Alec Empire Albums (12)
'Rauschgold: Alex Empire Plays Staubgold'
Release Date 2/17/2009
Tracks 18
Label Staubgold Germany
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Golden Foretaste of Heaven'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 10
Label Eat Your Heart Out
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
His puerile but fun anime-inspired digital hardcore days in the rearview mirror, Alec Empire moves further toward accessible, mainstream dance fare on The Golden Foretaste of Heaven. Where he once mixed Aphex Twin-style drill'n'bass with the baiting punk sneer of the Sex Pistols, this album sees him singing in a fuzzed-out distorted vocal style that's equal parts Lou Reed and Trent Reznor over similarly distorted dance beats not that far removed from Moby. That's not to say there isn't bite to the subject matter and an overall foreboding tone, but songs like "1000 Eyes" are less sinister than he likely intended. This song in particular portrays the Reed influence with Empire's deadpan phrasing and atonal guitar slabs both immediately reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. The expensive-sounding mix with its shiny veneer removes some of the power. The album is a ball of bouncing noise and distorted beats, like Curve with less melody, more bass, a hangover, and a Lou Reed impersonator at the mike. Compared to likeminded artists Tarwater, who also straddle these Berlin-inspired Teutonic vibes, Empire's work here feels somewhat wimpy in its studiedness. You would think a song called "Down Satan Down" would at least feel slightly evil coming from a guy who once peppered full songs with noting but murderous screams, but Empires vocals are so produced you can almost picture him recording them separately from the music. Yes, "On Fire" and a handful of other tracks pull out the stops, but even then, there's less fear produced than your average Primal Scream track. Like Moby's self-sung work, these songs ultimately fail or succeed on a listener's willingness to accept the singers' mimicking of their inspirations. The album is at its best when Empire loosens up and gets loungey, as he does on the futuristic, funky "Robot L.O.V.E." and when he gets playful on "Death Trap in 3D." The Golden Foretaste of Heaven is never less than fun, with some fine individual songs only truly hindered in that Empire's often lackluster vocals aren't compelling enough for extended listens and the clearly intended menace lacks bite. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
'CD2 Live Sessions in London 2002'
Release Date 7/15/2003
Tracks 12
Label Import
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Once in college, while pawn shopping old keyboards, I found an odd wood-panel covered synth with both a pink noise and white noise sound setting. How I regret not buying this keyboard just so I could throw it in Alec Empire's face during this set, recorded live with Japanese noise artists Merzbow in 1998. I would have tossed it right in the middle of "Brooklyn Connection", when the shredding metallic grind of the previous 15 minutes gives way to a Bronx park electrobeat. I'd aim right for Empire's no doubt gritted teeth as if to say, "I've been holding my ears all this time just to hear Sugarhill Gang's backing track run through one of your noise boxes?" But then I'd want it back to toss again come the following "The Alliances", which barely rages harder than some mid-90's techno-breaks anthems, which of course Empire used to make back when he was good. At least it's not Atari Teenage Riot, Empire's real claim to fame, pilfered by using three of the most trite words in the vernacular and two "sexy-please-hate-me" women as dressing. And before you merely bat me away as a hater of some quality noise-core, might I remind you that I'll get down to the hardest of Midwest hardcore, check out Doormouse and Stunt Rock if you wanna know. Empire keeps clenching his fist and talking about smashing punk rock. Sebadoh already did that. Empire's just mad he's not paid like Trent Reznor. ~ Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide
'Intelligence & Sacrifice'
Release Date 1/8/2002
Tracks 20
Label Beat
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Curse of the Golden Vampire'
Release Date 6/15/1998
Tracks 8
Label Digital Hardcore
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Though both acts have little trouble producing excellent work on their own, the collaboration between Empire and Techno Animal comes off as a distinct disappointment. The Curse of the Golden Vampire takes each act's trademark -- industrial breakbeats and darkside dub soundscapes, respectively -- and merely blends them together, resulting in a project which sounds as though separate studios were used for recording. Fans of either Empire or Techno Animal will obviously enjoy the sound, but few promises are actually delivered. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Low on Ice (The Iceland Sessions)'
Release Date 2/25/1997
Tracks 11
Label EFA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of Alec Empire's few consistent LPs, Low on Ice (The Iceland Sessions) presents a series of polar soundscapes, isolationist in form and quite dubby in execution. Even though the beats often grow caustic, the vibes are chilled and quite similar to much ambient music. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Generation Star Wars'
Release Date 2/25/1997
Tracks 14
Label Mille Plateaux
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The first Alec Empire album to alternate the hardest hardcore breakbeats with more free-form ambient and environmental passages, Generation Star Wars is a brutal but often engaging listen, sampling drug talk and, bizarrely, Marv Albert's broadcast of a New York Knicks game for several minutes. Moving from extreme to extreme doesn't make for a nicely flowing album, but Generation Star Wars often packs a punch. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Les Etoiles des Filles Mortes'
Release Date 12/2/1996
Tracks 10
Label Mille Plateaux
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In the vein of his other releases on Mille Plateaux, Empire on Etoiles tends towards the subtly creepier side of his work instead of the raging explosiveness characteristic of Atari Teenage Riot. There's no clattering series of sped-up and screwed-up funk breakbeats here -- indeed, there's barely any percussion at all -- and neither is there any singing or shouting in Empire's expected vocal mode or those of his bandmates. Outside of some cryptic song titles, such as "La Revolution Obligatoire," and the glowering, overexposed photo of himself on the back, the usual political/confrontational stance also remains absent. While not as truly unsettling as the solo ambient projects of Mick Harris or Robert Hampson, Etoiles does possess a certain dramatic keep-a-lookout pose that the album's ten songs explore. At its weirdly prettiest, there's conceptual if not direct sonic connections to the similarly counterbalanced work of the Aphex Twin, but Empire's work sounds rougher, less prone to simply being switched on and enjoyed. Low bass tones and squiggly, murky synth lines dominate the pieces, not per se following any central melody but neither simply random notes -- more open-ended free-form explorations around a dominant loop or chord per song. The mix is warm even at its most alien, a bit like strange signals from outer space mixed with some random '70s experiment at proto-new age music soundtracking a grainy documentary on UFOs. As there's little difference between any of the songs in terms of basic sound and mix, the drumbeats and actual hook on "J'ai Tue les Fictions" make for a welcome change five songs in. Etoiles will remain of interest to the hardcore Empire fan most. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
