Empress blur the lines of many musical genres. Their music is full of depth and emotion and is soothing and haunting in equal measure.

Released: 20th November 2020

Label: Brilliant Emperor Records

Format: Digital / LP

Empress hail from the Gold Coast of Australia. Wait ‘Til Night is the bands follow up to 2017’s self titled debut LP and sees the band step things up a notch.

Blending a mix of post-rock, gothic rock, metal, indie, shoegaze and plenty of stops in-between, Wait ‘Til Night opens with the towering Golden Orb. A sombre, solo guitar line chimes with reckoning as the track builds to a frenzied mix of post rock and screamed vocals.

The title track brings many influences to the fore; The Cure, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Emma Ruth Rundle and Chelsea Wolfe all vie for the front slot. Trudging along, the track reaches subconscious peaks throughout without actually breaking out into the obvious bells and whistles affair.

Scorpio Moon is a harsher, more doomy song. The vocals of Chloe Cox become more operatic and symphonic as the tempo of the riffs slows. The mix is deadly; it stings.

One of the darkest pieces on Wait ‘Til Night is Back To The Ground. Again, this song has pace and punch that adopts a less is more approach. Using an adjective like haunting feels too obvious, but if the cap fits? That is exactly what this is. Music for frozen mornings, misty afternoons and howling moons.

Whilst some of the tracks have a restrained approach, Void Shaped Void blasts this apart with glorious, monolithic guitars. They smash through the ether and open up Wait ‘Til Night. The earlier restraint of the album gives space for Void Shaped Void to have the maximum impact possible in the context of the bigger picture.

Curse brings together the best aspects of all those that have preceded it; soaring vocals, emotive guitars and powerful drumming ensure that the album is further propelled.

As the album reaches its epic climax, Where No Light Can Remain takes a drone like detour. Yet again, the vocals are chilling and the soundscape that lays beneath the track is wrought with autumnal anguish. I Let You In rounds out the album in suitably climactic fashion which tops of a brilliant second album that will soundtrack the winter months perfectly.

Watch Empress’ enchanting video for Golden Orb below.

Empress: Bandcamp / Facebook / Instagram

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