Seven Reigning Bullets – and a Bonus Track
Review of Say Your Prayers by The Empire Hideous
Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.
Some of the most memorable sounds in modern music have come from bands that combine a sinister side with a straightforward rock sensibility. Differently, the Doors, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Metallica, Sisters of Mercy, Danzig, and Fields of the Nephilim captured the apocalyptic with raw energy, creating sounds and images of power and portent. This same combination permeates the work of The Empire Hideous, beginning with their self-recorded Victim Destroys Assailant and live album I’m Dead, You’re Dead, We’re All Dead and culminating in 2003’s Say Your Prayers.
To properly appreciate Say Your Prayers, it’s necessary to understand a bit of the band’s history, which is chronicled in Myke Hideous’ book King of an Empire to the Shoes of a Misfit (see my Amazon review). Myke disbanded his Empire following divided priorities among the members, but not before recording their initial full-length albums. These defined the apocalyptic side of the band, with such stellar pieces as “You Follow”, “Mr. Barnum”, “Power the Empire”, and “Thou Shalt Be Done”. The live album captured the Empire’s sheer energy, particularly on several creative covers (including “My Way”, the Frank Sinatra standard and “All I Want”, the Cure ballad-turned-rocker).
Say Your Prayers advances these elements with production values that exceed those of the first two albums. Here we have sound and fury joined on such memorable offerings as “Terror Clone”, “Two Minutes ‘Til Midnight”, “Heaven Raining Bullets”, and “If Only I Kept Dreaming”. Seven solid tracks (with a bonus) are situated amidst sound clips that establish the album’s mood. (A stark, terror-filled chainsaw-massacre sample is a particularly effective foil to the guitar opening in “Two Minutes”). The seamless blending of raw energy and dark vision is rarely found in the nether regions of the rock world, giving the album a potential appeal well beyond its gothic roots. This achievement is remarkable in light of the events leading up to the album’s release, which included Myke’s separation from The Misfits and the near-simultaneous ending of a relationship. His ability to draw upon the darkness of those days to create a work of enduring vitality and beauty is a feat of alchemy—a testament to his Empire’s power.