A Swarm of the Sun - An Empire (2024)

The duo A Swarm of the Sun return after a break to a world that has changed forever, bringing with them their fourth studio album "An Empire".

The brooding yet beautifully melancholic narrative arc allows the band to delve deeper and deeper into desolation, while a newfound lyrical focus adds a tenderness that is simultaneously harrowing and heartwarming. After the early bones of the forthcoming "An Empire" were laid on the table by events beyond their control in 2019, Erik and Jakob came together years later and discarded them in favour of creating something entirely new; something distinctly different to break the cycle, defy categorization and reflect the uncomfortable uncertainties of the times we now live in. The result is startling: 'An Empire' is a six-track story told in four distinct movements that are nothing short of devastating, from plaintive piano ballads to raw, full-on band fury. For example, lead single 'The Burning Wall', taken from the album's third side, perfectly epitomizes this sprawling compositional achievement, with the painfully open opening couplet 'I know I fail you / I know that I run' setting a poignant narrative direction, underpinned by a seething, impatient pulse that slowly and inevitably builds to an inescapable crescendo of cymbal chaos and roaring walls of guitar.

Elsewhere, the 18-minute epic 'The Pyre' represents side B of 'An Empire' with the confessional intimacy of a waltz ballad; the raw, wavering emotion of Jacob's words accompanied only by a haunting, lilting piano chorus before it too is consumed by the bittersweet power of post-rock euphoria, leaving only the embers of the apocalyptic lyric behind. "An Empire" marks a significant development in A Swarm of the Sun's already indelible post-metal sound. The increasingly dark times are forcing the band to rethink their relationship with creativity and suffering. This new work captures all the anthemic, intimate highs and crushing, crippling lows of modern life on a knife's edge.

Tracklist:
1. A Swarm of the Sun - This Will End In Fire (07:26)
2. A Swarm of the Sun - Heathen (12:12)
3. A Swarm of the Sun - The Pyre (18:16)
4. A Swarm of the Sun - An Empire (08:01)
5. A Swarm of the Sun - The Burning Wall (07:16)
6. A Swarm of the Sun - Anthem (18:02)