Recently, there have been a large number of bands forming that decide to make their lyrical themes based around a book, video game, or film series. Popular franchises like “Halo”, “Dark Souls”, and “Lord of the Rings” have all found a home within the lyrical themes of certain metal bands. In November of last year, a band called The Senate released their debut, titled “Tales From A Galaxy Far, Far Away”, an album all about one of my personal favorite film franchises, “Star Wars”. The band takes certain elements from John Williams’ iconic score, and incorporate it with their own deathcore/death metal sound. “For The Glory Of The Empire” opens up this album, and does so over an extreme metal version of Star Wars’ iconic theme. The song is short, and basically serves as the intro to this album, but it also gives a good hint at what their sound is like. On the next song, the band chooses to answer the age-old question “Who Shot First?”. This song is extremely fast and heavy, with nice riffs, nice lead guitar, and nice vocal range.
The band includes a short section from the “Cantina Song” from “A New Hope”, adding another good use of the iconic score on this album. “Secrets of the Sensual Holograms” is next, and has a humorous spoken word intro before launching into the song. This song has a surprisingly haunting tone, and is a bit more melodic than previous songs. The real stand-out here is the vocals, which include some nasty, choking sounds, along with a section of the vocalist struggling to growl some of the funnier lyrics included in this song. Next is “I Thought They Smelled Bad On The Outside”, a song that is fast, with nice writing and vocals. The song, while good, doesn’t necessarily stand out from previous songs. “Mausoleum of Heroes” is next, and is a very interesting song. It serves as the album’s interlude, and features a metal rendition of “Duel of the Fates”, however there is also dialogue from the movies as well, including the famous “I killed them all” speech from Anakin in “Attack of the Clones”, and the confrontation between Palpatine and Windu, culminating in the line “I am the Senate”. Despite being an interlude, the band manages to make it fun, and does so in a different way.
“The Bloated One” is next, and is the longest song on the album at just over four minutes. This song is heavy as hell, and shows off the vocal range, and the writing ability of this project. This song has nice lead guitar, culminating in a nice solo at the end. “Swallowed by the Sarlacc” follows this up, and continues the fast and heaviness of the previous tracks. The writing on here continues to be solid, and the lead guitar continues to be utilized very well. “Daddy Issues” ends this album, and does so with an extreme metal rendition of “The Imperial March”. This song is heavy as hell, and features more great vocals, and a nice breakdown towards the end, ending this album on a solid note. Maybe it’s just the Star Wars fan in me, but I really enjoyed this album. The production, especially on the drums, can be a bit rough, but overall this is a very solid release. If you like deathcore and Star Wars, this is a match made in heaven.
Overall Score: 9.0/10
Review by Sam Hookom
