Acid Empire - Acid Empire
Acid Empire is the brainchild of Season's End bassist Mike Bridge. In short, his idea was to create an entire album with a symphonic orchestra as an integral part of the production. The self titled album Acid Empire is the result.
Opening track Prelude takes a while to get going, but when it does it is almost magical. While their take on symphonic metal isn't exactly groundbreaking, it's so different to a lot of the other mass produced rubbish that's doing the rounds, that it's really refreshing to listen to.
Vocals on Acid Empire are provided by Jack Lipinski and Hannah Bridge, and they both do a sterling job. Bridge's vocals are a lot more relaxed and softer than the vocals you come to expect from female vocalists in metal bands, which is actually a pleasant change. Lipinski provides vocals for the majority of the album, his voice is strong and has similarities to Damian Wilson, who actually provided guest vocals on Into The Void.
The songs on Acid Empire are well performed and executed by all parties involved. Every track on here happily dances between being symphonic and progressive. Acid Empire runs for a little under an hour, and captures your attention for its entire running time.
Acid Empire was two year's in the making, but Mike Bridge's hard work has really paid off. Such a broad spectrum of sounds can be heard on this album, but they all work really well together, and one song flows seamlessly into the next. This is a cracking release and is well worth a listen.