Andrew Eldritch of the Sisters of Mercy and the music takes the same vein of these two bands.

Say Your Prayers is hard driven goth rock whose songs are intensely beautiful and powerful. As a goth dj, this is one of the best and well produced albums i've heard this year. Standout tracks are 2 Minutes to Midnight, My Mind Plays Tricks On Me and the stellar Heavan Raining Bullets.

Some of the most memorable contemporary music has come from bands that combine a sinister side with a straightforward rock sensibility. Differently, the Doors, Black Sabbath, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Metallica, Sisters of Mercy, Danzig, and Fields of the Nephilim captured the apocalyptic with raw energy, creating sounds and images of power and portent. This same combination permeates the work of The Empire Hideous, beginning with their self-recorded Victim Destroys Assailant and live album I'm Dead, You're Dead, We're All Dead and culminating in 2003's Say Your Prayers.

To properly appreciate Say Your Prayers, it's necessary to understand a bit of the band's history, which is chronicled in Myke Hideous' book King of an Empire to the Shoes of a Misfit (see my Amazon review). Myke disbanded his Empire following divided priorities among the members, but not before recording their initial full-length albums. These defined the apocalyptic side of the band, with such stellar pieces as "You Follow", "Mr. Barnum", "Power the Empire", and "Thou Shalt Be Done". The live album captured the Empire's sheer energy, particularly on several creative covers, including "My Way", the Frank Sinatra standard and "All I Want", the Cure ballad-turned-rocker.

Say Your Prayers advances these elements with production values that exceed those of the first two albums. Here we have sound and fury joined on such memorable offerings as "Terror Clone", "Two Minutes `Til Midnight", "Heaven Raining Bullets", and "If Only I Kept Dreaming". Seven solid tracks (with a bonus) are situated amidst sound clips that establish the album's mood. (A stark, terror-filled chainsaw-massacre sample is a particularly effective foil to the guitar opening in "Two Minutes"). The seamless blending of raw energy and dark vision is rarely found in the nether regions of the rock world, giving the album a potential appeal well beyond its gothic roots. This achievement is remarkable in light of the events leading up to the album's release, which included Myke's separation from The Misfits and the near-simultaneous ending of a relationship. His ability to draw upon the darkness of those days to create a work of enduring vitality and beauty is a feat of alchemy--a true testament to his Empire's power.

Is it a band? It seems to be really a solo project with dolts standing around in awe of a has been (just look the the website). I think this band again band??? takes the best parts of the Goth world and ruins it. Maybe if it was 1980 something they might be cool but it's NOT the 1980's it's 2004. The record sounds like it was recorded in a basement by a tone-deaf-dwarf using tin cans and string to record instead of microphones, not to mention a horrible violation use of a drum machine, it doesn't even sound like they tried to make the drums more acoustic, not that drum machines are bad, new order proves that but this music needed a kick to get it moving, I feel like it's plodding along too slow instead of rocking...this is not the sisters of mercy by a long shot! Not even close...this band should say there prayers that someone would actually spend money on this...

Ok here are a few things to take notice:

The first track could be very very cool if it was played faster and with real drums, bring the vocals up more...great little guitar riff.

The track heaven raining bullets is a good song, it's again ashame that they didn't use real drums.

The semi acoustic song is good but it's really cheesy, this is a "Goth" band right?

The interludes between songs IS annoying

All in all this could have been a really great record had they taken the 5 years to actually invest time and money into the craft and come out with something that is as powerful as the newer bands music these days like Thursday...your better off going out and buying a best of record from some other 80's Goth band over this "new" bands cd...save your money.

Stay away from this album. The band is in a constant state of flux, the lead singer DJ's on the weekends at some low level bar in Newark. The band members leave on a regular basis. Save your money and download the free music off the net.