Empire – 'Hypnotic'                                                                                                                                                   Released on Lion Records in 2001

THE BAND:
Vocals – Lance King & Mark Boals
Guitars – Rolf Munkes
Bass – Rolf Munkes & Neil Murray
Drums – Gerald Kloos & Anders Johansson
Keyboards – Don Airey

TRACK FRAGMENTS:

1.) “Hypnotic” – Instrumental
2.) “Fool in Love” – This track opens with a very progressive sounding lead scale that has an effect that appears to have been overdubbed.  When the vocal arrangement kicks in you can definitely hear an early Queensrhyce influences.  The guitar patterns through the verses were done in a very “eighties metal” style. The track has a real solid bass line.  From the beginning of the pre-chorus the listener can already hear the hook of the upcoming chorus.  The chorus itself has an excellent backing vocal harmonies section.  After the first chorus there is a small musical bridge that is exactly the same as the intro.  There is a twin guitar solo after the second chorus.  This solo is arranged with one guitar playing a minor solo and a second guitar playing a separate solo over it.
3.) “Into the Light” – This kicks off with a huge lead guitar solo pattern.  Vocally and musically when the song kicks in it has a very progressive sound as well.  One of the things that stood out in my mind the most was the double bass drum pattern that the drummer plays during the opening pre-verse.  During the verse the drummer changes the drum pattern, which makes the song very syncopated sounding.  The track has a couple of really cool bass lines that would make any bass players hair stand on the back of their neck.  The choruses have a very Dokken sound to them.  The guitar solo and guitar pattern behind it is very intense.  The solo is very intense and has an older Iron Maiden feel to it.
4.)  “You’re All That I’m Looking For” – This track kicks off with a very vintage metal feel with solid rhythm guitar.  When the vocals kick in you can really hear a Tony Harnell (TNT) vocal style and arrangement.  In fact to be truly honest the song in whole has a very TNT feel to it.  The pre-chorus vocally is vocal training at it’s finest, if you’re a vocalist and you can’t pull this off, then your in the wrong business.  The second half of the solo is overdubbed for that twin effect.
5.) “Spread My Wings” –This first ballad opens with an acoustic guitar pattern along with a small lead scale over it.  The vocals have an early Dio influence to them.  At the end of each stanza (verse / chorus), there is a harmonized vocal section that completely sets the song off.  After the second verse the song kicks in with a simple electric pattern for the chorus.  One this stands true with Progressive style music, the songs are written outside the box and this one is no exception.
6.) “Bad Bad Boy” –This track vocally has a very TNT style arrangement.  The guitar patterns are very simple and well structured along with twelve note drum patterns.  All in all this is one of those standard metal tracks everyone tries to write and gets lost in the way.
7.) “Here I Am” – This track opens with a very standard metal intro and lead scale.  Once again on the verses Lance King does a great Tony Harnell impression.  The band breaks time and changes the rhythm for the pre-chorus and chorus.  After the first chorus there is a small lead guitar scale.  After the second chorus there is a small music bridge with a spoken vocal section.  This song could be a bar bands ‘diamond in the rough’ for various reasons; 1. It has several hooks, 2. The song goes through several musical changes, 3. It has a musical & spoken bridge where the band can introduce the band members.  I really enjoyed the backing harmonies of this track.   They are so subtle at times and pack a big punch. 
8.) “I Will Always Be There” – This track kicks off with a very early Kiss type intro with one exception, with one difference,  Rolf Munkes blows Ace away as far as playing ability goes.  The vocal arrangement has several hooks within them. After the first chorus there is a small almost fade out section.  The band completely changes rhythm for the solo, which I did not expect at all bit was real cool. 
9.) “A Different Sign” – Instrumental
10.) “Shelter” –This track kicks off with a very melodic sounding guitar pattern and huge bass line.  The vocal arrangement on this track is great.  But I found the vocals to be a little dissatisfying mainly because of the pitch use.  I feel the song would have sounded a lot better with a more melodic sounding vocal pitch.  The solo is very melodic and even though it doesn’t fit in with the song well, it will make a guitar players hair stand on the back of their neck.
11.) “Back to Me” –This track kicks off with a very metal blues type intro.  From the opening vocal you can hear a huge hook upon the rise.  The song from a musicians’ standpoint is a wonderfully written song musically. The verses, pre-chorus and choruses are all set up with different patterns pieced together with the rhythm guitar as the key.  This shows not only expresses the bands talent, but also shows how well they different ingredient of a song lock together.
12.) “Another Place, another Time” –This track opens with a very Eighties Y&T type blues intro.  The song has a real funk vibe to it.  From great vocals and guitar to a blistering rhythm section it make for a great closing song.


         Upon receiving this release I really did no what to expect.  Because a lot of time when you get several big names together to record a CD like this egos get in the way and the music is cut way short.  But this is absolutely not the case here.  There is not a bad song on the release, period!!!  And if you are a fan of any of the members within Empire or you are into good solid music than this is the CD for you.  It’s well worth an import Price!!!