DARK EMPIRE consists of Guitarist/Mastermind Matt Moliti, a hell of
player, Berkelee College Of Music Grad and former student of Joe Stump
(REIGN OF TERROR/HOLY HELL/Solo Shred maestro), who clearly
demonstrates his training, knowledge and chops all over this disc along
with Jens Carlsson (PERSUADER, SAVAGE CIRCUS) on lead vocals, bass
monster Noah Martin, and Teemu Tahkanen on drums rounding out this
stellar lineup. The disc is rather short (6 tracks), but each one is a
killer from start to finish. Kicking of with ‘We Will Never Die’, this
is a double-bass pounding, dual harmony guitar-lovers delight with
crisp production and superb song structure. What clearly sets Moliti
apart from his piers is his writing ability which demonstrates the
superb attention to detail, amazing dynamics and performance. There are
a range of influences on this disc, from old-school Judas Priest to
some of the newer Euro-metal stylings of bands such as Adagio,
Stratovarious and Symphony X along with neo-classical influences such
as Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker and of course Joe Stump. Each track,
from the amazing power-metal of ‘Northern Sky’, to the intense, almost
death-metal ‘The Alchemist’, demonstrate just how much time Moliti has
put into creating his Dark vision. No detail was left un-noticed. I was
equally impressed with the overall packaging and presentation of this
band, a real top-notch, pro-level recording with superb clearity and
definition and artwork that could easily be on any major label roster.
If Moliti gets the chance to reach the masses with Dark Empire, he could easily be contender for ‘Metal-God-In-Waiting’.
Highly recommended and a very likely contender for top 10 of the Year in my book.
