‘…there is plenty here that is worth your attention; the highlights are strong enough that the flaws are worth navigating…’
Emerging under a cloud of mystery at Download Festival 2025, “anonymous” masked metalcore outfit PRESIDENT have continually demonstrated a most incredible capacity for dividing fans of the genre. For some, they are an enigmatic and engaging supergroup offering a polished and perfected slice of modern metalcore with a side of thrilling theatrics. For others, they are the pinnacle of all that is wrong with the current alternative scene; an industry plant project that resorts to nothing more than pumping out the very worst tropes of the genre and little else. For Vinyl Fantasy Reviews, the fence proves to be a comfortable place to sit.
Our review for the band’s debut EP, 2025’s ‘King Of Terrors’, found it worth describing as “junkfood metalcore”; it offered little that was nutritious, and did little to make the cinematic circus of the outfit feel necessary, but the dopamine hit was undeniable. Furthermore, promise was present; ‘RAGE’, with its sparkling, glitching electronics, showed a flair for experimentation, whilst ‘In The Name Of The Father’ was a tense and infectious commentary on religious dogma. Regardless of the critics, with multiple sold out tours and an intensely anticipated debut record, it is clear that PRESIDENT are here to stay.
That debut record, ‘Blood Of Your Empire’, is a surprisingly diaristic project, detailing the struggle of a devout Christian to reconcile their faith with the damage their religion has caused the world; in that vulnerability, some genuinely beautiful moments emerge, as the band grapple with the role they have unwittingly played in the misery of others. Yet, perhaps ironically, the record frequently sounds conflicted in its sonic identity; this is a remarkable experimental synth-rock record, bogged down by an insistence on returning to all of the worst tropes of modern metalcore.
This issue ranges from being inoffensive, to taking genuinely fantastic ideas and watering them down to the point of diluted nothingness. The first half of ‘White Devil’ layers an unexpectedly jazzy piano melody over an infectious samba bounce, before devolving into a grey wall of unremarkable chugging. Similar happens with ‘Sleepwalking’, alternating between refreshing poppy verses and terribly generic verses, whilst ‘Angel Wings’ climaxes with an undeniably cringeworthy breakdown that is totally at odds with the sparkling, simmering tension that the track presents with.
Some of the material here speaks to a deeper, constant issue that plagues metalcore, which is an unyielding unwillingness to innovate, to the point of crushing over-saturation in the genre. Sleep Token’s popularisation of trap beats in metalcore is proving to have been the “Industrial Revolution and its consequences” for the scene; PRESIDENT, allegedly band of experienced musicians, blend into the masses on tracks such as ‘dark heaven’, by choosing to utilise ideas that are popular, rather than challenging themselves. Yet, even given this, if one is willing to have the patience to endure the record’s undeniable flaws, jewels can be found.
‘DOOM LOOP’ offers a heartfelt insight into mortality, with glittering synths dancing atop of a relentless, stirring beat; the lyricism is some of the strongest across the entire record, a belief in heaven contrasted by an unsettling sense of unknowing (‘Can’t control where we go in the final sleep/Guess I’m curious to find out where I belong/I hope it’s just you and I/I hope it just takes me home’). ‘Pink Noise’ pulls ideas from lo-fi and glitch pop during skittering verses, before vaulting into huge, alternative rock choruses. The acknowledgment of religion as a tool of comfort to avoid the harshest, darkest aspects of life is conveyed incredibly, especially as the track spirals upwards during the heavenly climax.
‘Hate Figure’ approaches a Linkin Park style rap-rock delivery, with guest verses provided by Ando San; there is a messiness about it, and the anti-media lyricism is questionable, but it at the very least offers something genuinely different and dynamic. Juxtaposing that aggression, ‘This Will Divide Us’ almost borders on the ambient, with its glitching, stuttering electronic soundscape. That variety, even with its flaws, is where PRESIDENT find themselves at their strongest; when the band eschew their own expectations of what metalcore should be, a band befitting of their popularity and scale emerges.
‘Blood Of Your Empire’ is certainly not going to convert the doubters; the very valid critiques listeners had regarding the band’s sound on their debut EP are still present and accounted for here. However, for fans of the band and those who adore the shape of modern metalcore in general, there is plenty here that is worth your attention; the highlights are strong enough that the flaws are worth navigating, and with refinement, PRESIDENT may yet offer something truly worthy of their cinematic attitude.
RATING: 74/100
For Fans Of: Sleep Token, Bad Omens, Bring Me The Horizon, Northlane
Physical copies of the album can be purchased here.
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