Review: Southern Empire – Another World

Style: prog metal, prog rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo, The Flower Kings
Review by: Andy
Country: Australia
Release date: 4 September 2023

I’ve been listening to a boatload of prog for a long period of time, so inevitably people around me get caught in the crossfire. And I have had some success inflicting Stockholm Syndrome on my unwary friends and family with Southern Empire being perhaps the greatest example. By all intents a proggy prog™ band–replete with random genre switches, glorious Dream Theater-y instrumental absurdity, and of course several twenty-plus minute epics–this is not the easiest gateway band into the arena of progressive rock and metal despite the relative catchiness and anthemic songwriting. Yet against all the odds, this is my mother’s–the picture of a white suburban woman’s–very favorite prog band, and you’ll often stumble upon her humming “Goliath’s Moon” or “Cries for the Lonely” to herself. Because my mom loves Southern Empire so much, I’ve heard Civilisation countless times on CD in the car with her, and while the album is heavily flawed, particularly with regards to pacing, I also wholeheartedly love nearly every moment. Southern Empire perfectly blended proggy structures, insanely catchy choruses, and just enough weirdness to be extremely listenable. Heck, “Cries for the Lonely” is without a doubt a top tier prog epic ever, a perfect way to have the nineteen minute drive to high school fly by. So I’ve been waiting five years for Another World, and it’s here now (with new singer Shaun Holton). Will this excite me, and more importantly my mom, as much as Civilisation? 

Southern Empire tightened up the package with only one longer song extending to a mere nineteen minutes and nothing approaching the colossal, weighty epics on Southern Empire and Civilisation. On Another World, “Reaching Out” starts with high energy and catchy, Beatles-ish harmonizing background vocals. The shorter song really shows off their penchant for humongous choruses that really stick, and their 90s prog metal influence shines with a slick, Petrucci-esque solo near the end of the track. However, everybody and their moms go to Southern Empire for the longer epics, and the second track, “Face the Dawn,” is the highlight of Another World at large. Holton’s excellent voice and tonal control function as a stunning frontman replacement, and the song does all the silly little things I have come to expect from Southern Empire. From prog metal to a violin, fretless bass, and piano section, they quickly transition into a funky sax solo and then into a reprisal of the main melody on violin. Impressively, this all sounds natural progressing through the song, and not cracking a little smile is impossible while hearing these Australians.

The album loses some steam immediately; the next track, “Hold on to Me,” is a stifling, cheesy ballad that sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on a contemporary Christian pop rock record. The performances, particularly those vocals, as well as the progression is nice, but I prefer the more epic package Southern Empire brought on their first couple albums where this cheesy ballad feels anathema to proginess. Southern Empire fumble the bag twice with this epic to ballad combination, including a weak ballad to end the album. Both short songs are fine, but they could–nay, should–be cut on an already lengthy album. Ballads have a time and a place, and I don’t think it’s at the end of a Southern Empire epic. 

But as much as I wish Southern Empire kept up the behemoth track lengths as ridiculous as they were, Another World isn’t that, but they work well within their shorter confines. “When You Return” drips with a funkiness that makes you bust a move, and the space-themed spoken word sits exactly on the threshold between tastefully silly and unbearably cringe. The solo section and bass are superb in the chorus, the bass in particular carrying a lot of weight in the album as well as in the mix, which is crystal clear. Southern Empire are a seriously talented group, and they know how to emphasize their performative strengths with the music. 

After five years of listening to “Cries for the Lonely” over and over, I’m certainly disappointed that huge epic “White Shadows” isn’t that, but it is still a cinematic masterclass. Unfurling in a much more linear way than any Southern Empire epic yet, the band compose with orchestration to create a provocative, sprawling epic. However, “White Shadows” feels unforuantely afraid to push the envelope a little bit, reflective of the Another World. Southern Empire slightly shun the explorative wonder that I felt on the band’s previous works, prioritizing a smoother package a bit too much and neglecting what made the band so tremendous and unique in the first place. But the real test is does my mom like it… and she texted me with a resounding “yes!” So ya did good Southern Empire, keep progging™ on. 

Recommended tracks: Face the Dawn, White Shadows
You may also like: Transatlantic, Magellan, Ice Age, The Enigma Division, Projected Twin, Explorer’s Club, Kharma Code, Unitopia
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook

•     Sean Timms – Keyboards/Vocals/Saxaphone
•     Shaun Holton – Lead Vocals/Guitar
•     Cam Blokland – Guitar/Vocals
•     Brody Green – Drums/Vocals
•     Jez Martin – Bass/Vocals