Dear Hollow

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R.A Sánchez – L’Ottava Sfera Review

By Dear Hollow on November 30, 2023 in Reviews, Drone, 23 comments

“The trouble with genre-bending avant-garde artists is the line between utter brilliance and foolhardy amateurishness. Like a sleeping bear of sonic putridity, artists poke it with their toes of jazz and ambiance and drone, and it largely is a matter of time before they’re greeted with the teeth, and consequently, our ears are bathed in confusion. R.A Sánchez, proprietor of the ambient weirdness of Black Baptist, offers this odd concoction in solo debut L’Ottava Sfera.” Creativity is madness by another name.

Silent Planet – Superbloom Review

By Dear Hollow on November 23, 2023 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Djent, Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, 17 comments

“Silent Planet, named after the first installment of C.S. Lewis’ creatively titled Space trilogy, has always been a lyrical triumph and the pinnacle of metalcore consistency throughout the quartet’s four-album run. With the relentless vulnerability and desperation of The Night God Slept and Everything Was Sound, the regality of When the End Began, and the experimental textures of Iridescent, you could always expect technicality and atmosphere balanced throughout.” Where silence is golden.

Elitist – A Mirage of Grandeur Review

By Dear Hollow on November 20, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 24 comments

“Elitist’s debut A Mirage of Grandeur incorporates the grind velocity without being called “deathgrind,” with elements of dissonance, noise, and blackened death, for something that is indisputably death metal and unquestionably punishing.” One-percenter death metal.

Hinayana – Shatter and Fall Review

By Dear Hollow on November 19, 2023 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 10 comments

“We’ve been waiting for this for years. With only 2020 EP Death of the Cosmic to tide us over from Hinayana’s excellent 2018 debut Order Divine, which received the TYMHM treatment from the great and mighty Dr. Wvrm, it has been a dry spell. The Austin, Texas quintet’s sound lends itself to the melodic death/doom, notably Finnish, melancholy of Insomnium or Swallow the Sun, but with tight songwriting and a patient unfolding through relentless plodding of Amon Amarth, Order Divine became a bit of a sleeper hit for 2018. Featuring a tight and concise bite that will soothe your soul before forcing you to spit out broken teeth, will you invite follow-up Shatter and Fall’s slow-motion beatdown?” Soundtrack to Fall or stumble and fall?

Nahasheol – Serpens Abyssi Review

By Dear Hollow on November 15, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 11 comments

“Black metal is a petty mistress, a femme fatale. Promising the void with cupped hands only to say “made you look” when thousands of one-man bedroom projects jump on your face like deranged sugar gliders, black metal will lull you in and punish you for your optimism. That said, I know better, so I approached the Dutch duo Nahasheol cautiously.” Fear of the dark (and snakes).

Howling Giant – Glass Future Review

By Dear Hollow on November 12, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 17 comments

“Last we met Howling Giant they were dueling with Somerset’s Sergeant Thunderhoof in groovy stoner split Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa, which deserved a word, not a numerical score, to describe its quality. Howling Giant strung together a fun-loving single track with multiple movements, their meat-and-potatoes approach slightly outdueling da Hoof’s bombastic and flashy performance.” Howling at stones.

Fuming Mouth – Last Day of Sun Review

By Dear Hollow on November 7, 2023 in Reviews, Crust Punk, Death Metal, Hardcore, 16 comments

“A concept album is risky when you’re as meatheaded as Massachusetts’ Fuming Mouth. Don’t get me wrong, Last Day of Sun’s concept is unique and powerful, an apocalyptic vision of a world destined for darkness in twenty-four hours (hence the title) – a story further fueled by the act’s mastermind, vocalist, and guitarist Mark Whelan’s triumphant battle over cancer. For an act that has rarely been called the “thinking man’s” anything, it’s pretty high-brow to fuse an approach of death metal and hardcore with such heart-wrenching emotion.” Sun’s out, HM-2 out.

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter – Saved! Review

By Dear Hollow on November 5, 2023 in Reviews, Blues, Folk, Noise, 71 comments

“Brothers and sisters, welcome to our 9 o’clock service. I see many eager faces out there, hungry to receive the Word today. As Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew, “if two or more are gathered in [h]is name, God will be with us and hear our prayer.” If this is your first time joining us, you could have been anywhere else and we’re thrilled you decided to be here. Feel free to fill out the visitor card in the seat in front of you and drop it in the offering plate – we’d sure love to hear from you and pray for you. I hope you know that God loves you and has a plan for your life. Now, I have a real treat for you today, a guest speaker: classically trained singer and songwriter, pianist, faithful servant and friend of Christ Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter.” Altar calling…

Phantom Winter – Her Cold Materials Review

By Dear Hollow on November 1, 2023 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Noise, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 17 comments

“Seldom does artwork perfectly embody a band’s sound, but Phantom Winter’s four-album streak of black-and-white portrayals of the horrific and fantastical is dead-on. While lightless and unceasingly dreary, there is a stillness that silences the cacophony. Like a barren forest in the last sigh of winter, Her Cold Materials is a scream receiving no echo, the soft “thump” of a body in the snow, the mockery of the woods’ constant and uninterested witness. In the bleak model of consistency, Phantom Winter once again proves the grit of its mettle in a frostbitten silence that proves less is more.” Winter is coming (soon).

Of Virtue – Omen Review

By Dear Hollow on October 31, 2023 in Reviews, Djent, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Nu Metal, Post-Hardcore, 18 comments

“If I’m being brutally honest, I follow Michigan collective Of Virtue in the vain hopes they reclaim their former glory, and to express my disappointment whenever they fail to reach that. I get that it’s not fair to have low expectations, but as the saying goes, how the mighty have fallen. While they used to be aligned with a progressive edge and heart-wrenching melodic hardcore foundation not unlike Misery Signals or Counterparts, 2019’s What Defines You featured a sound that can only be defined by its devolution. What can we expect from Omen? Realistic expectations are a virtue.