Hollowkin
Confessions & Failures
Self Released
This Bath based quintet formed at the end of 2023 but they don’t sound like they’re such a young band. They sound slick and their emotive and imaginative lyrics draw you in. This debut five track EP is proof that often it’s quality over quantity that rules supreme. Opening with the distorted spoken word track ‘Tomorrow at Dawn’ is eerie and uncanny as it’s hard to make out or even distinguish which language it is. ‘A Pilgrimage’ sounds very modern. Mixing between screamo and more melodic groove style vocals, the latter feel very reminiscent of Sleep Token. ‘Leech’ feels like a nod to the early to mid 2000s where distortion of heavier vocals seemed to come to the fore in popularity. You are also reminded of Killswitch Engage during the Howard era. This track is heavy, brash and melodic. ‘Devil In Your Garden’ again has that eerie opening vibe over slow and steady plucked guitars before letting rip. The lyrics throughout the album catch your attention but we particularly liked the emotion behind this one which is deep, and brooding; almost trance-like. ‘In Heresy’ is interesting and features gothic elements that make it very atmospheric with an echoing choir. HollowKin have managed to feature many musical influences within this record from multiple corners of the metal genre. It doesn’t sound all over the place though. A lot of modern metal will naturally pull from a wide range these days but make no mistake these guys have definitely carved their own sound. This is a debut that deserves to lead to much bigger things.
Review by Aggy Gillon