Someone alert the authorities, Legion Within have stolen Peter Murphy’s vocals!  Really, the resemblance of William Wilson’s singing style to that of the “Goth Lord” (as Dave Kendall used to say on 120 Minutes) is nearly distracting.  Which is unfortunate, as their is some interesting music on The Empty Men.  “Fascisti” is a dose of old-school RevCo-style bass coupled with George Bush samples and overdriven guitar, while “Wrath of the Empty Men” and “She Chides” offer a rather muscular take on gothic rock.  “Led Astray” goes for a more acoustic guitar-meets-orchestral sound, and “Rise” ventures into a heavy, mid-90s industrial rock style.  Which brings me to my one real complaint about The Empty Men: it sometimes feels like a record with an identity crisis.  Despite a certain lack of coherence, The Empty Men does have its moments; I’ll certainly be spinning the disc again, even though I still find the Murphyosity alarming.  (Oh, I should mention that the EP is closed out by two dance floor-oriented remixes…bet you didn’t see that coming.)

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