Awaken

Band Bio

Providence, RI’s freshly-minted metallic hardcore powerhouse The Empire Shall fall first came into being in the summer of 2008, after longtime friends Nick Sollecito and Jesse Leach got together and decided it was high time for them to form a band. Though Leach had split with Killswitch Engage several years previously and Sollecito’s roots lay mainly in the jazz and hip hop scenes, they were dead-set on bringing a balls-out modern metal band to life. After finding a temporary drummer and recruiting Jake Davenport on guitar, and practicing endlessly to truly nail down the TESF sound, the quartet began playing gigs around New England. The addition of Marc de Lisle on second guitar and Jeff Pitts on drums solidified the band’s lineup, and led to the recording of the band’s debut full-length, Awaken. Financing the entire recording as well as all merchandise, pressing, and touring costs themselves and set to release the album on Sollecito’s own Angle Side Side Records in November 2009, The Empire Shall Fall are the perfect example of a determined, ambitious, totally DIY band on a mission.

The Empire Shall Fall’s eclectic sound is rooted in metal/hardcore, citing luminaries At the Gates, Meshuggah, and Edge of Sanity as major inspirations. However, ‘Awaken’ also draws heavily upon the band members’ combined interests in jazz, punk, and experimental music to create a compelling blend of melody, brutality, and sheer determination that is impossible to pin down and sure to intrigue fans of Refused, At the Drive In, Deftones, and BTBAM.

Fueled by political outrage and a never-ending search for truth, the band’s message is as potent as their music, and serves as a call to arms for a lost generation. Advocating positivity, unity, and empowerment and taking cues from legendary rabble-rousers and free thinkers like Jello Biafra, Benjamin Franklin, Cynthia McKinney, and Ron Paul, THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL’s passion for and dedication to their political causes forms the backbone of the band and sets them a head and shoulders apart from their peers.