Band: Empire State Troopers
Album: Upstate Again (EP)
Genre: Stoner Rock/Stoner Metal
Label: One Cell Records
Year of Release: 2008
Country of Origin: USA
Empire State Troopers official website
Empire State Troopers on Myspace
Sometimes, the most wondrous things in life just happen to fall into your lap from out of nowhere. Such was the case recently when I was contacted by a member of Empire State Troopers — a fresh, red hot New York-based band inspired by the oldskool heavy metal and hard rock of the 70s.
Of course, this was just up my alley, and I certainly couldn’t resist checking them out, despite my innate skeptic naturally preparing itself for disappointment. At the time, after all, I had hit somewhat of a dry spell music-listening-wise and my cynical side was beginning to get the better of me; the chances of any musical recommendation “clicking” with me at that moment seemed quite slim.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I delved into the band’s website and fired up a few of their featured songs, and was pleasantly impressed by what I was hearing; something so refreshing and instantly appealing that even in my jaded state, I was hooked.
Empire State Troopers is probably best classified as a modern stoner rock band with 70s heavy metal influences, yet not quite in the way one would normally expect (a la doom metal). While the lyrical themes and fast paced energy share more in common with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age et al, it’s quite clear that the music of the Troopers is influenced heavily by such bands as Blue Oyster Cult and Black Sabbath, among other 70s hard rock and metal acts; EST emanates a radiance of oldskool in their music that comes together remarkably naturally.
The first thing that really jumped out at me was the band’s crystal clear production quality, something I honestly wasn’t expecting from a group as relatively new as Empire State Troopers — though they’ve been rocking out since the early 90s, so clearly all four musicians are seasoned veterans. Perhaps it was because I had been so accustomed lately to trudging through demos and debuts of questionable mixing and engineering caliber, but the clarity and clean production of the Troopers’ music made a great first impression in my mind and was but the first sign of things to come, indeed.
After the heavy, catchy introductory riffs of “Dogs of Odessa”, in came the vocals of Kelly Murphy, and by that point I was positively addicted to this band like a narcotic obsession. Seldom do I encounter a singer who seems to pour every ounce of his or her soul and emotion into their lyrics, but that’s precisely the case in regards to EST’s resident banshee, as she seemingly teeters on the edge of a tearful hysteria at times with her bitter tales of neglect and rejection; you can clearly tell by her voice how authentic her raw emotion is, and in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if her stories themselves were equally authentic re-tellings based on her very own life experiences… stuff this heavy could only come directly from the heart and soul.
Mrs. Murphy’s voice could hardly be any better suited for this style of rock, almost reminding me of a female variant of John Garcia upon first listen.
Backing up EST’s phenomenal songstress and laying down the heavy foundation of the band’s music is Jeff Fox on bass, Thom Hall on guitar and Nathan Pallace on drums, all of whom contribute remarkably to the end product. There is no substitute to what I feel when I hear their unique style. It’s like several rivers of emotions, vigor, and electricity flooding from my ears, into my veins, and flowing throughout all at once. Instrumentation is nothing short of masterful the entire way through, obviously the result of four highly skilled musicians; everything comes together so well.
Quote Jason Loewenstein, the man in charge of recording (along with DJ Miller), mixing and mastering Upstate Again: “They are one of relatively few bands that I know of, whose recordings are proof that they are of an embarrassingly rare breed of great live bands. This immediately sets them apart from the current landscape of bands whose existence is build on piecemeal constructions of heavily edited, quantized drumtracks, samples and use of pitch corrections. None of which were employed in the making on this great record.” Simply put, Empire State Troopers are the real deal. I can only hope they tour around my neck of the woods sometime in the near future!
Frankly, I’m shocked at how such a fantastic band such as Empire State Troopers has remained strictly underground for so long, yet at the same time genuinely excited for them as they continue to gain the exposure and popularity they deserve.
I humbly request that all Funeralopolis visitors pop over to their website and Myspace and at the very least check out a few of their featured tunes, you may end up being as surprised as I was.
Here’s to one of underground rock’s best kept secrets.
