Long Player: CCTV - Empire

Let's talk about the album.

Before we get into the track by track, I just think it should be acknowledged up front to our listeners that this is a very cohesive concept album.

The album's called Empire.

There's a song called Empire of Blood.

Before we get into breaking down each track at a time, can you tell us a little bit about the concept behind the album as a whole? What themes are you working with here?

i think kind of broadly kind of the way it shaped up was we knew we wanted to make an album and i kind of had a few tracks that were working with like similar ideas and then we kind of started building stuff up around that i guess theme wise like the the big thing that i was kind of thinking about or like trying to pick apart was like um Empire whoa that's the title but like specifically like the the kind of mechanics and lifespan and death and uh resurrection of like these massive ultimately like imperialistic powers that kind of kind of shape and control the world mostly through like dominating other smaller states, right? And yeah, that was just kind of the starting point.

And then it was kind of working through like how that manifests in different ways.

So just light stuff.

Yeah, just light stuff.

I will just say personally that listening to this album, I was disturbed.

I was filled with dread.

In other words, it felt exactly how it feels to be alive in 2026 right now.

So I mean all of that as a very high compliment.

I've rarely ever heard a concept album so cohesive from end to end.

That's all I have to say for our listeners up top, but they'll be hearing all about it soon.

Thank you.

That means so much.

let's move on and let's start talking about the album track by track

Let's talk about the album.

Before we get into the track by track, I just think it should be acknowledged up front to our listeners that this is a very cohesive concept album.

The album's called Empire.

There's a song called Empire of Blood.

Before we get into breaking down each track at a time, can you tell us a little bit about the concept behind the album as a whole? What themes are you working with here?

i think kind of broadly kind of the way it shaped up was we knew we wanted to make an album and i kind of had a few tracks that were working with like similar ideas and then we kind of started building stuff up around that i guess theme wise like the the big thing that i was kind of thinking about or like trying to pick apart was like um Empire whoa that's the title but like specifically like the the kind of mechanics and lifespan and death and uh resurrection of like these massive ultimately like imperialistic powers that kind of kind of shape and control the world mostly through like dominating other smaller states, right? And yeah, that was just kind of the starting point.

And then it was kind of working through like how that manifests in different ways.

So just light stuff.

Yeah, just light stuff.

I will just say personally that listening to this album, I was disturbed.

I was filled with dread.

In other words, it felt exactly how it feels to be alive in 2026 right now.

So I mean all of that as a very high compliment.

I've rarely ever heard a concept album so cohesive from end to end.

That's all I have to say for our listeners up top, but they'll be hearing all about it soon.

Thank you.

That means so much.

let's move on and let's start talking about the album track by track