_{Swedish band Empire 21 released their self-titled debut album through their own Empire 21 Records label on 28th November. I have to say that this was one of those albums that impressed me from the very first listen. The quality of the vocals, guitar riffs and overall production really are superb. The expression “no fillers” is often over-used, but this really is one of those albums where that is the case. I could have picked any track to play on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 5th December, but I’ve went with the opening track “When You’re Falling”. Expect more in the weeks to come!}

_{The band was formed by guitarist CJ Grimmark (from Rob Rock, Narnia, Fullforce & Beautiful Sin) and he also produced the album, which was mixed by Tibias Lindell (Europe / Hardcore Superstar) and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson (Scar Symmetry / Watain). The man responsible for the awesome vocals in Ricard Hulteke and the rest of the band consists of Tobias Enbert on drums, Andreas Alov on bass and John Svensson on keyboards.}

_{There’s not that much more I can tell you about the band really. Check out their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/empire21.se or website - http://www.empire21.se/ -  where you might be able to find out more.}

_{Trying to pick favourite tracks from the 11 on the album is difficult enough, though at a push I might have to go for “When You’re Falling” and “Traveller” as my two most stand-out tracks. The album is available from all the usual places so go give it a listen.}

_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. To be honest I’m not really a big fan of “Reviews” expressing positives or negatives which essentially just represent one person’s opinion. With “NI Rocks Recommends”, I'll not be giving marks or ratings or dissecting every aspect of the album; just telling you that something about the artist and the album and that I like it!}

_{My musical tastes covers most things from heavy melodic rock (anything too melodic bores me!) to the lower echelons of the metal genre (where it’s not ALL growling and screaming!). The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}