Review Summary: A sludge/stoner Frankenstein.
After seeing them in concert last year and blowing me away, I had high hopes for Earth Ship’s 4th studio effort. This German sludge/stoner quartet blasts a lovely mash of styles taken from highly influential bands such as High on Fire, Alice in Chains or Mastodon. Previous record,
Withered had many great ideas condensed into short & fast paced rippers, mostly at around 3 minutes long, whereas on
Hollowed we can witness several pace changes. Arguably the tightest in the catalog so far, the latter offers a wider range of rockers, which is mainly a consequence of the decision to leave significant room for expansion. The production is slightly refined when compared to its predecessors, but preserved the grit. Also, as a sign of the band’s growth, ES left Pelagial to join Napalm Records, who’s growing fast in the respective market.
Musically,
Hollowed is quite a murky journey with monolithic dirges and blunt structures. Right from the start, you get the one-two punch of ‘Reduced to Ashes’ and the title track. Both are uber heavy, featuring some pounding riffs, with the melody coming mostly from the vocals. There’s a smooth rotation when it comes to them, as Jan Oberg constantly switches from hellish growls to nasal croons, often backed by Sabine, creating a nice AiC atmosphere. They work best on the sluggish ‘Conjured’ and scorching ‘Red Leaves’, which boast some broken, Cantrell-ish riffs over dual, Mastodon reminiscing vocals. Everyone worked hard on their parts, as the rhythm section plays flawlessly.
Luckily, Earth Ship bring back some of the pile driving hooks similar to those from
Withered on ‘In the Arms of Medusa’, a catchy tune where Oberg’s roars would make Matt Pike proud. There’s also the fiery ‘Castle of Sorrow’ that borrows from punk territory, yet the guitars soar with fuzz. Meanwhile, ‘Safeguard of Death’ sounds like an Uncle Acid track gone wrong. The old school heavy metal groove breaks halfway into a sludgy middle eight where it feels as if The Sword took over. On the contrast, epic closer, ‘The Edge of Time’ brings a rather new approach from the band. The doom metal aesthetics work really well, bringing this unsettling record to a suitable, dark end. These guys portray bleak visuals in the lyrics, but they truly complement the music.
Overall, I believe
Hollowed is a great record that encompasses the band’s influences, as well as showcasing their potential and ability to synthesize various styles into a cool product to call their own. It’s quite different from their previous works mainly because the pace was considerably slowed, thus allowing room for different grooves. One might argue they lost some of that rawness by polishing it a bit, however, I think it works just fine for the current material. There’s a lot to enjoy here and make sure to catch them live, they slay!
