Dark Empire - Humanity Dethroned

I was pretty into Dark Empire's debut EP "Distant Tides," so I've been pretty psyched about hearing this CD. I like their combination of different flavors of traditional metal to create something which I tend to think is pretty fun.

I'll admit that this genre of music (I suppose you would call this "power metal?") isn't something I'm an expert on, when compared to other genres, but I thought the EP was pretty enjoyable, and they can definitely shred with the best of them.

Dark Empire's new album, "Humanity Dethroned," picks up right where the EP left off. They're still grinding out a sort of Iron Maiden + early Metallica / prog metal kind of thing, and overall, it's a pretty solid full length definitely worth listening to.

One thing I really have to give to Dark Empire is some cool raspy vocals. A lot of metal bands where a guy sings instead of growls or yells always run the risk of beginning to sound too much like either a bad 80s hair band or some goth-metal snoozefest, but Dark Empire's vocalist (who also also shreds his throat for Persuader and Savage Circus) has a nice way of adding some grit to his voice, making me somewhat less embarrassed to be listening to, you know, a dude singing in a high voice. I mean, look at the picture of him on their MySpace page. Sunglasses + long hair + beard = that guy means fucking business.

Dark Empire also rocks a lot of crunchier riffs, which I think separates them, once again, from other bands of this genre who aren't as well able to balance the heavier riffs and the catchier, poppy riffs nearly as well.

I should also point out that track two on this record has a guitar solo that has to be heard to be believed. For real. It's just insane. It sounds like it was written in fucking binary code. It never stops. It's like a tidal wave of notes upon notes and doesn't let up for even a beat. That solo, frankly, is worth the price of admission alone.

Having said that, the biggest problem with this record is the production. It's not bad, per se, but it definitely is a little flat, and doesn't do some of the songs justice.

They also toss in the obligatory ballad midway through the record which sends me reaching for the skip button on my iPod.

Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the lack of lyrics about dragons and wizards. The lyrics on this record are about real life WAY too much. If I wanted to think about life I could, you know, NOT listen to this record and just go do something. Now every once and a while they veer towards being about something which sounds like its out a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master Guide, but generally they sound more like they're about the kind of stuff that actually happens to people whose actions aren't determined by rolling oddly shaped dice.

I mean, if you're in a metal band, and you're singing instead of growling, the lyrics better be about:

a) Battles (wait for it...)
b) Dragons (wait for it...)
c) Wizards (wait for it...)
d) The fate of the kingdom (wait for it...)
or e) Dragons battling wizards to determine the fate of the kingdom.

Failing that, I'll also take lyrics about Satan, but I prefer those to be growled instead of sung, unless you're going to sing "SEE YOU IN HEEEELLLLLLLLLL" in a really high voice, a la that awesomely fat singer Grim Reaper.

Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah. Dark Empire.

So the album is pretty good if you're looking for something you can pull out your hardboard guitar and rock out with. I just hope their next record features some Beastmaster or Ray Harryhausen kind of shit on it.

Dark Empire on MySpace