| Considering Empyrean refers to "a
sphere of pure light or elemental fire," (my dictionary simply calls it the
"highest heaven") it's not clear whether these suburban Chicago lads want
eternal sunshine or hellfire, but vocalist/guitarist Mike Chorvat makes it clear he thinks
about both, a lot. Empyrean formed while still in high school, and though they're a bit
older now, a certain youthful naivete seems to serve them well. Maybe it's just the
pleading tone in Chorvat's powerful voice -- whether he's begging for an answer to
questions that most stop bothering to ask in old age, like the eternal "Why are we
here?" ("One Last Thing") or admitting by album's end
("Lifeline") that "It's crazy how we think we know everything, but we
don't." This wide-eyed, imploring innocence meets a tinge of world weariness on
"Waiting Here," when he asks "Come and fix everything that's wrong,"
and it's just the right touch of weariness -- he'll make you wish you could. Influenced by
Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters, a touch of Zwan, and a slew of others on the radio, in the
modern pop/punk and emo vein (Alkaline Trio come to mind on a few catchy harmonic
choruses), the guitars are big, but Empyrean shoulder a developed sense of dynamics that
many bands with just-as-good chops can't support. And their choice of a cover, the crunchy
and not funk-less "Rock On," (David Essex) sums this up nicely. With excellent
production and no throwaway tracks, Long Story Short is probably the place to start
checking out Empyrean, even though they have an EP, Beautiful Reality, available,
and an out-of-print first record from 1999, titled, appropriately enough, Life Without
Hell.
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