Hollow

Modern Cathedral (Nuclear Blast)
by Martin Popoff

Hollow rule, playing a sort of middle metal that combines groovebang stuff like Accept, Priest, and ’80s Sabbath with elevated prog touches. But it’s not like those art metal records we all find so tiring, Hollow recording like a mess, all crackle and distortion, cymbals all over the place, the backing barrage providing the perfect foil for the splendiferous, persuasive vocals of Andreas Stoltz. There’s a chemistry here, the hefty result sounding not unlike a rudimentary Nevermore, Hollow somehow marrying the crushingly metallic with the complicated in a way that remains fussy without the egos.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)