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SIMON NEIL AND MIKE VENNART’S NEW BAND ANNOUNCE INTIMATE DEBUT TOUR FEATURING THE LEGENDARY DRUMMER DAVE LOMBARDO LISTEN TO THE TEASER CLIP HERE |
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Having instigated a wave of anticipation after releasing their first teaser of music, Empire State Bastard now confirm details of their intimate UK debut tour. Founded by Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) and Mike Vennart (Biffy Clyro live guitarist and solo artist, ex-Oceansize), these Empire State Bastard dates will feature the legendary Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Testament, Fantomas) on drums. Completing the live line-up will be Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon) on bass. Empire State Bastard will play the following shows next month, and tickets will go on sale HERE (Glasgow) and HERE (Manchester and London) and from 10am GMT this Friday, March 3rd. MARCH 26th – Glasgow, Cathouse 27th – Manchester, Rebellion 28th – London, The Underworld Empire State Bastard will also be performing at festivals this Summer, which so far include Download Festival (June 9th), HellFest (June 18th), 2000trees (July 7th) and ArcTanGent (August 17th). The idea behind Empire State Bastard emerged when Simon Neil and Mike Vennart would spend downtime on tour sitting at the back of the bus sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde or the most sickeningly confrontational music they could find. When thoughts turned to making their own sonic wasteland, Simon already had the band name in mind, leaving Mike with a particularly grotesque challenge: what music could he write that would live up to the name? It took around a decade to find both the time and ferocity to make it happen. With Mike writing the songs and recording all guitars, and Simon focused on vocals and lyrics, they eventually emerged with a collection of songs which adventurously probes almost every dark crevice imaginable from the myriad sounds of metal and genre-adjacent extremity. Empire State Bastard’s terrifying tourist trail visits slamming hardcore in the vein of Siege; frenetic, visceral thrash in Slayer’s ballpark; the claustrophobic sludge of Melvins; the freeform vocal dexterity of Mike Patton; and the gargantuan stoner riffs of Sleep. It’s a band that’s rooted in the tradition of metal’s forefathers, but informed by more recent waves of leftfield aggression. Keep an eye on the band’s social pages for updates and music coming soon. |
