We Speak Rock

Chris Principe of Hooray For Earth Confronts Learned Hate on Judge & Jury

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

Close-up portrait of singer-songwriter Chris Principe, founding member of Hooray For Earth, looking at the camera against a dark background.

Chris Principe, founding member of Hooray For Earth, with his new single "Judge & Jury." Photo by Anna Briggs.

A founding member of Hooray For Earth is back with a question at the centre of his new music: nobody is born hating someone else, so where does that hate get learned? Chris Principe’s Judge & Jury takes that idea on directly, and the single and video are out now.

Rhode Island-based singer-songwriter Chris Principe, best known as a founding member and bassist of indie-rock band Hooray For Earth, continues his return to original music with “Judge & Jury,” a socially conscious single examining how prejudice and hatred are learned. Written in response to intensifying ICE raids and the growing political divisions in America, the track explores the ways ideology, misinformation and the environments we grow up in can shape our perceptions of others.

Centering on the idea that nobody is born hating someone else, “Judge & Jury” challenges the origins of prejudice while leaving room for the possibility of personal change. Principe examines the mindset behind deeply entrenched beliefs, questioning how empathy can be lost while maintaining that people have the capacity to reconsider and change their perspectives.

“I started writing ‘Judge & Jury’ in the summer of 2025, watching ICE raids intensify and our country sink further and further into moral bankruptcy. I tried to imagine the mindset of someone who would jump at the opportunity to become an ICE agent, or someone so deeply entrenched in hard-right ideology that they’ve lost their sense of empathy. The song is based on the idea that nobody is born hating someone else. Those attitudes are learned, whether from the people and environments we grow up around or from the extreme ideologies and misinformation we’re constantly exposed to online. I wanted to challenge that way of thinking while still leaving room for the possibility that people can change, if they’re willing to. I still choose to believe that everyone has the capacity to change, or I’ll go insane,” Principe explains.

Following “Bombs” and “Us Vs. Them,” “Judge & Jury” is part of the socially conscious side of Principe’s forthcoming five-song EP, slated for 2027. Together, the first three singles examine prejudice, political division and the forces that obscure our shared humanity. The project will also feature two more personal songs reflecting on his experiences during and after his years with Hooray For Earth.

During his time with Hooray For Earth, Principe toured extensively throughout the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. His return to original music has attracted regional press attention, including features in the Providence Journal, Worcester Magazine and Rhode Island Monthly. He has also formed a new band, Chris Principe & The Forgotten, performing throughout New England.

“Judge & Jury” by Chris Principe is out now.

Chris Principe Bio:

Chris Principe is a Rhode Island-based singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member and bassist of indie-rock band Hooray For Earth. During his time with the group, he toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

After nearly a decade away from releasing original music, Principe returned in June 2026 with “Judge & Jury” and “Us Vs. Them,” two politically charged singles exploring division, learned hatred and shared humanity. Both were mixed by Dan Konopka of OK Go, with former Hooray For Earth bandmate Noel Heroux contributing synth bass to “Us Vs. Them.”

His third single, “Bombs,” arrives November 20, 2026. An anti-war folk-rock song, it examines the fear and rhetoric used to justify military conflict in the Middle East, while separately satirizing the contradictions of America First politics.

The releases have attracted regional press attention, including features in the Providence Journal, Worcester Magazine and Rhode Island Monthly. Principe has also formed a new band, Chris Principe & The Forgotten, performing throughout New England.

All three singles are part of a forthcoming five-song EP planned for 2027, which will also feature two more personal songs reflecting on his experiences during and after his years with Hooray For Earth.

EMPATH, Built From Volbeat, Rising And Anti-Ritual Members, Drop Their Self-Titled Debut Album

Published

17 hours ago

November 14, 2026

We Speak Media

EMPATH's four members in a black and white portrait against a dark background

Copenhagen has a new heavy rock band with serious pedigree. EMPATH, formed by members of Volbeat, Rising and Anti-Ritual, have released their self-titled debut album today, November 13th, on Indisciplinarian — a dark and dreamy take on heavy rock built on atmosphere, melody and crushing dynamics.

EMPATH is the sound of a new, dark and dreamy heavy rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark — one that revolves around atmosphere, presence and empathy. The constellation may be new, but the four members carry solid experience from bands such as Volbeat, Rising and Anti-Ritual.

In a digital and efficiency-driven age, where humanity is increasingly giving way to mechanical coldness, EMPATH — as the name suggests — is about presence, empathy and humanity. This ethos runs like a common thread through the band’s self-titled debut album, released today, November 13th, 2026, on LP, CD, cassette and digital formats via Indisciplinarian.

Across nine songs, EMPATH blends elements of progressive metal, doom, sludge and post-rock into a sound that is as dreamy and melodic as it is heavy and riff-driven. The music was recorded live with producer Lasse Ballade (Halshug, Slægt, Eyes) at Ballade Studios in Copenhagen, with vocals tracked at Grapehouse Studios by Morten Grønnegaard. Ballade also handled mix and mastering, while the artwork was created by illustrator Jon Gotlev (Nohr).

The album was first introduced by the single “Waves,” followed by “Vessel,” both pointing toward the band’s balance of melodic clarity and dense, riff-driven weight. EMPATH plays its debut show on December 11th at Hotel Cecil in Copenhagen.

EMPATH Track Listing

1. In Absence
2. Waves
3. Vessel
4. In Formation
5. In Bloom
6. In Thought
7. In Dissent
8. In Memory
9. In Return

Before forming EMPATH, guitarist/vocalist Morten Grønnegaard played with Volbeat on the albums Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies and Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie. Bassist Christian Qvortrup played in the epic doom metal band Rising, while drummer Jakob Krogholt toured and recorded with Anti-Ritual.