Empire
EP by
The Word Alive
ReleasedJuly 21, 2009
StudioWade Studios, Ocala, Florida, U.S.
GenreMetalcore
Length23:00
LabelFearless
ProducerAndrew Wade
The Word Alive chronology
The Word Alive
(2008) 		Empire
(2009) 		Deceiver
(2010)
Singles from Empire
  1. "Battle Royale"
    Released: May 18, 2009[1]
  2. "Quit While You're Ahead"
    Released: June 4, 2009
  3. "The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules"
    Released: June 26, 2009[2]

Empire is the second EP by American metalcore band The Word Alive. It was released on July 21, 2009, through Fearless Records. The EP was produced by Andrew Wade and charted at number 15 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers.[3] After this EP, founding drummer Tony Aguilera was fired from the band, it is however, the first release with lead vocalist Tyler Smith.

Smith, who mostly worked as a bass player in other groups before joining the band, was pressured to learn how to scream in just a matter of few days in preparation for the EP's recording, as he did not know how to properly do it prior.[4] Some additional screamed vocals are also provided by guitarist, Zack Hansen.

Re-recordings

The song "Casanova Rodeo" was originally a part of the unreleased The Word Alive EP. After the release of Empire, the track "Battle Royale" became one of The Word Alive's most known and notable songs and was re-recorded for the band's debut full-length album, Deceiver.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk(81%)[5]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Battle Royale"Tyler SmithThe Word Alive3:55
2."Quit While You're Ahead"SmithThe Word Alive3:44
3."Casanova Rodeo" (re-recorded version; original version from The Word Alive)Craig MabbittThe Word Alive, Mabbitt3:36
4."The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules"SmithThe Word Alive3:52
5."Inviting Eyes"SmithThe Word Alive3:21
6."How to Build an Empire"SmithThe Word Alive4:31
Total length:23:00

Personnel

The Word Alive
Additional musicians
Additional personnel

Chart

Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[6] 15

References

  1. ^ "The Word Alive Battle Royale (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "The Word Alive The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Word Alive debut #15 on Billboard Heatseekers!". indiestar.tv. 29 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2010.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "The Word Alive - Empire EP". SoundCloud. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Empire review AbsolutePunk
  6. ^ "The Word Alive Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
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