A decade ago, Simon Neil and Mike Vennart would be found sitting on the back of the Biffy Clyro tour bus sharing the most extreme, confrontational or just downright twisted music they could find. Simon had always had the name Empire State Bastard lurking in the back of his mind if he ever formed a sickeningly heavy band, leaving Mike with the challenge of writing music that could live up to that moniker. Now the results are ready to be unleashed with the news that Empire State Bastard will release their debut album 'Rivers of Heresy' on September 1st on Roadrunner Records.