“IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY A PEDAL CALLED ‘TOTAL SONIC ANNIHILATION’ THEN YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN YOUR GUITAR RIGHT NOW!”
SIMON NEIL
You probably didn’t have Biffy Clyro’s frontman Simon Neil and live guitarist Mike Vennart down as the guys most likely to produce 2023’s scuzziest metal album, but with the heavyweight additions of ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and ex-Bitch Falcon bassist Naomi Macleod, they have produced a serious contender.
Empire State Bastard began years ago as a pipe dream that Simon and Mike discussed on tour. “It was always going to be extreme,” says Simon. “We didn’t want to just make a noisy record flippantly. We needed a valid reason to express that rage.”
With his frustrations at boiling point following Brexit and the pandemic, and Mike recovering from “a horrendous experience with the far right,” they found their reason. “I was just mortally raging,” fumes Mike. That fury is etched in the grooves of Rivers
