With new bands popping up every day, it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the really talented bands from the tech savvy posers that "fine tune" their sound beyond their own capabilities. The music industry has become a tough road to navigate these days, and with the advent of music altering software, almost anyone can sound like a "rock star" for a relatively inexpensive cost. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS are a band that will have no problem separating themselves from the imitators that continue to saturate social media pages and digital music outlets, as their music is fine tuned only via steep talent. They have created a refreshingly original sound that melds the modern Radio Rock sound of SHINEDOWN with the early Grunge tendencies of ALICE IN CHAINS. On March 17^th, 2017, they unleashed their second studio album, "Moth", and if "seeing is believing", seeing E&E play live verifies that they are genuine and every bit as good on stage as they are in the studio.

The current lineup consists of Jesse Andrews (vocals), Anthony Modica (guitars), Ron "Stoppable" Vanders (bass), and Jason Meudt (drums). After securing a record deal with Pavement Entertainment, they released "Devil In The Lake" in 2014, and seemed to be well on their way to big things, touring relentlessly, as well as writing and recording their follow-up record. On August 13th, 2016, tragedy struck with the sudden passing of their guitarist and founding member, Jeff Windisch. After taking some time to process their thoughts and ponder their future, they decided to continue with the already recorded, "Moth", preserving the legacy of Windisch and his contributions to the album, and more importantly, to the successes of this band. Modica joined the band fulltime on lead guitar.

"Moth" follows the same blueprint as "Devil In The Lake", but what stands out to me is the maturity in the songwriting. This collection of EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS songs is multifaceted, facilitating each and every emotion and musical influence engrossed in their souls, and the band's passion is highlighted from start to finish. Andrews' distinct vocals find the perfect emotion and delivery pertaining to each lyrical message. From the liberating release of anger, to the haunting tone of hurt and loss, he leaves nothing to question. The guitars are equally as impeccable, drifting between big bluesy riffs and grungy down-tuned grooves, in just the right doses. It's pretty fair to say that Windisch has forever left his mark on this band and will not soon be forgotten. Vanders' bass playing is an amazing rollercoaster ride on each and every song, and the drumming of Meudt is outstanding and rock solid.

Right out of the gate, the first track, "Hidden", gives you a sucker punch of heavy that is reminiscent of "We Die Young" (ALICE IN CHAINS), with the second track, "Not Today", making the driving bass of Vanders, the star of the show on this heavy slab of groove. My favorite up-tempo track on the record is, "Poison", and like the other rockers, is extremely blues infused. But where this band will make their name (reference the aforementioned SHINEDOWN comparison), is with the infectious, radio friendly material like "Porcelain Kiss", their first single from the record, as well as "Cracks In The Wall", "Jester", "Whisper In The Storm", and maybe the most hit-worthy of them all, "Chicago". EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS have proven that something good can come from a bad situation and have delivered an album that will have them playing on bigger stages and to increasingly larger crowds in the near future. With the right management team behind them, this band could make huge strides to becoming everything they thought they had lost to a horrible tragedy.

Don't wait to move on this record; get it now, if you haven't already. "Moth" is one of the most finely crafted hard rock releases I've heard this year, and if this album does not put this band shining brightly on the hard rock radar, I'll be shocked.<