After announcing earlier this month that legendary ex-Slayer and current Testament/Mr. Bungle drummer Dave Lombardo would be joining up with Biffy Clyro members Simon Nell and Mike Vennart in Empire State Bastard, a self-proclaimed grindcore band, the band have dropped their first song, “Harvest,” and it rips pretty damn hard.
“Harvest” is very extreme, mixing face-ripping grind with prog and avant-garde eccentricities, which makes sense when considering how Empire State Bastard came to life. From the PR wire:
“The concept for Empire State Bastard emerged when Neil and Vennart would spend downtime on tour sitting at the back of their bus sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde and confrontational music they could find. Now, a decade on from its conception, the project is finally coming to fruition with Vennart writing the songs and recording all the guitars, and Neil focusing on vocals and lyrics.”
Empire State Bastard list Siege, Melvins, Mike Patton, Slayer and Sleep as influences, most of which you can hear. Patton’s influence is most obvious in the vocals, which really up the “unhinged” factor on the track.
The band commented:
“Empires fall, States rise, Bastards sing…it’s Harvest time motherfuckers!”
The band have a string of sold-out UK and European tour dates coming up, with festival appearances in between.
March 26 – Glasgow UK – Cathouse
March 27 – Manchester UK – Rebellion Club
March 28 – London UK – The Underworld Camden
June 15-18 – Cholet FR – Hellfest
July 5-8 – Cheltenham UK – 2000Trees 2023
August 16-19 – Compton Martin UK – ArcTanGent Festival