I Am Empire is ready to release their Tooth & Nail Records’ label debut, KINGS, next week amidst the buzz of being one of the most promising new signings. To usher in this anticipated release, the band is premiering the music video for “Brain Damage” on the label’s YouTube page today. Click here to see the video. In addition to the video premiere, I Am Empire is giving away a free download of the acoustic version of “Foxhole” on their Facebook page. With early reviews coming in, media outlets are digging this new release and band.
About I Am Empire: This San Jose-bred fivesome had no trouble igniting the local scene since forming in 2008, including dates alongside Flyleaf, Sublime, Deftones, Silversun Pickups, Thursday, Four Year Strong and The Wedding, a pair of charting singles (“You’re A Fake” and “The Elevator”), plus additional acclaim from Alternative Press, AOL’s Spinner.com and San Francisco’s LIVE105 radio station. Amongst this success, it was the personal story from front man Austin Lyon’s fractured upbrining that lays the thematic foundation for “Kings.”
“The whole record is about abandonment, particularly the fact that my father is the one who abandoned me,” says the singer/songwriter for I Am Empire (whose moniker is basically a battle cry to be yourself and never feel pressured towards conformity). “We decided to name the record Kings because it signifies the head of a household, and if you’ve been abandoned, you want to look past that person and try to be better when you grow up. The goal is to take up the crown that person left behind and be better than the person who left, which can really apply to any type of relationship.”
