HOLLOW – Between Eternities Of Darkness

This Swedish born blend of Metallica riffs, Prog Metal drums, and Melodic Metal vocals is good, but missing something. Hollow is the solo project of vocalist / guitarist Andreas Stoltz. His vocals are solid and guitar chops respectable, but there seems to be some magical “catchiness” ingredient that perhaps can only come from the collaboration and chemistry of a band situation. Between Eternities Of Darkness is billed as a concept album and comeback album of sorts.

Some tracks, like “Fate Of The Jester” and “Travel Far” are downright awkward, while others, such as “Shadow World” show genuine promise. Most of the songs follow a similar structure and have an almost identical stylistic sound. This is one case where there’s actually too much consistency. Clean guitar intro, heavy dissonant riffs in the verse, and then a sweeping, open chorus. That road is traveled on almost every track.

The highlight of this album might be the drumming. Stalder Zantos is the man responsible for this and his contribution is a worthy and helpful addition to Between Eternities Of Darkness.

Unfortunately for Hollow, this album is not a strong argument for the band coming out of its lengthy hiatus. This could be a clunky, uninspired but promising rekindling or a failed attempted at reinventing a band that never found much success to being with. Regardless, fans of Melodic Prog Metal might find something to like here, but nothing to love.

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