Robots and Empire - Poughkeepsie's best kept secret

Robots & Empire writes the most intense, blue-jeaned and whiskey gutted rock ‘n’ roll ever. These Poughkeepsie, NY natives know how to rock a riff like the best seventies guitar gods. The band's sophomore powerhouse Omnivore would have been the sort of post-hardcore record to rival Quicksand and Failure if it was released back in 1996. This album is a post-post hardcore record that challenges the best of their generation’s output by blending the best of rock ‘n’ roll from 1976, 1996, and 2006.

“Pure Shit” is sludgy trash metal, with ultra-distorted bass and throaty growls, which kicks this album off in stellar fashion. On “Monolith,” the next track, the band naturally switches from 90's-esque grunge to Neruosis-leaning doom.

Vocalist Brian Conway’s voice is what seals the deal for this band. It’s not that his voice is really unique, it’s just not the way most metal or hardcore vocalists sing today. His approach is more of a late-90’s alternative rock style of singing but a hell of a lot more intense. Conway does tend to wear his influences on his sleeve though: Mike Patton (“Spider Mites”), Ken Andrews (“The Midst of This”), Layne Staley (“Monolith”), and Matt Talbott (“Nameless”).

The rest of the band all matches Conway in intensity. Drummer Jason Petagine’s beats sound like the slow-moving drums of Satan’s marching band, guitarist Nick Haines creates a wall of sound, a shit-covered-and-smiling palate for Conway’s song, and Greg Nazak’s bass tone is just sick... sick like leaning over a toilet bowl sick.



“Mudgash” moves like a four-wheeler stuck in 8 inches of slush. “Erase Your Name” is too tough-guy, too much of a meathead bro-mosh, so much so it almost sounds like Sevendust meets Throwdown. “Bob Roberts” is written for fans of Open Hand’s Trustkill Records classic "You and Me".

Robots & Empire is where the flannel shirt meets the skinny jeans, where the Meat Puppets meet Mastodon. Rarely does an unsigned band excite me this much. Plain and simple, Robots & Empire are a rock band and this album is intense as fuck.

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