“The halls of faded figures”: this is the first line of the first song on the “Mark V” album by EMPIRE IN RUINS, a new project by Japan-based multi-instrumentalist Mark Murdock who once upon a time was a drummer in Peter Banks’ EMPIRE – and that’s the late guitarist he’s singing about here, on a record dedicated to his former employer. That original ensemble’s run of records is known now as ""Mark I, II & III" with "The Mars Tapes" forming the fourth volume; hence, number V in the title of Murdock’s new offering.
Mark V
Among those who help him out here are Mark’s regular associate Fernando Perdomo – the two also played together in THE NEW EMPIRE’s "Second Lifetime" – and Murdock’s son Preston, and that family-and-friends vibe is what special about this project; that and the fact of Mark’s knowing Banks’ way of thinking well enough to pay a heartfelt homage to Peter.
1. Empire In Ruins
2. The Institute Of Madness
3. The Empress Of Destruction
4. Left In The Wreckage Of Fleeting Fame
5. Against The Burning Sky
6. Endless Skies
7. The Old World
8. Bollocks Diabalical
9. Forever Forgotten
