Death metal SG tones, the drummer from Slayer and “unabridged hatred in musical form”: get a load of this year’s filthiest riffers Empire State Bastard

In their native UK, Biffy Clyro are one of the biggest bands in the country – festival headliners with an arsenal of anthemic alt-rock singles that are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. But touring guitarist Mike Vennart and frontman Simon Neil have taken a distinctly non-commercial turn with their new project Empire State Bastard.

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Michael Astley-Brown
Editor-in-Chief, GuitarWorld.com

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.