Screamo band Empathetic from Vancouver released their first record The Room Collapses Quietly on August 7 via Zegema Beach Records. The record grew alongside the band from the beginning, preserving the core of their earliest material while showcasing the act’s more developed, distinct sound.
Empathetic, inactive by now, released the part of them that had been in creation for about three years. Reid Hill, the band’s guitarist, backing vocalist and one of the founding members, wrote drafts of all the instruments for The Room Collapses Quietly in his home studio to let the material absorb all their collective changes later. He also recorded, mixed, and mastered the EP himself.
“Some of our earliest songs came together very quickly during our first rehearsals, while other material changed significantly over time. An important early blueprint for Empathetic’s sound came from a song M (M Mackenzie Cooper, lead vocalist) and I recorded before forming the band called ‘that was my favorite hoodie’. At the time, we were working under our respective solo projects — Existntl for me and Threat Display for M.”
“A defining part of that sound is the guitar tuning. Most of the Empathetic material is played in a tuning commonly associated with midwest emo. It naturally has a very open and pretty quality, but I spent a lot of time experimenting with unusual chord shapes that could make it feel darker, heavier, and more chaotic. As far as I know, nobody else has used this tuning in quite the same style that we have,” Reid shares with Musiknights.
M Mackenzie Cooper wrote most of the vocal patterns and lyrics that delve into deterioration, isolation, and the delayed realization that something has changed beyond repair. According to Reid, the finished EP is close to the emotional direction they originally had in mind.
“The title The Room Collapses Quietly represents the feeling of your life gradually falling apart around you. The collapse happens so slowly and quietly that you may not recognize it while it is happening,” Reid adds.
Although to Reid it doesn’t feel they’ve reached their natural end as Empathetic, and would like to continue under different circumstances, the members went on to pursue other music projects and interests. Reid himself works in live audio, M continues working on Threat Display, and other bandmates are involved with other bands such as Unmoved.
Empathetic formed in Vancouver in November 2022 with Reid Hill and Oli Davies on guitar, M Mackenzie Cooper on lead vocals, Yoda Perron on drums, and Andrew Dury on bass and backing vocals (Dury formerly of Baptists and Erosion). Davies left in July 2023, followed by Dury several months later. Cohen Perratt joined on guitar in November 2023 after moving from Calgary to Vancouver for school; he’d been playing with Abrupt Decay. Hayden Peeling came on bass in February 2024 with previous experience in Thank You Driver, which later became Unmoved.
The current lineup is Reid Hill and Cohen Perratt on guitar, M Mackenzie Cooper on lead vocals, Yoda Perron on drums, and Hayden Peeling on bass.
Empathetic online:
https://www.instagram.com/empathetic.bc
Cover Photo — Bandcamp