Empathy Test Rocks Small’s with NITE, Siamese, and Where Embers Fall

Oct 19

Written By Mikel Pfeiffer/Digital Racket

Empathy Test is a band I’ve been meaning to see for a few years now. I thought I was going to catch them at a Cold Waves tour a couple years ago but they had to drop it. I lost track of when Empathy Test was playing in Detroit (well, Hamtramck) so I only ended up deciding to go on the day of the show. I’m glad I did as this was a great night from all the bands that played. Where Embers Fall is a new band to me and I really like what they were bringing. They play dark wave with hard harsh and angelic vocals. They’ve also got some great synth rhythms. Siamese is a band I’ve seen several times but I never get tired of seeing them play again. Tonight they played a blazing set that showed they have really punched up some of their songs. NITE was the total surprise of the night. They brought a little bit of everything to their very exciting set. I heard hair metal, grunge and even boy band elements all mixed in their synth pop, gothy set. They have an amazing stage presence as the twin brothers bring the crowd into every song. Empathy Test was the reason for me coming tonight and they did not disappoint. The stage was sparse with just the singer and drummer. Their synth player couldn’t make the tour due to Visa issues. However, the open stage space gave singer, Isaac Howlett, room to saunter around so all the crowd could be sung to. Isaac is very charismatic as he reminds me of Ian Curtis but there’s also a bit of Marc Almond in there somewhere. They played many of their best songs, including my favorites, Monsters and Vampire Town.

– Mike Pfeiffer aka Digital Racket

Empathy Test