The Empire Shall Fall is an American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band formed by

Jesse Leach Jesse David Leach (born July 3, 1978) is an American musician from Providence, Rhode Island, and is the lead vocalist of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also a vocalist for Times of Grace and The Weapon. Leach co-founded Killswitch En ...

with friends in 2008. The band released their first independent album ''Awaken'' which was released on November 17, 2009, until Jesse and Nick left The Empire Shall Fall in 2019. Nick Sollecito also left The Empire Shall Fall to focus on his other band,

The Dear Hunter The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's s ...

. The Empire Shall Fall currently consists of singer Alan Feeney, guitarists Jake Davenport and Marcus de Lisle, bassist Dylan Nash, and drummer Jeff Pitts.

History

Inception (2008–2009)

The Empire Shall Fall was formed in late 2008 by current Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach with a handful of instrumentalists: guitarists Jake Davenport and Marcus de Lisle, bassist Nick Sollecito, and drummer Jeff Pitts. The Empire Shall Fall is the first band vocalist Leach has used predominantly screamed vocals in since

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast (band), Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joe ...

, although the band retains some of the singing elements of

Seemless Seemless was an American rock/metal group formed by ex-Shadows Fall/Unearth drummer Derek Kerswill, Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach, and ex-Overcast/Killswitch Engage guitarist Pete Cortese. Formed in 2002 following Leach's departure ...

, which has since been put upon an indefinite hiatus. In 2008 the band released a demo consisting of four songs on their Myspace page: "Voices Forming Weapons", "The Kingdom", "These Colors Bleed", and "We The People". The demo is currently available for download on their record label Angle Side Side Records' official website. The label has since stated that "The Empire Shall Fall enters HQ Sound Labs Studio (Dear Hunter, Receiving End of Sirens) in April to begin recording for their debut CD to be released Summer '09." On September 11, 2009, The Empire Shall Fall announced through their Myspace page that their debut album ''Awaken'' would be released on November 17, 2009, with eight songs, including the previously recorded demo tracks re-recorded and reworked, and three new songs which had only been played live.

Awaken (2009–2011)

''Awaken'' was released on November 17, 2009, through Angle Side Side Records, owned by The Empire Shall Fall's bassist, Nick Sollecito. The band cites its influences as

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Ga ...

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas ...

, and

Edge of Sanity Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 and ende ...

. ''Awaken'' draws heavily on the band members' interests in jazz, punk, and experimental music. They are said to sound like

Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guit ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

, and

Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backing ...

. The album reflects heavily on the themes of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

. Lyrically the album advocates positivity, unity, and empowerment. Inspirations for the album have been cited as

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, and

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

Volume 1: Solar Plexus (2011–present)

The band announced their intention to release a new EP via their social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite etc.) in early 2011. In a recent tumblr post, the band revealed: "we have been working on a series of concept EPs. While we haven't yet released details on the concept linking the EPs, we can tell you that the first one deals with redemption and the "guts of emotion." Lyrical content deals with "picking up the pieces of your life and starting over" and "finding a new perspective as a result of the changes and lessons learned in the past." The first EP, called "Volume 1: Solar Plexus" was released digitally December 6, 2011. In February 2014, the band posted on their tumblr page revealing that they have spent the past year working on the upcoming album ''Volume 2: Heart''. As of November 2020, no such release has materialized.

Members

*Jake Davenport –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(2008–present) *Marcus de Lisle –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

(2008–present) *Jeff Pitts –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(2008–present) *Alan Feeney –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(2019–present) *Dylan Nash –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(2020–present)

Former members

– lead vocals (2008–2019) *Nick Sollecito – bass (2008–2020)

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Shall Fall Metalcore musical groups from Rhode Island Musical groups established in 2008