Manchester alt-punks The Empty Page release new album ‘Imploding’ today with new single ‘I’m A White Hot Blade’

It’s been a long time since uncompromising Manchester alt-punks The Empty Page released their debut album ‘Unfolding’ back in 2016. It was never their intention to leave it that long, but ill health, a global pandemic, and general life stuff got in the way. All of this makes it all the more triumphant that The Empty Page is finally releasing their new album ‘Imploding’, out today via the band’s own Vociferous Records.

To celebrate its release, The Empty Page is releasing a new single with an equally dramatic video titled ‘I’m A White Hot Blade (Witches Are Wicked)’.

“All the songs are personal to me on this and every record but ‘I’m A White Hot Blade’ is particularly close to my heart,” explains singer Kel. “I had been walking a lot in the hills of Lancashire, not far from where I grew up. It got me thinking about the real-life ‘witches’ that were massacred in this part of the world, the stories of what happened to them and other women (and some men) in other parts of the world. The unfathomable brutality towards people, particularly women, who were trying to heal and nurture. I had also been thinking more and more about women in politics and power, or the lack thereof. Thinking about how so many of the powerful men who currently run the world are running things in a way that I and many other people simply don’t approve of with war and violence and capitalism and power-hungry madness. How different it might be if there was more gender balance.

“I was thinking about how, ever since I was a child, witches have been cast as wicked, evil, cunning and plain bad as well as being disparaged for being old and ‘ugly’,” continues Kel. “Conversely, wizards are cast as wise, benevolent, powerful and important. Their age is to be revered and respected, cast as superior, long-bearded icons.

“Often when people are oppressed and beaten down, they forge stronger bonds among their fellow oppressed and become more powerful. Fire can be used to damage and burn but it can also create powerful things – like white-hot blades. The song is about the incredible power that comes out of struggle.” 

The accompanying video was shot (by Camille Alexander) at Ember Ironworks in Skipton, Lancs where people can actually go and make a knife in the same way they would have done in decades past.

For ‘Imploding’ the band worked with producer Morton Kong and for the first time found themselves with the luxury of not having to rush the recording process and took full advantage of the creative space, utilizing the studios’ vintage gear and experimenting with sounds and fresh ideas (“we hit massive bells with hammers, dicked around with walkie-talkies, created elaborate bass feedback setups,” laughs Kel) and generally pushed themselves and their music further than it has ever gone before.

“People often describe our sound as anxious, urgent, angular,” summarises Kel. “I think it’s all of those things because that’s what the inside of my brain looks like. But I think it’s lush and beautiful at times too. I hope people can hear the whole gamut of emotions in this record. It’s political, personal, passionate and, I hope, important.”

‘Imploding’ is out now via Vociferous Records. Order the album HERE:

‘Imploding’ Track-listing:

Dry Ice

Cock of the Fifth Year

Life is a Wave

Medication Nation

I’m a White Hot Blade (Witches are Wicked)

Gorge (Oh Well)

Level Sedentary

Big Nasty Palpitations                                                                                                              

Leaf Thin

What Happens Now?

 

Catch The Empty Page live at the following dates:

May 10 The Night Owl, London

May 16 Yes Pink Room, Manchester

June 1 The Parish, Huddersfield

July 6 Right To Roam Festival, Bolton

August 4 Rebellion Festival, Blackpool