genres: post-hardcore + electronic
I really didn’t expect to like this album. Empty’s SolidState debut, Hope and the Loss of It, was a great nostalgic metalcore album that evoked early Underoath or the criminally underrated group The Overcomer. It was complex metal with a few electronic flourishes and a lot of emo sensibilities. MADE OF FIRE is not that. This album is heavily pop influenced post-hardcore, with hardly a technical riff in sight. The electronics are of course very very fun, but consigning the screams to Scarlxrd-esque rap/metal hybrid bridges as in the singles we got was A Choice. That said, it’s grown on me quite a bit as I’ve listened to the full album. “CLOSE MY EYES” is a great album opener, and a very fun song by any measure, but it’s “VICIOUS RICHES” that really captures everything positive and negative about this album. That track brings ‘crunkcore’ into the 2020s, pairing the best of that genre’s groove (without any of the incredibly cringy lyrics) with electronic rock in the vein of Rivals.
I don’t think it’s unfair to note that the vocals are quite limited on this album. The screams are limited to a single tone, and ultimately it’s probably a good thing that clean vocals dominate the album. The cleans also don’t rival the performances on many other pop influenced post-hardcore albums that have really leaned into an R&B element, but they also aren’t bad. Our Last Night is a solid comparison, and they’ve figured out how to make good but limited vocals into a wonderful career. Empty isn’t quite there yet, but the song writing on this album is quite good. If you go in expecting hard-rock with some experimental metal tendencies, you’ll be quite happy. I’m not sure it’s quite as exciting of an album as their previous release, but if I’m being fully honest, this one is just such a fun and easy listen it’ll probably cross my playlists far more frequently.
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