Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore psychedelic tunes from the 60’s to today. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip!

Mushroomhead – are one of the most unique and adventurous alternative metal bands working today. Known for their stunningly theatrical live show and artsy masks, this innovative band has forged new ground in the rock world and influenced many other bands to push the envelope and bring art into rock. Formed in the early-1990s in Cleveland Ohio, the band’s combination of metal, rock and atmospheric elements has struck a chord with thousands of fans worldwide.

Mushroomhead have been performing incognito since 1993, when drummer Skinny founded the band. The band was meant to be a side-project so they wore masks to go unrecognized, but after only a few shows they developed a rabid and loyal fan base in Cleveland. Mushroomhead released their 1995 self-titled debut album independently and it went on to became an underground hit. This was history in the making because the band really had no proper distribution. Superbuick followed in 1996 and M3 in 1999, all released via an underground street effort.

After the band felt its image and hyper-melodic, heavy style of music was being diluted by other bands jumping into this space, the band started to change their look to reflect nothing out there. After a brief stint on Eclipse Records, a move to Universal Records saw the release of XX (a combination of the past independent releases) in 2001 and XIII in 2003. The band’s last album sold over 200,000 units in the USA alone. Mushroomhead released Savior Sorrow for the pioneering rock label, Megaforce Records (Metallica, Anthrax, Ministry, Warren Haynes, Bad Brains) in 2006. Mushroomhead released “Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children” in the Fall of 2010 and it debuted at #44 on Billboard charts.

It can be said that Mushroomhead’s musical ascendance was a singular, original, aesthetic of eight guys decked out in matching jumpsuits and artsy masks, playing unbelievable, unsettling music. No other band was wearing masks and jumpsuits and purveying this type of ultra-melodic, ultra-dynamic music at the time – Mushroomhead sounded like nothing else. The band’s merging of metal, atmospheric elements, rock, and theatrics mixed with a punk DIY attitude has inspired and spawned other bands. Even though Mushroomhead’s music is rock-leaning in thought, the group remains firmly committed to pushing the envelope and trying new things.

Influences range from the driving rhythms and breakneck turns of Pantera, to the dark melodies of Faith No More, to the atmospheric stylings of Pink Floyd, but all done in Mushroomhead style.

Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series, where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore psychedelic tunes from the 60’s to now. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip!

Guerrilla Toss Album GT Ultra 2017

is no mistake the album is wrapped in vintage blotter acid, created by legendary LSD archivist and artist Mark McCloud and The Institute of Illegal Images, based out of San Francisco. Inner sleeve art by Keith Rankin.

“Skull Pop” is a kaleidoscopic, energetic one that retains some of the epic sprawl that was present on earlier G-Toss material, but it’s just as hard-hitting as their first two singles. “Will there be a warning? When the clock stops moving?” Carlson asks on it, and the track’s careening groove sounds like the persistent doomsday countdown that hangs over our everyday existence. Fun stuff to think about! Listen to it below.

WHERE’S NIPPER THE ICONIC RCA DOG?

Ever wondered about the charming dog gazing curiously into the horn of a gramophone while listening to “His Master’s Voice”? Meet Nipper: RCA’s trademark dog who became one of the most recognizable commercial images in the world.

In 1987, Robert J. Campbell, Vice President of Human Resources for Thomson Electronics in the Americas, distributed a letter to employees who until recently had worked for RCA. That year, Thomson, a French firm, had acquired RCA’s consumer electronics business from General Electric, marking another milestone in the slow demise of American-based corporations’ leadership in this ever-changing industry.

Campbell’s letter, unsurprisingly, sought to strike an optimistic note. Of the new employee handbook Campbell said: “I consider it an important expression of who we are—not RCA, not GE…but Thomson Consumer Electronics: a young, fresh enterprise in this country that isn’t afraid to pursue ideals as it strives for competitive excellence.” Key words highlighted on the cover of the new handbook included “leadership,” “quality,” and “vision.” “These words represent what we believe in and where we must focus our daily activities to be a progressive, successful and attractive company in a dynamic marketplace,” Campbell asserted.

RCA (and future Thomson) plant on New Holland Avenue
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ca. 1952.

The vice president’s comments hint at the uncertain situation in which the former RCA found itself upon acquisition by Thomson. RCA was once a paragon of American technological innovation, industrial savvy, and corporate success. From its headquarters at Rockefeller Center in New York, it oversaw some of the most important innovations in media communication of the twentieth century: radio, black and white television, and finally color TV, which was perfected at the company’s Lancaster facility in 1954. RCA’s trademark, a charming dog named Nipper gazing curiously into the horn of a gramophone while listening to “His Master’s Voice,” was one of the most recognizable commercial images in the world.

In a changing corporate landscape, however, RCA slowly lost its leadership position in research, development, and consumer product marketing to international firms such as Sony, Toshiba, and Mitsubishi. Thomson, a company subsidized by the French government, became one of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world with its new acquisition, but profitability in the industry proved elusive. What Campbell called a “dynamic” marketplace was, in truth, viciously competitive and increasingly crowded. RCA struggled to find a niche in such an environment.

Trademark of RCA Victor and disc-playing phonograph, from 33 Years of Pioneering and
Progress (New York: RCA, 1953), p. 24.
RCA logo and “Nipper”/”His Master’s Voice” trademark, ca. 1970’s/1980’s.

Nipper enjoyed a long association with consumer electronics companies, stretching back to the nineteenth century. In 1898, the dog’s owner, Englishman Francis Barraud, painted Nipper listening to a wind-up phonograph. By a series of twists and turns, a modified version of the painting became the trademark of the Camden, New Jersey-based Victor Talking Machine Company. Its use by RCA dated to 1929, when that company acquired Victor. By 1990, however, future use of the iconic image was in question. Would Thomson embrace a trademark so famously associated with a financially struggling American corporation? In a September, 1990 article in Thomson’s employee newsletter Consumer Electronics News, the company announced a new ad campaign centered on the famous fox terrier. “Nipper is one of the best known corporate symbols in the world,” said Thomson advertising manager Bruce Hutchison. “But bringing Nipper back hasn’t been an easy decision. Every year we’ve wrestled with Nipper’s strengths and weaknesses relative to the RCA brand.”

Marty Holleran, Thomson Americas Sales and Marketing Executive Vice President, with “Nipper” and “Little Nipper”/”Chipper”, Consumer Electronics News (Indianapolis, IN), September 10, 1990

In a sense, the “strengths and weaknesses” to which Hutchison referred were one in the same: Nipper’s old age. By the end of the twentieth century, gramophones and a dog born in England in 1884 did not say “high-tech” to the American public. To some, the dog symbolized “trust, quality, reliability, warmth, and friendliness,” but he also seemed “old-fashioned, conservative, and out-of-date.” To solve the problem, Thomson modified the brand image to include Nipper as well as a puppy—“Little Nipper”—in advertisements, staring not at gramophones but instead enjoying new, high-tech electronics. “Little Nipper represents the new breed of high-technology, design and innovation inherent in RCA products,” Thomson proclaimed. The pup embodied youth and vigor: TV advertisements featured Little Nipper (later renamed “Chipper”) skydiving and skateboarding. Ads featuring the dynamic duo ran in the fall of 1990 during one of the year’s most popular television shows: America’s Funniest Home Videos.

“Nipper” and “Chipper” RCA/Thomson advertisement, ca. 1990’s.
“Nipper” and “Chipper” RCA/Thomson advertisement, ca. 1990’s.

Unfortunately for Thomson, the canine celebrities did not secure the company’s long-term financial fortunes. In the face of revenue shortfalls and stiff competition from overseas, Thomson closed its consumer electronics division in 2005. The reign of RCA consumer electronics had effectively ended.

Thomson Consumer Electronics Family Tree,” in “Thomson Consumer Electronics: First in Digital Innovation,” December, 1997

Today, some companies capitalize on the vintage appeal of their corporate symbols. Budweiser’s Clydesdale horses, for example, conjure up an aura of tradition that befits the brand identity of the historic beer brewer. Coca Cola’s polar bear have symbolized the refreshing beverage since 1922. Even industrial giants Ford and GE use logos that speak to longstanding trust and old-fashioned reliability. In the case of Thomson, however, Nipper proved emblematic of RCA’s glorious past, not the French firm’s viable future. Volatility and change are inherent in the technology industry. The fate of RCA and Nipper—once so ubiquitous in the American technology landscape but now subjects of the historian’s gaze—should help us keep the technology giants of our own era in perspective. Will Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have the staying-power that RCA lacked? Only time will tell.

QAlexander Lawrence Ames is the summer 2015 David Sarnoff Library collection processing intern in the Manuscripts and Archives Department of the Hagley Library. He holds an M.A. in public history from St. Cloud State University and an M.A. in American material culture from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in history of American civilization and museum studies at the University of Delaware.

Happy Holidays From All Of Us At Vinyl Lair

Vinyl Lair has been in the works for 3 years now and its been a pleasure providing you all with music content. The VL staff is a family that shares the same passion for all things music and our work is a labor of love.

We will continue to work diligently to provide you all with cool and interesting music content in the future as well.

From all of us to all of you, happy holidays!

Vinyl Lair is:

Christy Lee, writer, networking, photographer, content developer, filming, social media content, interviews and blogger.

Braddon S. Williams, music journalist, networking, writer and blogger.

Joe Evin, social media content, vlogger, videographer, YouTube personality, YouTube producer, networking, video editing & filming.

Winder Marin, YouTube personality, networking and vlogger.

Brian Auer, YouTube personality, vlogger, Networking and video editing.

Cori McGuigan, social media guru, vlogger, interviews, networking and live concert streams.

Hendrix, mascot & muse.

Dusty, mascot.

2019: The Year That Rocked

Written By Braddon S. Williams

Braddon S. Williams

It recently occurred to me that as a rock ‘n roll journalist, I now have the privilege and the obligation to do an overview of my year in concerts and what a year it was! Not only did I attend more shows in 2019 than in any other, I also got to see the biggest band on my bucket list.

That’s right, I finally saw The Rolling Stones, and they proved that not only do they still have it, they also still rightfully lay claim to their longstanding title of The World’s Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Band. I saw the Stones at Soldier’s Field in Chicago, IL.

Later in the summer I would attend the 15th annual Riot Fest in Douglas Park (also in Chicago), and then made a 3rd trip to the Windy City to witness John 5 And The Creatures, Jared James Nichols, and Reverend Jack at Reggie’s Rock Club.

2019 was definitely a year for new venues and travels to nearby states. During a 5 day stretch in November, my girlfriend and I made two separate trips to Louisville, KY to take in a pair of amazing shows. First up was our final Slayer concert (with Primus, Ministry, and Philip H. Anselmo And The Illegals performing a set of PanterA classics) at the KFC Yum! Center, followed by an amazing King Diamond show at The Louisville Palace Theatre (supported by Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats and Idle Hands).

Speaking of Slayer, I saw them in 3 different states this year (front row at Riot Fest!) and counting the show in Ohio last year, I wound up seeing them 4 times on their final world tour in 4 separate states.

My roommate and I caught the up and coming sensation Jinjer (with The Browning and Sumo Cyco) at a cool venue in Cincinnati, OH called Riverfront Live.

One of my favorite discovery artists was Baroness (with Torche) at Old National Centre’s Deluxe, completing the Triple Crown of stages at the Old National.

Later in the year my girl and I saw Alice Cooper at the Murat Theatre and Steel Panther at the Egyptian Room. Alice Cooper also played a great show earlier in the summer at the beautiful Honeywell Center in Wabash, IN.

I also saw UFO and Last In Line at the Honeywell in another outstanding night of old school hard rock.

Piere’s in Ft. Wayne is now out of business, but the Clyde Theater has taken up the slack, and I made my first visit to this outstanding venue to see Static-X, DevilDriver, Dope, Wednesday 13, and Raven Black. Although I hadn’t been there since 1982, Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne brought back fond memories as I saw Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson for the second consecutive year as their Twins Of Evil hit the concert trail once again.

My beloved Deer Creek (or Ruoff blah blah blah) received a number of visits from me this year; Slayer, Lamb Of God, Amon Amarth, Beck, Cage The Elephant, Spoon, Wild Belle, Heart, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Elle King, Slipknot, Volbeat, Gojira, Behemoth, Iron Maiden, The Raven Age, Kiss, David Garibaldi (the prancing painter…”I’m painting!”) all performed sets in the warmer months.

The final Deer Creek show was another special bucket list treasure, as Willie Nelson brought his Outlaw Music Festival with featured performances by Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters and Allison Krauss.

I almost forgot another first time experience (and this one is super important!). My first concert date with my new girlfriend (who coincidentally loves going to shows possibly even more than I do!) was at the Lawn at Whitewater State Park to see REO Speedwagon and Sister Hazel. I broke a self-imposed 40 year ban on REO, so that should prove how special this woman is to me.

In addition to the festivals, regular concerts, and traveling to neighboring states and exploration of new venues, we also caught quite a few club shows. Two venues in particular that I fell in love with were the venerable Melody Inn and the Rathskeller. As a matter of fact, we will be seeing the wildly amazing Rods and Cones tomorrow night at the Rathskeller for the second reunion show this year.

I feel like I should spotlight some of the bands we saw at the 3 day Riot Fest, but I already wrote a super long feature on that one. Just rest assured, we will be attending again in 2020! Well, that about wraps up 2019….it was EPIC in every sense of the word. Looking forward to another remarkable year of music beginning soon.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting on my reports from the musical field!

Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series, where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore psychedelic tunes from the 60’s and 70’s. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip!

Eric Clapton, Cocaine

This was written and originally recorded by the Oklahoma blues guitarist J.J. Cale. Clapton gave Cale a huge boost he recorded Cale’s song “After Midnight” in 1970 and released it as his first solo single. This helped earn Cale a record deal and enough money to make music on his terms, which he did.

Cale recorded “Cocaine” on his fourth album, Troubadour, which was released in 1976, and issued the song as the B-side of his single “Hey Baby,” which was his last charting song as an artist, making #96 US.

When Clapton was looking for songs for his Slowhand album, he once again looked to Cale, and chose “Cocaine,” which became the first song on the set. Clapton would later cover Cale’s song “Travelin’ Light,” and in 2006, the pair teamed up to record an album together called The Road To Escondido.

The lyrics are about drug addiction, something Clapton knew quite well. As he explained in his autobiography Clapton, when he recorded this song, he had kicked a serious heroin habit but was filling his body with cocaine and alcohol. His attitude at the time was that he could manage his addiction and quit at any time – he just didn’t want to; that’s why he could sing so objectively about a drug that was consuming him. When he finally did get off drugs and alcohol, he had to learn how to make music while sober, which was a big transition as everything sounded very rough to him. He also realized how damaging his addiction was to himself and others on a personal level, and became active in helping others get through their addictions; in 1998 he opened the Crossroads rehab center in Antigua, where clients go through a 29 day wellness-centered approach to treatment.

During the Slowhand sessions, Clapton and his band got to see a J.J. Cale concert, and Cale brought Clapton on stage to duet on this song.

This is one of Clapton’s most famous songs, but the studio version was never released as a single. Clapton included the song on his 1980 live album Just One Night (Live At Budokhan), and the version from this show was released as the B-side of “Tulsa Time,” which was also taken from the concert. This single charted at #30 in the US.

When J.J. Cale wrote this song, he envisioned it as a jazz number. His producer, Audie Ashworth, convinced him to make it a rocker, which required some overdubbing by Cale, since he played very simple guitar parts. Cale did three single-string overdubs of the riff. He played the bass himself, but had session pro Reggie Young play the guitar solo. Clapton’s version has a much more complex guitar line and vocals that are more prominent in the mix.Bob Rivers released a parody of this song called “Cobain,” making fun of Kurt Cobain’s drug use. Cobain killed himself shortly after it was released.

Glyn Johns produced this song. He had previously worked with Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.

At one point, Clapton removed this song from his set list because he thought it gave the wrong message about cocaine use. He started playing it again after he rearranged the song to include the line, “That dirty cocaine” into the choruses.

In 1988, Elton John and Mark Knopfler joined Clapton on stage to perform this at the 6th annual Prince’s Trust Rock Gala. Proceeds from the show went to charity.

After Clapton recorded this song, J.J. Cale saw many new faces at his concerts, but many of them expected him to sound like Clapton. Cale didn’t conform, and took a more laid-back approach to his next album, 5, which was released in 1979. There were no hits on that one, although a Santana cover of one of the cuts, “The Sensitive Kind,” made #56 in 1981.

Music = Life

Written By Christy Lee

The world desperately needs musicians, artists, poets, writers, painters, film makers, photographers, sculptures, ect.

Without these artistic souls who have the ability to express the beauty they see, feel and hear our existence would be considerably bleak. Kind of like watching an old black and white silent film. Its cool and artsy to an extent but we live in a world thats vivid, beautiful, intense, scary, loving and cruel. Its not just black and white, its many different shades.

Artists open themselves up to the whole world in a daring vulnerability and share their pain, happiness, love and all types of experiences through their art.

They have the ability to expose ugly truths that no one really wants to see. They share intimate experiences, heartache, happiness and great despair. All of their memories in a dazzling and unique display in such a personal way.

The whole world is invited inside an individual psyche to share what each person has experienced and everyones perception is a remarkable journey thats one of a kind.

A song can have an unparalleled ability to resonate with each of us on a very personal level which goes to show all humans share the same experiences at one time or another.

Music is a universal language that has always disseminated with me. When I hear a great song It has the power to transcend. It can take me to another time. Music has the power to evoke emotion.

Music is the life blood that fuels me and fills me up.

In conclusion I would not want to live in a world without music or any other form of art. To me that would be no kind of life worth living.

This is dedicated to all the artists of the world and with special thanks to the incredible members of our Vinyl Lair team, Joe Evin, Braddon S. Williams, Winder Marin, Corie McGuigan and Brian Auer with whom none of this would be possible.

Psychedelic Lunch

Rolling Stones Circa 1964

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore psychedelic tunes from the 60’s and 70’s. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip!

With a trippy, playful sound, this song wasn’t typical of The Rolling Stones, but it endured as a fan favorite. It is a rare pure love song by The Stones, whose songs about women tended to be much more libidinous.

The distinctive string section was arranged by John Paul Jones, who was doing session work two years before he joined Led Zeppelin.

This was one of the first songs The Stones produced without manager Andrew Loog Oldham. They wanted to get rid of him, so they angered him away by going against his wishes in many aspects of Their Satanic Majesties Request.

Apple used this in 1999 commercials for their colorful iMac computers. Over the next few years, the company would change the dynamics of the music industry with the introduction of iTunes and the iPod. Nicky Hopkins played piano on this song. Hopkins, along with Ian Stewart and Billy Preston, played on Stones albums from Between The Buttons in 1967 until Black And Blue in 1976. Preston usually played on the more gospel-sounding songs where an organ was required; Stewart played boogie-woogie on the fast songs, and Hopkins played on the ballads.

The Greta Thunberg Death Metal Song Is Now Available for Purchase, With All Profits Going to Greenpeace

There is absolutely no way that when Suaka drummer John Mollusk took teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s recent UN speech and turned it into a death metal song that he knew how popular the track would become. But the thing has truly taken on a life of its own, going viral not just in metal circles, but in the “real world,” too (i.e. friends who don’t care about metal have asked me about it). Why, Thunberg herself gave it the thumbs up!

Swedish teenager and climate change activist Greta Thunberg has become a divisive figure in, of all places, the metal scene. Days after her furious speech to the United Nations, which led Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale to call her “our modern day Joan of Arc”, one musician decided to set her speech to death metal — a move that Greta supported with good humor, even as droves of psychos used it to call her a crisis actor. Now, not only is the death metal version of Greta’s speech available for purchase as a digital single, but all proceeds go to Greenpeace.

Mollusk is putting the track’s popularity to good use, too: he’s teamed with Despotz Records to release the song, now called “How Dare You,” under the moniker G.T (which I assumed stands for “Greta Thunberg”), with all proceeds going to Greenpeace. You can get it on all the various platforms here, with some sweet cover art (above) to boot.

And here’s the original viral video, if you missed it:

The cover was created by John Merideth of New York City-based metal trio Suaka. “When I saw her speech, I was very impressed by her passion and outrage,” John told Rolling Stone. “And the words she chose just evoked the darkness of the metal music I love: Entombed, Gojira, At the Gates, Sepultura…I guess I didn’t really have a specific intent other than to turn her brutal words into a metal song. My personal stance is that individuals need to do their part to strive to conserve and preserve our environment…

“Teen angst can be a powerful and important driving force in society, for instance the Arab spring,” he continued. “But there is an element of satire and levity regarding the tone and the music.”

ATLAS : EMPIRE New Music Video; Signs To WormHoleDeath Records For Reissue of Debut Album Plus Tour

Scotland’s ATLAS : EMPIRE New Music Video ‘Our Hands Part The Waves’

Signs To WormHoleDeath Records For Reissue of Debut Album “The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet”

Canadian Tour This Coming October

UK Tour Dates In November

L-R – Robert Hasebe (Bassist), Jamie Sturt (Guitar and Vocals), Steven Gillies (Guitar and Vocals

Glasgow’s Atlas : Empire are proud to announce their debut album “The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet” released independently during December 2018will now be reissued via WormHoleDeath Records on October 25th, 2019

The band adds:

“We’re excited to enter a new chapter of the band in partnership with Carlo & the WHD team. And for those unfamiliar with our latest release, The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet’ is a concept album that explores what would happen to humanity if we became entirely reliant on technology/automation in every aspect of our lives – and more importantly, what happens when that system fails?”

Weaving their way between the multitudes of different genres that influence them, the trio visits the worlds of heavy progressive rock and expansive ambient shoegaze. To date the band has released 3 EPs, “To The Astronaut…” (2012); “Somnus” (2013) and “For the Satellites” (2015) with “The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet” as their 2018 debut full length. 

In addition to the news of their label signing, the band released a new video for the track Our Hands Part The Waves’,  which you can view here

The video is a continuation of the storyline presented in their previous video for ‘It’s All In The Reflexes’, which you can view here.

The trio will also be returning to Eastern Canada this October with eight gigs spanning across Ontario and Quebec followed by UK dates in November. After a busy summer of writing and European festival dates, the Scottish band is excited to come back to the homeland of their bassist Robert Hasebe and he quotes:

“Touring Canada is by far one of the most enjoyable things for Atlas : Empire. The unique challenges and rewards of touring this part of the world are what make Canadian artists and performers truly great. They are not only so wonderful to work with but also so friendly and exceptional at their craft. Canada produces so many good bands and such talented musicians that we are so fortunate and so grateful to be able to tour here regularly. Also, poutine.”

For fans of Thrice, Circa SurviveGlassjaw, and At The Drive-InAtlas : Empire can be seen live on the following dates:

Canada
Oct 16  – Hamilton, ON – Doors
Oct 17 – Waterloo, ON – Harmony
Oct 18 – Toronto, ON – Bovine Sex Club
Oct 19 – Barrie, ON – The Foxx Lounge
Oct 20 – Sudbury, ON – AsylumOct 23 – Windsor, ON – Green Bean Café
Oct 24 – Guelph, ON –  Red PapayaOct 25 – Ottawa, ON – Pressed
Oct 26 – Montreal, QC – Brasserie Beaubien

UK
Nov 26 – Leeds – LS6
Nov 27 – London – Off The Cuff
Nov 28 – Birmingham – Subside
Nov 29 – Nottingham – JT Soar
Nov 30 – Luton – Castle Live



For More Info:
AtlasEmpire.co.uk
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
Bandcamp

BIO:

Atlas : Empire are a progressive alternative rock band, based in Glasgow, UK. Since forming in 2011, Atlas : Empire have enjoyed success both through their recordings and over several tours crossing the UK, the EU and Eastern Canada, including performing at Indieweek in Toronto.

To date the band has released 3 EPs, “To The Astronaut…” (2012); “Somnus” (2013) and “For the Satellites” (2015) with “The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet”, an ambitious concept album set to be released in 2018.

Weaving their way between the multitudes of different genres that influence them, Atlas : Empire visits the worlds of heavy progressive rock and expansive ambient shoegaze. Exploring topics that centralize around the concept of becoming exponentially more reliant on technology and less “connected” by proxy, and the future of modern society when the system we rely on fails. With a slew of songs written and plans already for a fifth release, A : E are thrilled to be working with the team at WormHoleDeath and to push their own boundaries and expand into new territories.

“Modern Progressive Rock in the vein of Arcane Roots, with nods to the atmospherics of Post-Rock and some of the eccentric timings of Math Rock.” – Prog Magazine

“Glasgow’s Atlas : Empire offer an exciting take on contemporary Prog, marrying Post-Rock expanse with the wilder, heavier sounds of the likes of Black Peaks and At The Drive-In.” – Total Guitar “Atlas : Empire succeed on the strength of their musicianship, songwriting, and the lasting impact of the songs themselves.” – New Noise“The Stratosphere Beneath Our Feet is one of those records you’ll argue with your friends about who discovered it first” – Raw Music TV

“Brimming with stunning displays of ethereal melodicism,  Atlas : Empire have delivered an assured debut that deserves to be considered alongside the best of British Progressive music.” – Uber Rock

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