I only discovered Empire mere months ago, and in that short time they have quickly become one of my favourite bands in all of the UK, capturing me with their kickass music that I have become really addicted to. So as you can imagine, I was excited to hear HD Music was bringing these guys to Glasgow and I was hyped as hell to finally witness them live. So how did it all go down?

First up, we had Our Lucid Reality, a synth rock band who I had never heard of prior to being announced for the gig but I became a fan instantly after I first gave them a listen so I was curious to see how good they would be in a live situation, and safe to say they delivered. Donning the stage with pretty purple lights, dual vocalists Amanda and Chris led the band on a set featuring cracking guitars, sick keys and great drumming, with the highlights for me being The Outlaw, which was ridiculously catchy, and Hy Brasil, the incredible title track of their EP. These guys are seriously underrated and deserve way more attention than they currently receive; they truly set the standard high for the rest of the night…

…a standard that Atlas:Empire met big time, with one hell of an awesome set featuring a mix of tunes from their Somnus EP and some from their upcoming new record. Having not seen these guys live in 8 months, I truly forgot how amazing these guys were live, with dynamic guitar work and sick vocals delivered with unbelievable energy. In fact, the (seemingly-always topless) drummer Jon was playing so hard and sweating so profusely, he had steam coming off him…..that isn’t some BS metaphor, he literally had steam coming off him. The man is truly a machine. If you haven’t seen these guys live yet, then what the hell are you doing? Get down to a show the next time you can and check them out, you won’t regret it.

And now for the main event: Empire. Simply put, they killed it. BAH GAWD, they killed it! They put on an immense show, with the whole band on incredible form – great guitars, bass, and drums across the board – with Joe Green taking lead on vocals. In addition to being a beast on the mic, he was an insanely charismatic and hilarious frontman. He certainly got around a lot too; on stage, taking it to the floor, even ending up on top of the bar. They played a great array of tunes, including All The Rage, My Colour Optimistic and Future, Past & Present from their record Where The World Begins, their most recent single Patchwork & Bone, and even presenting the crowd with an upcoming new single. Finishing off with Black Hearts, they capped off a phenomenal set which had to be among the greatest that I’ve ever witnessed in the 5 years I’ve been coming to local shows. It would be a horrible injustice if these never made it big, because their music and live shows demand it.