New Music: WVM – Empire

Published On: October 14th, 2026|

When I first heard Empire, it had an air of familiarity to it, but I couldn’t quite place where I’d come across it before.

I initially put that down to its beat-driven electronica with a decidedly rock posture to it. Empire has a gothic and industrial flourish in the melody and the chorus, with vocals combining the fire of Chris Corner’s IAMX flowing and the sultry bohemian rock god era of Dave Gahan.

WVM is actor, visual artist, and musician David Alvarez, whose songs have not only been placed in high-profile Hollywood productions, but he’s also appeared in some of them in recent years. And the reason I thought I had come across the track before? Empire was first heard around a decade ago, and gained prominence after featuring in The 100. This version has been remastered and rereleased as WVM gets set to drop a new album.

Get to know more about WVM on Instagram and Facebook. Empire is streaming on Spotify and Bandcamp.