Track By Tracks: Hempire - The Weight (2025)

1. Nugrunner:

The album’s opener was written lyrically very quickly. It was one of the times where I had a pen and a yellow legal pad. Just sat down, and let it fly. It's about fame, and fortune. Deciding what to do with the time given to you.

Life & Death. A lot of our songs on this record are based around that idea. The duality of life. We don't write much about Politics or Religion. We get enough of that in our day to day.

2. The Grind:

The Grind is a straight-forward Motorhead-esque Rock and Roll song. Lyrically, it's very out and up front. It's about working your ass off. Taking pride in what you work for and understanding when it inevitably crumbles like most things do. You get up, and start over. It's that constant cycle. Hence the title.

3. Sound of the Hellbound:

We wrote this one for our fans, really. It's like our "Shout It Out Loud" & "Cowboys From Hell" rolled into one. Literal Riff City. Absolutely one of my favorites to play live, because it gets everyone’s attention right off the bat. Lyrically, it translates to "we're here to take over your evening. Go get a drink. Lace up your dancing boots. Have fun and leave your shit at the door."

4. Without the Darkness:

This one actually has a funny origin story, in a way.

When I lived in Boone, I had this fire pit next to the river in the middle of the woods. Every week I'd have probably three bonfires. Always had Old Country music on the speaker. My friends & I would just shoot the shit in the company of Jim Beam. We'd talk about things going on in our lives and solutions to common problems. Drink whiskey and smoke way too many cigarettes. One night sitting out there in the dark, I realized it was a form of therapy. So the lines "Hail the Hanks by fire light, Find yourself in the night" are the seeds to that song.

Willie Nelson said, "You can't make a record if you ain't got something to say". We've always tried to write from our hearts. So, "Without the Darkness" is our recognition that sometimes you gotta be in the dark, to find the light.

5. Wasn’t Born Yesterday:

Speaking of seeds, this was the Hempire first song, if I remember correctly. Back when Jon & I handled guitar duties. It's always in the set, and it's just got that big Chorus that gets stuck in your head. All-In-All it says, “Work hard, Be true, don't be an idiot and be humble enough to know that you don't have all the answers.” It's just how life is. Surround yourself with good people and you'll figure it out.

6. Deathbringers, Inc.:

Back in Boone, NC. A member of a local band there told me the City Council dubbed the Rock & Metal scene "Deathbringers". I'm not sure if that was meant to be an insult, but it sure as hell did sound cool. So I added the "Inc." because it was a collective group of bands.

Also, to be completely honest, I thought it sounded like Deadman, Inc. Growing up a huge Wrestling fan, I had to slip a little subtle homage to The Undertaker. It's just talking about everyone having fun while they can, because at the time politically it was a disaster and everyone seemed to be on edge all the time. Also, I'm pretty sure this is the song some guy paid us $50 to play a second time at a bar in Sylva, NC.

7. Gravedigger:

I said we write from the heart, and we always want things to be as true as possible. This is the only exception to that. It's basically a fast-paced, barn-burner of a track that kinda sums up to say, "I'm going to bury you. Count your days.” But goddamn, that riff is too good not to use. Also, once again, it has a big chorus. If you haven't noticed it from our album yet. We love Choruses.

8. Bongbroth:

Sometime around 2021, we lost a rehearsal space in Boone, NC and we were kinda just writing alone. I had just moved to this house where the garage was LITERALLY filled to the ceiling with random shit. I spent two weeks hauling away that mess in order to have a place to set up my gear and play (Worth it). That’s where this song came from. Jon came over and I showed it to him, and within 5 minutes, the cops knocked on the garage door.

It's our only Instrumental song, and I never thought it needed any lyrics. It's a bit slower paced, compared to the others. But it gives everyone a breather, and Jason gets to have a rippin' bass solo. That's a win-win if you ask me. In the studio, Jon went mad scientist with the djembe and synths, and a number of other instruments I didn't know he could play.

9. Deathtrap:

It's not cryptic. It's very up front. Life is a Deathtrap.

"I hope you make it through this life, take it all one day at a time".

Which just translates to you. I hope everyone pushes on, I hope everyone slows down and enjoys it. This album is funny in a way. At first glance you'd think it's all about dying, it's maniacal. But it's the opposite. It's about living in the face of Death. If anyone is having a difficult time in life, this one was kind of a way to say, “Push on. You got this shit.”

Music-wise, it's a straightforward Riff Salad. The breakdown at the end with Duke Nukem grunts almost ALWAYS gets the crowd moving if they ain't already, and makes me laugh - who doesn't love a good Duke Nukem 3D reference?

10. Ain’t Leavin’ Here Alive:

Again, we ain't exactly cryptic with our lyrics. It's a little Homage to Hank WIlliams SR title wise. If you haven't noticed, we're all into Country Music. That much should be blatant by now. Keeping the way Waylon & Paycheck would write lyrics.

I used a Digitech Whammy set to the “2 Octaves Up” setting to get the accent squeals. You'll notice that on a few songs on the record. This one has shades of politics, but it's not for or against anything politically. Kind of just says that we're tired of the never-ending cycle of bullshit.

But don't stress on it too hard, because...

You Ain't Leavin' Here Alive.

In a nutshell, I'd say that's the theme of the record, and it makes this track a great closer.