Vast Hollow - Of Exhaled Last Thoughts
Vast Hollow are from Melbourne, Australia, a area I know real well as I grew up there many many years ago. The Australian doom scene seems to be some kind of a high right now as every band I hear from the region is very good. Vast Hollow, a 2 piece outfit are another band keeping that high standard going with this 2 track promo release that thankfully avoids the usual pitfalls of being a two man band. The sound is huge with no empty spaces within the music and the drum machine sounds like real drums for a change. The band is still very new so producing a promo of this magnitude within such a short space of time is a fine achievement. The band members are made up of Travis Ham (Guitar, Bass, Vocals,keyboards etc) and Aaron Seeto who also handles the same instruments and programming.
The first of the two tracks, "Broken Rain" confirms this a cut above the usual death/doom bands that exist today especially the ones from Europe who seem to mostly copyists of other bands. The sheer crushing heaviness is neatly interwoven with hints of strong melody lines and the vocals effortlessly switch between blackened growls and cleaner, spoken word parts. They are hardly reinventing anything with the riffing but its delivered with passion and integrity while the songwriting skills are unquestionably very good but its the sound of the band that ultimately won me over, its thick, warm and organic. The crashing waves samples at the end of the track adds a bit of melancholy to what is mostly a dark yet at times uplifting track. The other track, "Cerebral Landscapes" is more melodic overall than the opener but it is also more twisted in its arrangement with sicker, more demented riffs. Its also more varied with more mood swings and tempo changes, the highlight of the track comes in at 5 minutes in, this mid-section simply crushes. The tune ends in typical death/ doom style, pounding its way to a devastating conclusion.
This is a great but a all too short introduction to a band that deserves to be signed up by someone with some cred in the underground doom/death scene. It certainly is just as good as anything that has happened in European death/doom in the last year. The question is who will step up to the plate and give this fine band the push into the awareness of the doom community it so desperately deserves. This is a killer 16 minutes of Doom/Death Metal, you must check this out.
The first of the two tracks, "Broken Rain" confirms this a cut above the usual death/doom bands that exist today especially the ones from Europe who seem to mostly copyists of other bands. The sheer crushing heaviness is neatly interwoven with hints of strong melody lines and the vocals effortlessly switch between blackened growls and cleaner, spoken word parts. They are hardly reinventing anything with the riffing but its delivered with passion and integrity while the songwriting skills are unquestionably very good but its the sound of the band that ultimately won me over, its thick, warm and organic. The crashing waves samples at the end of the track adds a bit of melancholy to what is mostly a dark yet at times uplifting track. The other track, "Cerebral Landscapes" is more melodic overall than the opener but it is also more twisted in its arrangement with sicker, more demented riffs. Its also more varied with more mood swings and tempo changes, the highlight of the track comes in at 5 minutes in, this mid-section simply crushes. The tune ends in typical death/ doom style, pounding its way to a devastating conclusion.
This is a great but a all too short introduction to a band that deserves to be signed up by someone with some cred in the underground doom/death scene. It certainly is just as good as anything that has happened in European death/doom in the last year. The question is who will step up to the plate and give this fine band the push into the awareness of the doom community it so desperately deserves. This is a killer 16 minutes of Doom/Death Metal, you must check this out.
1. Broken Rain
2. Cerebral Landscapes
