10 21st Century Rock/Metal Albums That Never Got A Sequel

The UK alt scene experienced an oft-overlooked boom period in the late 2000s/early 2010s with its underground scene producing a smörgåsbord of sonically interesting and creatively saturated young artists. Along with the likes of Hawk Eyes, Exit Ten, Exit_International and Feed the Rhino came Empress AD, a London-based four-piece that mixed prog metal with post-hardcore and dream pop, and who got themselves signed onto Roadrunner on the back of just a few self-released singles.

Expectations were high for the group, and a slight name change was enacted to safeguard against any potential legal issues (having previously being known simply as “Empress”). Metal Hammer magazine and BBC Radio 1 hosts Daniel P. Carter and Zane Lowe all tipped their hat to the burgeoning group, who would earn positive comparisons to the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, and Thrice. The Guardian even claimed they were future Download Festival headliners.

Sadly though, there was an abrupt halt in their momentum in 2015, and after years of promise, and a sole, very well received debut in 2014’s Still Life Moving Fast, the band decided to split up. Brothers Ollie and Alex Loring have since teamed up with former Exit Ten drummer Chris Steele to form the south coast alt rock outfit Big Spring.