The Empire Shall Fall
by Morgan Y. Evans

The Empire Shall Fall is a band. By that I mean they are a group of individuals and have banded together to (in this case) play awesomely heavy, forward thinking, emotive and deep metal. The group is getting a lot of attention (as they should) for being the first time since his days in Killswitch Engage that Jesse Leach (the vocalist on KSE’s still incredibly classic early self-titled release and ALIVE OR JUST BREATHING, duh!) has fronted a metalcore project since leaving KSE. Personally, I thought his hard rock band Seemless were brilliant and deserved to be waaaaayyyy bigger, (I just was blasting them through my stereo yesterday). All you fucking meathead kids are afraid of stoner influenced stuff, fine. I am not saying that to imply that The Empire Shall Fall isn’t also rad as hell. The debut release AWAKEN from this powerful and (thankfully) politically engaged band is intense, top notch and raging like headlines screaming off a page for attention. Screaming is a choice word also in this case because TESF is really heavy on Jesse’s trademark screaming that helped define some of metalcore’s best moments.

Fans of “My Last Serenade” will also be pleased that Leach’s melodic voice is in full effect on AWAKEN also, and that he is backed by a capable and strong outfit of cool ass heavy metal/hardcore bros. This band is not merely aping past glories and is cutting their own bright path. Let us hope that they have a lengthy future because this record (and their recent punishingly cool At The Drive In cover of “Arcarsenal”!) deserve to go far. I got the lowdown on TESF and the debut from bassist Nick.

MORGAN Y. EVANS: Ok! Let’s start by talking about how this great band got together and how you decided to pursue this type of music as a band sound? I loved Seemless, especially their first album, but it is cool to hear Jesse ripping some straight up faster and aggressive metal again, albeit with positive messages as usual.

NICHOLAS SOLLECITO (bass guitar)): Alright, let’s see here. A little over two years ago, I had been driving home from NYC. I was visiting Jesse, as we had been friends for years. I am not exactly sure why, but I decided I wanted to start a heavy project with him. It is unusual for me, because I come from a more groove/rock background, and never really got involved in metal. But, when I tossed the idea out, Jesse was interested. I recruited Jake on guitar and a drummer named Alex Chapman, who was later replaced by Jeff Pitts. Marc de Lisle was actually going to record us as a quartet, but we then decided to just add him as a band member to play second guitar. He still recorded us. That is the short version of the story. The long version isn’t much more interesting.

MYE: I like the range on AWAKEN and hear you are also already writing a follow up. Can you talk about what you are happiest with about AWAKEN? I love the tones, especially on the widdly widdly guitar sections in “Choirs Of Angels” or the huge breakdown at the end of the title track!

NS: Yeah, the guitar tones are pretty good, particularly on some of those lead lines. My favorite part about this album is the use of poly-rhythms. Over the past 10 years, I had been getting more and more into odd time signatures, but TESF really made me realize a more full potential of poly’s. Most everything on the album is over 4, so it can still keep a groove that you can nod your head to, but it’s also very complex at times. My favorite songs in general are songs that are in an odd time, but you don’t really notice cause it flows so nicely.

MYE: “Our Own” talks of a true vision of “Hope” beyond limits of politicians. Politicians have agendas and many are full of shit but some are simply confused people too or may even believe what they are selling. I think the real problems are negative greed (as opposed to the “selfishness” of caring for yourself, a big philosophical difference!). People have to care for themselves but ALSO be aware of others in the world and discourse with different points of view. With no conversation there are only brick walls between us all.

NS: Yeah, I hear ya. Everyone’s got an agenda, for better or for worse. Not everyone is going to get along all the time. Politics is a tricky subject, cause no matter how right I may feel I am about a particular issue, I know for a fact there will always be many who disagree. Personally, I try to focus more on themes like corruption in the system, as opposed to different points of view on a particular topic. For example, I am pro-choice. I see both sides of the argument, but in the end, I have my own opinion on the issue. I am not going to go out of my way to debate this topic because to me, I don’t really see a point in arguing something that is clearly personal opinion.

However, something like corruption? Sure, let’s do what we can to clean up the system. There is always something going on. For example, in my home state, there is a case where a few guys on the drug enforcement division of the Providence Police were busted for dealing cocaine. I mean, talk about hypocritical, but besides it being hypocritical, it’s straight up illegal. You have these guys on the force selling drugs. Dirty cops. This is a tiny example from the tiniest of US states. Stuff like this is happening all around us. I don’t think anyone can argue that cops dealing drugs is wrong.

MYE: Do you guys talk about all the lyrical themes with Jesse ahead of time on each song or during the writing process? I like that the record is about believing we can still make a difference. Much as I love, like, beer or party thrash or some dark and grumpy records, I think it is so easy to become mired in cynicism and forget that even on a community or personal level you can make a difference. I can’t tell you how annoyed I am that so many times I’ll try and post something on Facebook to get people to check out a cool interview or for a benefit show I’ve organized or something and many people often respond with a wisecrack or cynical response first. I don’t have a thin skin or I wouldn’t be doing music, writing and progressive activism, but it gets to be annoying. I think that sense of cynicism or sarcasm is too often just a protective mask covering the bruises of a jaded sense of listlessness that people feel.

NS: We don’t discuss the lyrical content with Jesse before hand. However, we do share a bunch of stories and topical content. We try to keep each other plugged in. Keeping people interested in this stuff can be tough. You are right, there are a lot of cynics out there, myself included at times. I get really annoyed when I try to make a political point and someone just says something like “Well yeah, but what can ya do? Nothing. You just gotta live your life and not get caught up in bullshit.”

While I do agree that you have to not let it control you, I don’t think it’s wise to just let things go without acknowledging them. At the very least, inform yourself and try to inform others. Knowledge and education is the first step, then action. But, don’t be complacent. Have a passion for this stuff cause it effects you, whether you like it or not.

MYE: Can you talk about the band name? It reminds me of Primordial’s live DVD called ALL EMPIRES FALL. I guess that is ironic to some as they are a pagan Irish band, but they talk in their great song “Heathen Tribes” about a church with no walls, loving the whole of the earth. That respect for others and the world ironically reminds me of the basic tenets of Christianity before it gets fucked with by the corrupt. Even some orthodox Catholics or whatever mean well, however. I was at a New Orleans wedding mass for some friends recently and it was very positive, even if I don’t hold with much of the parts of the Bible or Church history that I see as contradictions. But yeah, I know I just went religion where your band name seems more politically motivated…

NS: Yeah, the band is less religiously motivated and more politically motivated. Although, religion can sometimes be viewed as political, particularly the Catholic Church. That being said, the “Empire” is more referring to any large corporation that uses is vast wealth and power to influence human existence by means of control. This is most often viewed as a Government, but could be a huge company such as Wal-Mart or Microsoft. Basically, we view the “Empire” as any large group that puts control on people.

Let’s take Apple Computers for example. Now, I love Apple products and all, but the company undoubtedly can be considered an Empire. Their products (and most electronic gadgets that we use) contain a mineral called Coltan, which is used in capacitors for things like cell phones, mp3 players, computers, etc. Coltan is pretty rare, and really expensive. The majority of it is exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The problem here is much like the problem with Blood Diamonds. Military groups and mining companies are forcing men, women and children into slavery to mine the Coltan. And much like with blood diamonds, lives are lost. People are straight up murdered. Not to mention the environmental concerns with the mining.

I know I am a hypocrite for being in a band that opposes this sort of behavior, yet I own an iPhone. It sucks. But, what I can do is try to raise awareness of this sort of thing. This band was started so we could spread awareness of these sorts of issues. Education is step one. Hopefully, we can make people a little more conscious of how their decisions do make a difference in one way or another.

MYE: How did it feel when you realized the band chemistry was coming together so well? It is great to hear this because it reminds me of classic or fairly recent classic metalcore stuff from before that genre became more watered down. I love early Shadow’s Fall and Killswitch and Overcast and all that East Coast good shit! You guys throw in some extra good twists though like the time signature shifts in “Our Own”.

NS: Hmm…Honestly, I never really sat back and thought about how things were coming together. From day one, it has always been go, go, go. But, I will say that this is a fun band to be in. We take chances others either are afraid to take, or just don’t think of. We through in extra stuff like time changes and different styles cause we want to. We aren’t overly concerned with how our music will be received. If we were, we would just write a Killswitch album or something. So yeah, the band is a lot of fun, musically. And, the guys are great to hang out with. Good, solid dudes.

MYE: Ok, long question. I am reading John Joseph of Cro-Mag’s/Bloodclot! fame’s new book MEAT IS FOR PUSSIES and it is really awesome. It talks about how the toxin promoting meat industry is like a drug dealer and how a dealer isn’t going to try and get you to go to rehab. With the internet out there you get a lot of shady or poorly researched stuff sometimes, but whether dietary news or politics or green energy, it seems like there is less excuse these days for people to be uninformed, but still we are so ADD as a culture. I find myself relearning things I forgot after a big depression that saw me retreat into a shell and it made me even more inspired to try to feel motivated again, but I think many times people just fucking try and stay in a bubble or worse, think Jersey Shore is something to be rewarded instead of loathed. I am not “anti-business” if a business is ethical, but many times business try to capitalize on our depression also to sell us stuff or keep us sheep like. People don’t see anything wrong with the way things are or if they do, just point fingers and fight. Then you read about the billionaire Koch brothers who own everything from Brawny Paper Towels to Georgia-Pacific Lumber being main doners to anti-Obama groups and Koch Industries are some of the biggest supporters of climate change being a hoax (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer).
I like him infinitely more than Bush but know Obama has skeletons in his closet for sure. Both Obama and Bush were culpable in the BP disaster due to BP being in bed so tight with the military and thus poorly regulated for safety until well after the crude was gushing. There are so many levels of deception out there. I have Republican and Democrat relatives but my thing is I just align myself with what seems like a good idea, not with any political party. Tax cuts for big businesses do work, but that doesn’t mean businesses can just do whatever they want because they 98% of the time WON’T be ethical. That and the poor can’t safely handle a disproportionate burden. People are against welfare but don’t care about the top 1% paying a fair share of taxes? Really?! I know you guys recently had a cool t shirt design go towards helping clean up the Gulf spill, right? Care to talk about any of this? Hope I’m not too long winded, but I think even grassroots rock and roll articles are a good forum for ideas to be shared and read.

NS: That is a long question. Like I said before, everyone has an agenda, for better or for worse. It would be great if most people could come to terms with that. It would make them ask more questions. But, you are right, most people really do not care. They don’t want to be bothered with heavy issues. They don’t want to think for themselves. In a way, I can sympathize with this. It can sometimes really suck when you meet up with a bunch of old friends at a chain restaurant and when you are looking at the menu, you can’t help but think “Man, all of this stuff is garbage. Even the salad is definitely loaded with GMO’s and pesticides.”

Not having to think about this sort of thing would be great, sometimes. It’s tricky cause when you do educate yourself on this sort of stuff, you feel like “This is great. I’m not going to feed into the system. I don’t have to take it.” But, the other side of this is just hopelessness. It’s overwhelming how polluted our culture, food, way of life has become. It can really get you down. Then, if you try to get people to listen up, you will run into even more hopelessness. Most people don’t want to be bothered with your info on slave labor, or high fructose corn syrup, or whatever. And that can really be a let down when it seems like the majority of people around you simply do not give a shit, and would rather eat their crap food and watch their reality TV. It can drive you crazy, make you mad, or make you really really depressed for humanity.

In the end, you just gotta live your life. I believe the title track “Awaken” covers this. Do what you can to be a better person and to help others. But, don’t loose yourself in all of it. It can drive you mad. We are running a pre-order on some T-Shirts (by the time you read this, it will be over) that will benefit Wildlife in the Gulf Coast. This BP oil spill really f’ed things up, despite what misleading news articles will have you believe. We came up with a shirt where all the proceeds will be donated to Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue (gcwr.org), which is a small organization in Texas that helps out wildlife along the Gulf. We are hoping to raise a little bit of money to make a small difference. It’s a miniscule difference, but it’s something. www.anglesideside.bigcartel.com

MYE: Ok, now that we’ve written a book (laughing)…what do you see as the long or short term goal for this band? How does it feel to play this stuff live?

NS: Well, Jesse will be taking some time to focus on Times of Grace. Hopefully, during that time, the band can record an album, so when Jesse gets back he can lay down vocals and we can release a new album. It’s all tentative, right now. Playing this stuff live is amazing. We have a ton of energy. It puts us in a different place. I live to play, so for me, it’s all I ever want to do is play.

MYE: You guys did just 8 songs on AWAKEN but it feels full. What do you think it is about the material that led to that?

NS: AWAKEN is our debut, and people should know that. Those 8 songs included every song we had written from day 1 till the time we recorded. It’s a work in progress. I am proud of the album, for sure. That being said, the next album will be more coherent and focused. The material that we have written thus far for the new album is years beyond Awaken.

MYE: What are some of the records that most inspired you growing up or even, if not records, crucial speeches you heard or moments in your life that were turning points for expanding your own awareness? In John Joseph’s MEAT IS FOR PUSSIES book, again, he has a great part where he is saying how resistance is your worst enemy (ie: there is always going to be part of us that tells us to stay discouraged or not to change or whatever). People don’t like to be told they need to change in many cases. The crucial thing is, it’s not about telling people THEY are bad, but how positive and more aware energy is better for us all. That’s the thing I don’t get about short term big business goals that pimp cancerous products or world wrecking chemicals. If we all die, there are no more fucking customers!

NS: Some stuff that has inspired me is as follows:
-Zietgeist (the movie) – Though it may or may not be dead on, that really sort of “woke me up” so to speak.
-Bill Hicks (comedian) – Though he was funny, I think he was more of an intellectual than a comedian.
-Jello Biafra (musician/activist) – Known for his work with the Dead Kennedy’s, but he has some solo albums where he just talks to a crowd. I agree with him 95%
-Ron Paul (politician) – Our modern day voice of reason. Hopefully, our next president.
-Cynthia McKinney (politician) – She’s just a bad ass who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and give Hell.

MYE: Lastly, who are some of the bands you are most hoping to get out and tour with and what places that you have never been to would you love to play? Thanks! Keep the faith!

NS: I would love to play any place outside of the North East part of the U.S. Bands to play with? Hmm…Mastodon would be awesome. Candiria if they got back together. Between the Buried and Me cause they are amazing. At the Drive-In if they get back together. And then a bunch of bands that wouldn’t make sense on a bill with TESF.

MYE: Thanks a lot.

NS: Thanks, this has been fun. Keep in touch!