An Interview With Hollowed Sky
Hollowed Sky gives us an album of melodic alt rock that all comes from a place of emotion and not without a heavy bending guitar work.
The Unstrung album is a total powerhouse of radio rock riffs and a dark overtone that looms over the songs and keeps things nice and edgy.
Songs swell and burst into fits of tentious rock explosions and literally every chorus on the record is catchy and not without a killer energy.
Vocals are performed with a ton of passion and riffs blast into metal sections and the percussion follows tightly into that realm.
It's with a tasteful style the band takes on to bring such a combination of rock styles into one album and have it all still feel intense.
An array of virtuous changes and progressions surprise and there is something a little different to offer with each track off the album.
You can read our review of the first single from the album called "Strings" HERE.
With such a huge album release that taps into such an incredible energy, we had to have a talk with the band about where this all came from and what's coming up next for them.
TSWS: Let's start with the Unstrung album. This record has a killer fusion of rock styles and a very passionate performance by all members. Where did this record come from?
Thanks! Unstrung is a collection of what we consider to be our most definitive tunes from our previous EPs, completely remixed and remastered. We decided to do this for many reasons, the primary one being that we were not satisfied with the mix from our 2020 EP (Strings). Rather than simply remix and re-release the EP, we decided it would be a good opportunity to sort of re-present ourselves as a whole with a full length album that would hopefully better represent us than either of our EPs do.
TSWS: The album feels pretty personal lyrically. Are you guys all happy with how it came out?
We are, and we appreciate you saying that. The personal, honest, or even stark nature of our lyrics are an important part of what we're trying to put out into the world. They are typically the last step needed to complete any of our songs. We tend to write and arrange the music until we are 100% satisfied, and then Jay does his thing with the lyrics and melodies, and that is typically the last piece of the puzzle.
TSWS: I am really hearing some killer songs and varying tones on this record. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
We are all over the map with influences! People say we sound like if Incubus tried to cover Tool, or if Pink Floyd tried to cover pre-Black album Metallica. Just to name a few influences at random: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pink Floyd, Incubus, Tool, The Juliana Theory, Pantera, Radiohead, Faith No More, Smashing Pumpkins, The Antlers, Baroness, Nirvana, Ministry, Queens of the Stone Age, etc.
TSWS: How did this all start for you guys?
The 3 of us who play instruments in the band got together in November 2016 with the intent just to hang out and jam. After a short time, we started structuring instrumental songs and would sometimes play them live on Facebook from practice, just for fun. One of those nights, Jay (vocals) saw the livestream, sent a text, and the rest is history.
TSWS: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
Working our “real” jobs! Charles is an HVAC technician, Joe is an electronics technician at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Jay works in construction, and Stephen is in the field of structural drafting & design.
TSWS: You feel like a great live band. Will you be putting any focus on live shows at some point?
We are missing playing in front of people for sure. It looks like the world is starting to settle back down from the pandemic, and we will certainly be back on the stage as soon as we can.
TSWS: What's next for you guys?
We are currently writing and arranging music for our next release, which hopefully will come out as soon as 2022.
TSWS: Who are each of you listening to right now?
Charles:: Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, The Sword, Rival Sons, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Tool...
Joe: Gojira, Led Zeppelin, Aphex Twin, Faith No More, The Steeldrivers, Canderia...
Jay:Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie is what's in my cycle right now. Front to back, up and down. The whole album is great.
Steve: The last 3 albums downloaded to my phone are: the pre-released songs from Green to Gold by The Antlers, Kick by INXS, & Ohms by the Deftones.
TSWS: Will there be more music videos coming?
Yes! As part of our re-presentation of these songs, we are planning a full set of 9 lyric videos.
TSWS: How do you think the pandemic has affected the band?
It has affected us in a big way. Our last EP was released right as the world was shutting down last year. We had a CD release show opening for Hed pe that was canceled, and then we didn't even practice for the first 3 months of the pandemic. When we got back together, the writing began almost immediately. We are all ready for the world to go back to some state of normalcy!
TSWS: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
We appreciate every single person who takes time out of their day to listen to our tunes! It is remarkable to us that anybody cares about our weird little band, but we like it.