Empire State Bastard share new song, 'Moi?'

Having so far powered from the short-sharp-shock of their debut single ‘Harvest’ to the grandiose stoner metal attack of ‘The Looming’, ESB today take a freshly savage style as they unleash their latest track ‘Moi?’. It arrives as the September 1st release of the band’s debut album ‘Rivers of Heresy’ draws near.

Rather than going straight for the jugular, ‘Moi?’ takes a moment to build tension with Simon Neil’s clean vocals almost crooning “It’s always someone else’s fault” to a sparse backdrop reminiscent of The Jesus Lizard or Tomahawk. But then his bandmates set the intensity to stun and ‘Moi?’ becomes a far more confrontational beast, switching at will between ominous atmospherics, grinding riffs and full-throttle screams.

Simon states, “‘Moi?’ is about people who just no matter what you talk about — and I’m guilty of this at points – will never ever see the truth, even if you dangle it in front of them. Ignorance can feel like a badge of honour these days, with people being stubborn and not being willing to enlighten themselves. I cannot believe we’ve got to the stage where that’s to be cherished.”

Simon Neil and Mike Vennart first envisioned the idea of ESB during downtime on tour with Biffy Clyro, goading each other to find the most visceral and vitriolic music they could uncover. It took years for the idea to be fully put into practice, with Mike crafting instrumentals inspired by Siege, Slayer, Sleep and The Locust before Simon added equally feral vocals a world apart from what he was previously known for. The band was completed by the ultra-consistent bassist Naomi Macleod and all-time drumming great Dave Lombardo.

The result is the ‘Rivers of Heresy’ which is available to pre-order HERE. Very limited stock remains of Assai Records’ poison green obi-strip vinyl, but other physical formats include a CD with an exclusive 24-page fanzine; a limited run of 666 cassettes with artwork by Simon; and red-and-black and poison green vinyl.

The ESB live experience has already resulted in a run of instantly sold-out headline shows as well as festivals including Glastonbury, Download, 2000trees, Hellfest, Wacken Open Air andArcTanGent. They will play North American dates in September (including Riot Fest and a New York headline gig) before returning to Europe for a wider tour in November. Tickets for the shows, listed below, are available HERE.