Hollow Leg
Abysmal
Last Anthem Records
30 July 2013
The band:
Tom Crowther - bass
Tim Creter - drums
Brent Lynch - guitars, backing vocals
Scott Angelacos - vocals
The songs:
1. Absymal 04:12
2. 8 Dead (In A Mobile Home) 05:44
3. Blissful Nothing 04:25
4. Pompeii 02:39(Instr)
5. Ride To Ruin 04:36
6. The Dog 03:55
7. Lord Annihilation 04:31
8. Cry Havoc 05:28
Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida you have a strong musical heritage weighing heavily on your shoulders. And that's whether you like Southern Rock or not. Coming from the same breeding ground as Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't phase the sludgy doomsters Hollow Leg at all though. They take on the world with enough grit and devil-may-care attitude to overturn any corrupt world government - take your pick - and they take no prisoners.
Not wasting any time at all it's full throttle from the start as the title track, Abysmal brings the darkness. A faster song than most of the others on the album it oozes fire and brimstone as Scott Angelacos spits venom through his gritted teeth. 8 Dead(In A Mobile Home) crawls slowly like an alligator before pouncing on it's unspecting prey. Keeping the backbone heavy Tom Crowther and Tim Creter rhythm work is relentless while Brent Lynch is riffing mercilessly leading the song into Blissful Nothing. A thumping bass initialize the song before the rest of the band joins in keeping it kind of trippy in all it's brutality. Staying on the more trippier path instrumental Pompeii allows Brent to step out of the box from his excellent riffing jamming it out really good.
After a slow intro Ride To Ruin is unleashed like a rabid dog snarling at it's victims being ready kill. Reminds me of Maryland doom kings Earthride which is not a bad thing at all....awesome! Dirty and filthy The Dog goes rampant in perfect sludge manner. Just as in Ride To Ruin Hollow Leg are in destruction and killing mode and there is no stopping them. The heaviness and brutality continues with Lord Annihilation. Built on a shock full of riffs and bulldozer-heavy bass and drums there's no stopping Jacksonville's finest. Cry Havoc ends this fantastic display in grime, dirt and filth leaving me pretty much annihilated and slowly bleeding to death. And I wouldn't want a Hollow Leg release being anything else.
This, the second full-length album from Hollow Leg, is the perfect example how sludgy doom should be played. First of all, they seem to have no care in the world what others think about them which allows total freedom when it comes to write and record songs. Second of all they go at it remorselessly pounding their listeners to a bloody pulp leaving thousands upon thousands dead in their trail. And that's how Hollow Leg where when I first heard them a couple of years ago and they haven't slowed down. On the contrary, they simply crush and I, for one, can't be happier.
Written by Håkan Nyman
Abysmal is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from BandCamp Now.
Cheers to Jared @ Haggard Trigger for sending us a promo.
Check The Band from following links.
BandCamp
