Dear Hollow

2 coo 4 schoo, 2 dear 5 hollow
Darkspace – Dark Space -II Review

Darkspace – Dark Space -II Review

By Dear Hollow on February 13, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, 34 comments

“Few acts have been as influential as Darkspace and its storied lexicon, from its cosmic take on atmospheric black metal to Swiss extreme music in general. While unwavering in the kvlt standard, spacious and cold ambiance collide with an unshakeable and vicious groove like the impact of planetary collisions. Their veritable chaos galaxies of Roman numeral monikers are grounded by this lethal sonic balance, each album offering yet another formidable perspective on the unfathomable cosmos.” Space in your face.

Pestilength – Solar Clorex Review

Pestilength – Solar Clorex Review

By Dear Hollow on February 12, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 23 comments

“Last we met the secretive Basque duo Pestilength, they had released their second full-length Basom Gryphos, an album that was appropriately slimy and punishing but fell by the wayside due to its scattershot compositions and unashamed Portal worship. Its potential was there, lurking beneath the surface like eldritch grandiosity yet to be awoken, but the right combination of incantations and blasphemies were needed to truly wreak havoc on mankind. In many ways, what Pestilength does is braver than dissodeath acts of similar ilk, refusing to shroud its riffs in murk or atmosphere and letting the chord progressions do the talking – putting added pressure on the string attack.” Clorexing the murk.

Throat – Blood Exaltation Review

Throat – Blood Exaltation Review

By Dear Hollow on February 7, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, 28 comments

“I’m gonna sound like an absolute madman when I say this, but Blood Exaltation is what I wanted Ad Nauseam’s Imperative Imperceptible Impulse to be. Poland’s Throat is neither dissonant nor death metal, and their aesthetic resides in tired and trve approaches of blackened occultism and evil in the shadow of religious alienation. However, there is a distinct and tantalizing array of clattering and creaking, a dusty and organic quality that settles like hard night on an old church, the tension of ancient voices crackling through haunted halls.” Breath control.

The Infernal Sea – Hellfenlic Review

The Infernal Sea – Hellfenlic Review

By Dear Hollow on February 6, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, 24 comments

“Black metal is a finnicky beast. While it’s cohesively devoted to the barbed-wire sonic abuse of the darkest variety, and themes range from the occult, misanthropy, and our old pal Satan, The Infernal Sea dwells in history’s halls. While prior full-lengths Negotium Crucis and The Great Mortality respectively deal with themes such as the medieval church’s exploitation and the Black Death, 2024 finds the Brits exploring a distinct figure: the “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins.” Witch hammering on the coast.

Baratro – The Sweet Smell of Unrest Review

Baratro – The Sweet Smell of Unrest Review

By Dear Hollow on January 30, 2024 in Reviews, Mathcore, Noise Rock, Post-Hardcore, Sludge Metal, 19 comments

“Baratro is a side project of Dave Curran of Unsane. If that shouldn’t clue you in on the level of sonic abuse that awaits you on The Sweet Smell of Unrest, then get outta my face. Noise rock is already a caustic breed of music, a nasty chocolate coating, but when you fuse it with the megaton weight of sludge, the heavy peanut butter, you’ve got yourself a sonic peanut butter cup of bludgeoning pain.” Two great pains that hurt even more together.

Drowned – Procul His Review

Drowned – Procul His Review

By Dear Hollow on January 24, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 17 comments

“Whether they like it or not, Sulphur Aeon left its mark on the death metal world. While it’s easy to focus on their lyrical themes and reverence for the Great Old Ones as a lyrical monument, their straightforward approach tinged with blackened precision and colossal atmosphere extends to more than the Cthulhu worshipers out there. Take their fellow Germans, the longstanding death metal act Drowned. While the lyrics of Procul His revolve around things like the occult, darkness, and abstract themes, you’ll find that the sound feels straight outta the Antisphere.” Tentacles in the void.

Distances – Abstruse Review

Distances – Abstruse Review

By Dear Hollow on January 18, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Post-Metal, 17 comments

“In 2013, I attended a concert in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with hopes of seeing Intronaut and Scale the Summit. However, because I’m a good little Hollow, I decided to stop in for the openers. The youth center in which this was played was scrawled with graffiti in the dim lighting, and the stage was a makeshift affair about a foot or less off the ground, and a row of beaten couches comprised the seating. When I was welcomed into the concert area, Albuquerque quartet (at the time) Distances came up, a band whose numbers rivaled the audience members. There we stood, bobbing our heads to a post-metal sound whose colossal quality blew the roof off the shady little venue.” From youth center to center stage.

Drown in Sulphur – Dark Secrets of the Soul Review

Drown in Sulphur – Dark Secrets of the Soul Review

By Dear Hollow on January 13, 2024 in Reviews, Deathcore, 37 comments

“I’m gonna be an insufferable hipster about this one: I’ve been listening to blackened deathcore before Lorna Shore made it cool. Hell, I was listening to the style before Will Ramos made Lorna Shore cool. Bands like The Breathing Process, early Make Them Suffer, and Dark Sermon were all rattling off their own takes on spooky corpse-painted Hot Topic-core in the early 2010s before some Hot Topic frequenter said “ooooh” and nabbed that Watain t-shirt they have on display while manically making pig noises to emulate “To the Hellfire.” Here we meet Drown in Sulphur, an Italian blackened deathcore act, who attempts their own spin on kvlt-y brutality.” Blackcore for the people.