For the casual hardcore listener, the one who peeks their head in the door every now and then, your likely to find that hardcore hasn’t changed much the first time you pop your head in and then the second time that hardcore has changed drastically. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I like the small little touches bands like No Hollywood Ending and Ice Nine Kills have done with the genre; NHE using synths to throw in a bit of flavor and INK placing a softer spot in the middle of their songs with cool downs and melodic vocals to acoustic guitar warblings after a stretch of punishing hardcore hammering. I’ve been listening to hardcore for probably two decades now and to be honest sometimes I get just a barrage of bands thrown in my face that all sound similar, either because they all want to pay homage through mimicry or because there’s some hot new sound that they’ve all decided to champion at once. Fortunately Hollow Earth is one of those bands that pays respect to their predecessors but keeps their sound rolling forward into a new millennia of hardcore styling’s.

First off it’s probably important to note that most of the band used to act as the touring unit for Shai Hulud so that puts you up to speed on what these guys are capable of. For this EP the opening track, The Great Forgetting, is performed in a style that is very reminiscent of the early to mid-90’s hardcore era with bands like Strongarm and Bloodshed. At it’s core the album is roots hardcore right down the middle, but it doesn’t stop the band from brandishing their talents as they break into melodic heavy grooves of total unit synchronicity I haven’t heard since Full Contact or allowing the world to settle into chaos with guitar guiding you as a single solitary voice that emotes like a light out of the dark.

Hardcore is going to mean something to every one that listens to it weather it’s a manifestation of your anger or a focal point for placing your determination. Hollow Earth, to me, is just a little bit of everything. A peek at the past, a look at the future, a way to vent, a way to push myself to new heights weather it’s listening to the EP while working out or putting my imagination to work. In any case it’s a little slice of perfect in an otherwise ever growing world of hardcore music that can test your patience. If your lost in the scene find this anchor and if you’re a long time listener let this be your reminder of what hardcore is and will be. Enjoy.