Brussels (Belgium)-based coldwave/darkwave outfit Empereur will release on 21 February via Icy Cold Records a new album entitled Eau Rouge. Recorded between 2021 and 2023 at Woodstudio in Liège under the direction of Maxime Wathieu, Eau Rouge bears the marks of a meticulous production, balancing urgency and precision.
The album's mixing and production were then entrusted to Matt Peel (The Nave, Leeds, UK), injecting an even more abrasive and immersive dimension into the band's sound. The finishing touch was delivered by Daniel Husayn at North London Bomb Factory (London, UK), where the album was mastered in 2024, sealing this sonic whirlwind in all its raw power.
A visceral and acid-etched album, where each track lands like a blow against the gentrification of post-punk. A sonic rebellion — ten tracks shaped like a punk requiem. Forging their way through the post-punk underworld for a decade, after dozens of exhausting gigs and two blistering EPs, Empereur is back to unleash their cold, binary wave like a sawed-off shotgun, spitting venom in the form of sharp, manifesto-like outbursts finished in acid.
Two tracks are already available for streaming, of which "Amor Fati", a dark and hypnotic track, got its video form. The video is a visual extension of the trio's raw and cutting energy. Inspired by the idea of fate accepted with fatalism, "Amor Fati" is an exploration of surrender, where light flickers in the darkness and where we dance on the ruins of a collapsing civilization. Link
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"We only make an album when we feel genuinely inspired. You can't just say, "OK, I'm going to record a new album", because without inspiration, it would be boring." - Gregor Mackintosh
"With Hypocrisy, I'm very "home", but with Pain, it's an adventure, just like going into the jungle only with a knife and no glass of water and trying to survive." - Peter Tägtgren
"We try to support our army as much as possible since we also have friends on the frontline." - Helle Bohdanova
"I hope that through our music and our words, people can feel that connection between us and them, and feel a little bit better — or at least less alone." - Alessandro Belluccio
