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Underground > Radio & Music >

Alec Empire - "Futurist"

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:18 / 28.03.05

So... the new Alec Empire album. Much less "death metally" than Intelligence & Sacrifice, much punkier. According to the sleevenotes "this record is a homage to the time when British rock music was straight and fearless. In particular I dedicate this album to Joe Strummer and John Peel."

On my second listen now... It's good. Very good. If you don't like Mr Empire, it's not gonna change your mind. But personally I think it's better than "Intelligence..." on initial listens. That started well, but I rarely listen to the last few tracks.

This one starts with the fast and hard Empire stuff, only a little more roomy and lo-fi. "Night Of Violence" I could imagine someone like Rancid doing, if they had the electronics.

At times his delivery, while still sounding totally Empire, reminds me of Colin form Conflict... never a bad thing, really. And then on "Terror Alert: High" you get this HUGE Sabbath-style riff which the mid-90s Rollins'd be proud to shout over.

I need a few more listens (and some sleep) to get anything more coherent than this... anyone else heard/got/planning to get this?

14:25 / 28.03.05

so, is it gabber? the only alec empire (besides atr) i have to reference are the destroyer, probably the sickest record of all time, and generation star wars or is it ROCK?.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:53 / 28.03.05

It's very guitar-based... but still with the hard rhythms. Imagine a more stripped-down ATR sound (I mean the later stuff, like 60 Second Wipeout), but with more of a UK punk sound to it.
Just finished my second listen. It's ace. He MUST play soon... no-one scowls like Alec.

15:34 / 28.03.05

ATR were the soundtrack of my teenage years. I had a strong desire to listen to something fucked up and joycore like them for a while but Le Tigre was just right of satisfying that need.
The Futurist
I can't wait to buy this.

23:23 / 28.03.05

I'm a big A Empire fan in principle, but I'm never totally sure where to begin - I remember a song on MTV ages ago which went something like

'LOOK AT YOU. YOU ARE NOTHING. WHY ARE YOU EVEN LOOKING AT THIS ? DOES LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THIS MAKE YOU FEEL BEDDER ? DOES NOT SEEING, NOT FOCUSING ON THE VIRES MEAN THEY ARE NOT THERE ?'

He wasn't wrong, but which LP was it off ?

All Acting Regiment

12:40 / 29.03.05

Alec Empire. Thumbs up. His music always seems to me to be just on the punkier side of industrial, keeping away from cliche. In many ways, I'd say he's more deserving than NIN right now.

I will definitely be checking out this new one.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

06:33 / 30.03.05

I've written a review of it here under my other name of Deuteronemu 90210. I was quite drunk when I wrote it, so be warned.

17:01 / 30.03.05

Wow Stoatie, that sounds like I'd love it. I've heard one or two of his songs before and liked them, I'll have to have a look next time I get in a music shop.

There's something that Dave Grohl said about him that I always remember being totally cool, I found it on the net :

Kerrang : When did you first come across Alec?

Dave : "The first time I heard Alec Empire was in New York city when someone gave me a tape. I just thought it was the absolute demise of techno music. I just thought it was awesome; this band had done something with this music so radical that nothing afterward will survive. You can't get anymore fucking hardcore than this. Like, this is the biggest wall of noise I've heard in my life. And the subject matter was great too. He was talking about the police, TV, fuck you, violence and war. It was about destroying 2000 years of culture. It was astounding. Not to mention that a lot of it used Bad Brain samples as well. I couldn't argue with that could I?"

http://www.fooarchive.com/gpb/alecempire.htm

I think I should definately find some of his stuff.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

05:56 / 31.03.05

In which case I'd recommend "Destroy 2000 Years Of Culture" by Atari Teenage Riot- from the little I know about your musical taste, it may be the best place to start with Mr Empire. But he has done a great deal of really, really good stuff.

Jack The Bodiless

22:25 / 01.04.05

Dave Grohl is, for me, the pure thesis of rock n' roll. The only thing he's ever been involved in I didn't like was Nirvana - anything he personally recommends scintillates with pure ROCK. And is it just me, or has he played drums in some way on everything pure and good in the last year? QOTSA, NIN, Eagles of Death Metal, Probot... and still the nicest man in music. If my own brother wasn't already the coolest man in the world, I'd appropriate Grohl to replace him.

And I'm really looking forward to listening to this CD, by the way...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

08:19 / 02.04.05

You're not wrong... though you forgot Killing Joke!

XXII:X:II = XXX

05:47 / 07.04.05

Yes muchly. Wantee now.

Someone fill me on what exactly became of ATR: did they break up, or are on one of those indefinite hiatuses like Wu-Tang seems to take (and may be even more indefinite since the death of ODB)?

/+,

12:00 / 07.04.05

The latter I think. They haven't done anything whatsoever since Carl Crack died, as far as I'm aware, and the three surviving members all seem quite content with their respective solo careers. So yes, all rather Wu-Tang-esque.

Oddly, I'm peculiarly unexcited about this new Alec Empire record, despite loving his last one to death. I'm sure it's a good ol' blast and everything, but, well, is it just me or is the idea of AE moving towards guitar-based punk and snotty rock n' roll posturing rather, um, missing the point of what made the DHR sound and aesthetic so singularly cool in the first place?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:32 / 07.04.05

I prefer this to I&S, to be honest...
and while having the UK punk sound to a fairly hefty degree, it's still undoubtedly a DHR release, with all the sonic bulldozing that implies. Aesthetically it seems to hark back to Delete Yourself, but there's a lot more depth to it.

23:49 / 08.04.07

This is just fucking unbelievable. I'm on track 8 and it's already blown my head off. This man is a God.

It just sounds like the type of music I've searched for for so long in so many bands, and this one guy has just smashed this music right into my face, and I love it. Un-fucking-real. Might not be even half decent for some other people, but for me personally, I just resonate with the energy in this music so much. Punk fucking rock.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:02 / 23.04.07

JOIN USSSS...

Essential Dazzler

23:59 / 07.05.07

Lots of lovely news!

New Single out May 28th entitled Robot Love Album which goes by the name The Golden Foretaste of Heaven will follow sometime after. The only word from DHR or Alec so far is that it will be "Extremely New"

Even more exciting is the announcment of his new band The Hellish Vortex along with Nic Endo.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Again, nothing about how anythings going to sound yet, but really, can the pair ever do anything wrong?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

00:33 / 08.05.07

WHY WASN'T I TOLD???

Really, that is going to rock. Even if the pair of them are just playing the spoons and a kazoo.

ALEC EMPIRE + NIC ENDO = AWESOME.

It's basic maths. Though it gets a lot more complicated when you consider that together they are more than the sum of their parts. You need graphs and shit for that.

Sooooo gonna rock.

Mon Oncle Ignatius

12:50 / 09.05.07

Why didn't I read this thread sooner! Damn, that's going to be fun.

Note to self - listen to Futurist!

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

12:55 / 09.05.07

Shit, I meant to reply to this too. I eMusiced this last month and it is mindblowingly awesome. I tried running to it when I got the shoes back on and nearly gave myself a goddamn heart attack.

ALEC EMPIRE: GOOD FOR FIGHTING, BAD FOR JOGGING.

Essential Dazzler

19:03 / 25.05.07

New music to listen to over here!

It's very... well, I think it's best if you find out for yourself, don't you?

Essential Dazzler

19:19 / 25.05.07

Also confirmed, new Nic Endo album being recorded!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Essential Dazzler

23:18 / 02.10.07

Oh God, am I seriously the only person who has heard the Alec Empire tracks I linked to? It's been ages.

No release date yet, and still a "forthcoming" on Nic Endo's Album.