Released By: Self Released – Out Now
Genre: Progressive Alt. Rock
Links : http://www.myspace.com/americanhollow
Lineup:
Jameson – vocals
Kyle Mulikin – Guitars
Nathan Allen Gilbert – Bass Guitar
Chronos – Drums
Tracklist:
1. Terranoia
2. State of Decay
3. Operator
4. Variable
5. Constant
6. Gravity
7. Illumineye
8. Prizards
9. Blow Wind! Bring Forth Storm
10. Terranoyed
A genre that has started to pick up some speed this year is Progressive Alt. Rock. You know the style, TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE and to a lesser extent EARSHOT and CHEVELLE. Modern rock that plays a little with the usual radio friendly sound and adds some layers of depth that help separate these certain bands from other vying for the mainstream attention. There has already been a couple of excellent releases in this style for 2010, namely from ORDER OF VOICES (quickly becoming a My Global Mind favorite by the way) and more recently another excellent album from SPIRIDON, who whilst a bit heavier than most other bands mentioned still certainly bit within the umbrella of the genre.
The latest album I have listened to that fits into this style is WHISPER CAMPAIGN, the debut album from Salt Lake City rockers AMERICAN HOLLOW. The trappings of the style are all here, with some very moody pieces and some great emotional vocal work that really draws you in to some of these songs, but the biggest problem I had with the album was that it all seemed a little bit bland and dull. As I said, the abilities of the members in the band is certainly not under question and they have a world-class vocalist for sure, but I feel that the songwriting could have left room for a bit more energy occasionally.
BLOW WIND! BRING FORTH STORM does everything I wanted the rest of the album to do and mixes a bit of TOOL with some DREAM THEATER and adds a little bit of SYSTEM OF A DOWN for good measure. TERRONOIA and ILLUMINEYE are good examples of the negative aspects of the album, with the latter spending its entire seven minute running time sounding like an intro to an INCUBUS song or something along those lines without ever really taking off anywhere. STATE OF DECAY is a track that deserves a special mention and should be played loud through headphones for maximum effect.
I did struggle with this review as I don’t want to come across as too harsh, because I really do think that AMERICAN HOLLOW have a bright future, and while I hear what they were going for, the songwriting still needs a little bit of finesse before these boys can truly make a charge at the big time. But on the plus side, at least six or seven of the songs on the album are great and should serve as a good springboard for the band given the right treatment. I’m still however happy to recommend the album to any of you guys that checked out and enjoyed the ORDER OF VOICES album earlier this year.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10