With Empires, the band’s musically adventurous debut full-length, WTOMTS is prepared to assault listeners with a sound that is just as smart as it is heavy – an unfortunately rare combination in today’s current alt music scene. “It was important to us that this album was not only good musically, but that it had substance and depth lyrically,” explains vocalist Blake Martin. “Empires is directed towards our faults as human beings and the idea that we destroy ourselves from the inside out.” From the moment the opening atmospherics of lead track ‘On the Backs of Your Brothers’ break into a pummeling assault to the last notes of closer, ‘Who We Are,’ Empires proves to be an album that refuses to fit into a single tidy box. It’s an adventurous freshman endeavor whose sound will please the ears of fans of acts such as THRICE, BLESSTHEFALL, THE RECEIVING END OF SIRENS and more, without being accused of borrowing too heavily from any of the aforementioned. WHERE THE OCEAN MEETS THE SKY has spent the last several years building their own empire, performing up and down the East Coast sharing the stage with the likes of BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, ALESANA, HASTE THE DAY, SKYEATSAIRPLANE and many more of today’s genre giants in the process. All the while, laying the groundwork for their empire. When it came time to record Empires, the band knew it wanted to emphasize creating something enduring. Something that had both significance and longevity. “Our goal with this album was to create something lasting, something with depth, and something that pushes the boundaries of our music scene,” Martin further explains before bringing it full circle to the underlying themes of the album. “The prevailing theme for Empires is about falling from grace. In that regard, the ‘Empire’ is a metaphor for the rise and fall of man’s pride, man’s life, and man’s creations.” Regardless of the album title’s metaphor, Empires proves that WHERE THE OCEAN MEETS THE SKY will be adding to its own impressive empire as the band continues to conquer fans venue-by-venue, stereo-by-stereo, iPod by iPod |
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