Canadian Mark R. who makes up Ov Hollowness is a busy character, this being his third album of ‘blackened atmospheric metal’ in just about as many years. High work rate for essentially a solo artist. He also seems pretty good at keeping the quality up too, which helps no end.
‘Abstractive’ is our first meeting and for a minute or so I think I’m in for some bleak, harsh but melodic Quebecoise sounds. This proves to be wrong however as the driving music soon twists into a sound closer to Fen, complete with some clean vocals, and just a little hint of Brave Murder Day. It’s a distinct and introverted sound, nicely produced without being squeaky clean and creates an enveloping, controlled entrance. Grey, the next song however is much harsher, colder black metal. There is still that control to it, but the approach is with a more angry view, an antagonistic look at the world with Immortal and Emperor shadows in the background. Hoarfrost slows things, gets colder as you might expect and slides into some dark, atmospheric metal like an ice demon rasping in a cave before pounding out a bass heavy riff.
This is all pretty fine stuff; a steady hand and a confidence with crafting a world. Some lead lines snake out of the mournful riffs here and there, blending roots of old Burzum and Katatonia together. Occasional passages of pure battery mean the cold, bitter landscape never strays too far even if there are always hints of a more gothic approach behind the melody in a kind of Von Branden way. It’s never blatant though, just something in the musical accents. I mean, the track Ov brought to mind the long dead wandering spirit of Hybernoid which is hardly likely but it is as though the musical roots can be followed twisting and turning, past Diabolical Masquerade here, Hybernoid there, Von Branden just in the wings because this is music that has grown from the rich and fertile ground beneath the black metal permafrost not simply appeared from nowhere. In other words it has heritage and on the whole this does its heritage proud.
It is neither a short album, nor necessarily an easy one to stay focussed with because of that. But it is mostly rewarding: The unexpected but strangely fitting passages of more pagan metal bringing a Bathoryesque moment or seven to the title track, for example. There is more music towards the atmospheric metal end of the spectrum and away from the black after the title track to my ears but it is a gradual and reasonably subtle shift. However it does make it seem as though there is an EP added on at times. It is also occasionally slightly frustrating with that in mind, that the obvious journey it wishes to take you on becomes obscured by pathways that seem to take longer to get there than the distance justifies. Sometimes there is just too much music to absorb here, sometimes just a few minutes too much but other times a whole song.
Ov Hollowness are a truly excellent one man band; touch and feel and songs are all here in abundance, just the journey is exhausting enough to occasionally cause you to miss the full beauty they offer. Don’t doubt that it is worthy of your attention but add an album which is impossible to simply ‘dip in to’ there may be unfortunately few who will manage the full wonderful journey.
(6.5/10 Gizmo)
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