Big Thief Officially Release “Vampire Empire”: Listen

For a while now, Big Thief have been playing a song called “Vampire Empire” live in concert. And, back in the winter, the band performed it on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Now, as promised, Big Thief have officially released “Vampire Empire.” Hear the studio version of the track below.

Big Thief recorded “Vampire Empire” at Teatre de ca l’Eril Studio in Guissona, Spain, while on tour in Europe earlier this year. In a statement, Adrianne Lenker said of the song, “For me, it’s about getting out of toxic internal patterns—leaving the empire of energy drains that obscure pure essence, learning about what healthy boundaries are, and finding the power to implement them for the possibility of giving and receiving (both inwardly and outwardly) unbroken and infinite Love.”

On October 20, Big Thief will release a 7″ vinyl single with “Vampire Empire” on the A-side and another live favorite, “Born for Loving You,” on side B.

Big Thief released Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You last year, and it got the band nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2023 Grammy Awards. In addition, the single “Certainty” was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance.

On Saturday night, July 22, Big Thief are headlining Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Tickets are on sale now.