Empire State Bastard

Biffy Clyro guitarist Simon Neil enjoys the occasional helping of metal and teamed up with his friend, Oceansize frontman Mike Vennart, to form Empire State Bastard. Together they churn out a hard-hitting blend of screamo, metal and experimental rock. Their aim was to play the most brutal grindcore possible and the COVID-19 pandemic provided them with the perfect opportunity to focus on their endeavour. While Vennart focused on creating furious, angst-ridden tracks built on pile-driving riffs, Clyro spewed lyrics denouncing the state of British politics and society as a whole through growled vocals and guttural screams. At this point they still lacked a drummer and that’s when… Dave Lombardo came on board. Naomi McLeod then completed the four-piece line-up. Their maiden album ‘Rivers of Heresy’ dropped on 1 September 2023 and that was long after a series of initial club dates in the spring sold out before a single note had been released. Curiosity peeked? (#GMM24)