Hollow is the Swedish heavy metal band behind the albums Modern Cathedral and Architect of the Mind
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Some old tracks
I've put two old songs on the myspace page. The one called Ambiguous Life is pretty unfinished regarding vocals, but I think it's new to even very old fans. The song Invinsible is one that has been with Hollow for more than a decade.
Have you had any luck with a record label, yet? It's so hard to believe that one won't give you a shot, especially when you write better songs than 99 percent of the genre.
No such luck, I'm afraid. Haven't really been looking for the past few years either, since I've been in a hiatus musicwise. Thank you so much for appreciating my songs.
First, I hope I'm not spamming by posting this here (my comment is likely off-topic, as I'm about to discuss Hollow/you in general rather than these two particular tracks your post is about — but it's the most recent topic and I've created a blogger account just to say hi to you, and wanted to catch your attention... so please don't shoot yet! :p).
I've discovered Hollow with AotM about three years ago, followed by Modern Cathedral later on (I went backwards chronogically) but I only found out there was more very recently, when I discovered this blog (thanks to the Encyclopaedia Metallum for linking to it). I'm just starting to digest the eponymous EP, which I could give a listen to thanks to your posting its tracks here, and I'm loving it. I may be biaised by the fact that I've just discovered these tracks (as opposed to Architect which I have been treasuring for years), but right now I feel "Stand or Fall" might be your best track ever. Not to imply that gems like "Shadow God", "In your Arms" or "Binary Creed" (among so many others) are any less fantastic to my ears because of it — on the contrary.
You, my friend, are a truly unique and exceptionally talented singer, musician and more importantly, songwriter. Your former band mates did a brilliant job as well. I think Hollow has its own unique style and identity, and a great deal of originality — despite technically qualifying for a "classic" power-thrash-heavy-prog metal nametag (lol intended)... And it deserves much more recognition and following than it has received so far (starting with any, and then slowly growing to superstardom ;).
I was sad to learn that your ears were damaged in 1999. May I ask, how are you now? It's been about ten years, and now you're apparently able to listen to music, play guitar and even sing again, so hopefully you got better since then? My best wishes, anyhow.
Hm, so much to tell/ask, so little space... Ok, I'll conclude with a couple of questions (and maybe save some for a later message):
1/ Did you always compose all Hollow songs by yourself, even when you had a full line-up around you, or did the other musicians also contribute (besides arrangements, I mean)?
2/ Am I crazy, or did a female singer do some backup vocals on both the EP and Modern Cathedral (but no longer on Architect of the Mind)? I certainly know your voice has a wide range, but some of the highest-pitched vocals on these two releases, although just as fascinating as the rest, seem too far removed from your usual voice to be you (like in the chrorus of "Stand or Fall", for instance).
At any rate, I'd like to thank you very much for all the magnificient music that you've created with/for/as Hollow. Architect is nothing short of a masterpiece to me, Modern Cathedral is a superb album full of genuine hymns, the EP is really growing on me — as explained above; and I can't wait to listen to the demo and other unreleased tracks you're offering on this page. As a fine metal fan, I'm grateful for all of that.
Kind regards and again, sorry for the spam,
Dävis.
PS: If I'm too wordy for a mere blog comment and/or if you feel like it, you're more than welcomed to drop me a (google) mail at "thelastremorse" (spam paranoia, lol - hope you figure it out :p).
I give up. I have listened to Judas Priest's Nostradamus about ten times and still can't find that riff thats in The Machines Have Risen. Give me a hint.
Joey: I understand your frustration. There's a little story behind it all and in short it boils down to the song posted being a different one than the one I was talking about in the older post. However, I've rediscovered the original version and since that one was much better I'm going to work on that idea instead. Sorry!
No frustration here. Just couldn't believe I wasn't able to spot it as many times as I have listened to that album. I hope that you don't stop work on the new demo version though, as it's pretty kick ass...
WE WANT HOLLOW!!! Man, it's great to see (or read) you are alive and well making music once again! I'm about to listen to the latest song... Keep it up!
Hi, Andreas, I love Hollow. Architect of the Mind has an iconic place among the thousands albums I own. I'm not sure about "Ambiguous Life", but "Invincible" should definitely find its place in the much anticipated new album.
Have you had any luck with a record label, yet? It's so hard to believe that one won't give you a shot, especially when you write better songs than 99 percent of the genre.
ReplyDeleteNo such luck, I'm afraid. Haven't really been looking for the past few years either, since I've been in a hiatus musicwise. Thank you so much for appreciating my songs.
ReplyDeleteHi there!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I hope I'm not spamming by posting this here (my comment is likely off-topic, as I'm about to discuss Hollow/you in general rather than these two particular tracks your post is about — but it's the most recent topic and I've created a blogger account just to say hi to you, and wanted to catch your attention... so please don't shoot yet! :p).
I've discovered Hollow with AotM about three years ago, followed by Modern Cathedral later on (I went backwards chronogically) but I only found out there was more very recently, when I discovered this blog (thanks to the Encyclopaedia Metallum for linking to it). I'm just starting to digest the eponymous EP, which I could give a listen to thanks to your posting its tracks here, and I'm loving it. I may be biaised by the fact that I've just discovered these tracks (as opposed to Architect which I have been treasuring for years), but right now I feel "Stand or Fall" might be your best track ever. Not to imply that gems like "Shadow God", "In your Arms" or "Binary Creed" (among so many others) are any less fantastic to my ears because of it — on the contrary.
You, my friend, are a truly unique and exceptionally talented singer, musician and more importantly, songwriter. Your former band mates did a brilliant job as well. I think Hollow has its own unique style and identity, and a great deal of originality — despite technically qualifying for a "classic" power-thrash-heavy-prog metal nametag (lol intended)... And it deserves much more recognition and following than it has received so far (starting with any, and then slowly growing to superstardom ;).
I was sad to learn that your ears were damaged in 1999. May I ask, how are you now? It's been about ten years, and now you're apparently able to listen to music, play guitar and even sing again, so hopefully you got better since then? My best wishes, anyhow.
Hm, so much to tell/ask, so little space... Ok, I'll conclude with a couple of questions (and maybe save some for a later message):
1/ Did you always compose all Hollow songs by yourself, even when you had a full line-up around you, or did the other musicians also contribute (besides arrangements, I mean)?
2/ Am I crazy, or did a female singer do some backup vocals on both the EP and Modern Cathedral (but no longer on Architect of the Mind)? I certainly know your voice has a wide range, but some of the highest-pitched vocals on these two releases, although just as fascinating as the rest, seem too far removed from your usual voice to be you (like in the chrorus of "Stand or Fall", for instance).
At any rate, I'd like to thank you very much for all the magnificient music that you've created with/for/as Hollow. Architect is nothing short of a masterpiece to me, Modern Cathedral is a superb album full of genuine hymns, the EP is really growing on me — as explained above; and I can't wait to listen to the demo and other unreleased tracks you're offering on this page. As a fine metal fan, I'm grateful for all of that.
Kind regards and again, sorry for the spam,
Dävis.
PS: If I'm too wordy for a mere blog comment and/or if you feel like it, you're more than welcomed to drop me a (google) mail at "thelastremorse" (spam paranoia, lol - hope you figure it out :p).
Hello Dävis!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your long post! It made me really glad to hear that you appreciate our work.
To answer your questions:
1. I've done most of the songwriting all along but the end-product tended to be some sort of joint effort. My ideas needed some trimming, so to speak.
2. We've never used other vocalists for back up vocals, so it's my voice you're hearing.
I keep my fingers crossed for that superstardom and I'm looking forward to hearing from you again!
My ears are much better, by the way. I think I could rehearse again if I only found suitable people to team up with.
I give up. I have listened to Judas Priest's Nostradamus about ten times and still can't find that riff thats in The Machines Have Risen. Give me a hint.
ReplyDeleteJoey: I understand your frustration. There's a little story behind it all and in short it boils down to the song posted being a different one than the one I was talking about in the older post. However, I've rediscovered the original version and since that one was much better I'm going to work on that idea instead. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteNo frustration here. Just couldn't believe I wasn't able to spot it as many times as I have listened to that album. I hope that you don't stop work on the new demo version though, as it's pretty kick ass...
ReplyDeleteWE WANT HOLLOW!!! Man, it's great to see (or read) you are alive and well making music once again! I'm about to listen to the latest song... Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteAllen :)
Hi, Andreas, I love Hollow. Architect of the Mind has an iconic place among the thousands albums I own. I'm not sure about "Ambiguous Life", but "Invincible" should definitely find its place in the much anticipated new album.
ReplyDelete