NorthlaneI’m not sure what I found most disheartening about this Northlane release, the fact that the majority of the songs present on Hollow Existence have the capability to trounce numerous well established bands in our country or that they only formed and began playing live in Sydney halfway through last year.
The guitar work present on Hollow Existence is of an admirable and mature standard, a vital quality that is rapidly becoming extinct in most up-and-coming Australian bands. The six tracks have clearly been written with a pedantic eye for detail which really begins to shines in how sound each song flows into the next and the way in which the EP gels as a whole.
The oppressing heaviness of the first track Hollow sets an exceptional benchmark for the other songs to follow, which it manages to do so with minimum hiccups along the way. The guitar harmonies are often reminiscent of the latest Architects release Hollow Crown which the band has obviously drawn a large amount of influence from. The clean vocal sections in All Seeing Eye seemed a little unnecessary and forced in, the singer has such a superb scream that dominates most of the tracks it’s odd to deviate what appears to be a winning formula.
Metamorphosis is one remarkable stand out track on Hollow Existence and while it might be a mouthful to pronounce it is one of the best tracks an east coast band has produced in the last twelve months. The china driven breakdowns carry the pace of the song exceptionally well, with the discordant riffing making them a suitable signing prospect for the ever growing Sumerian powerhouse roster
While Hollow existence is not a flawless release, the good far outweighs the bad in this case and I’m greatly anticipating their next return to Adelaide to see how they far live. If they can progress and write the ever elusive follow up release the future could be looking very bright indeed for this talented Western Sydney band.
Fantastic six track EP that has substantial replay value and will leave you craving more.
1) Hollow
2) Keymaker
3) Set In Stone
4) All Seeing Eye
5) Metamorphosis
6) The Deadmines
