Album Review: Graveyard Train - Hollow

11 June 2012 | 2:08 pm | Katherine Edmonds

This is an outfit going from strength to strength, it’s true musical mastery to take something morbid and frightening and make it so easy on the ears from start to finish.

First impressions of a band whose percussion section contains a hammer and chains would suggest that this an outfit dripping with shtick. However that's just not the case here, and Graveyard Train's third album Hollow should put any naysayers to rest.

Right from the get go this album is making headway from their previous releases, opening tracks Get The Gold and I'm Gone integrating a gritty southern country sound with the group's Australian roots. The resonant chorus of The Sermon lulls you into a dark place where death is nigh and the afterlife non-existent. Diehard fans will be pleased that the group's trademark monster motif is still present and The Priest offers it up in spades. But their new tracks show amazing progression in their songwriting; it's still macabre and haunting but in a much more literal way than anything they've done before. The chorus of Hollow Wind is positively captivating, reminiscent of a woeful dirge sung for something lost. Later One Foot On The Grave offers an unexpected delight, seamlessly incorporating the group's brawny chorus with a little bit of rebellion; where their other tracks lure you in this one jumps out and grabs you.

It's near impossible to pick standout tracks from this album, with such full-bodied vocals each track envelops you leaving you eagerly anticipating the next. This is an outfit going from strength to strength, it's true musical mastery to take something morbid and frightening and make it so easy on the ears from start to finish. Graveyard Train coaxes you down to the depths of hell and you'll be begging to stay.