Naberus – Hollow
Eclipse Records
Release Date: 29/06/2018
Running Time: 59:45
Review by Dawn “The Metal Priestess” King
7.5/10
Naberus are a five-piece metal band from Melbourne in Australia, heavily influenced by melodic death and thrash metal, and Hollow is their new album, released on 29th June 2018 by Eclipse Records.
Formed in 2009, they released their demo “Ruins of Society” in 2010, and, with it, showcased their ability to combine aggression, melody and groove. The demo captivated audiences worldwide and reached number four in the mp3.com metal charts.
They soon caught the attention of Ermin Hamidovic (Architects, Periphery and Devin Townsend) and he recorded their next EP “The Fallen” in 2011 at his studio Systematic Productions. They spent the next few years playing shows throughout Australia, including festivals such as Sonic Forge in 2011 and 2012 and Atmoshphere, and played alongside Soilwork in 2015.
Their first full length album “The Lost Reveries” was released in 2016, displaying their heavy, intricate riffs, and received critical acclaim and positive reviews from both press and meta radio alike, with Australia’s “Heavy Mag” calling them ‘Australia’s next best thing.’
The latest album “Hollow”, mixed this time by Henrik Udd (Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, A Breach of Silence) and features fourteen brand new tracks that show a significant progression in the song writing abilities of James Ash and Dan Ralph. There is a strong focus on groove in this album, while at the same time being a combination of death metal mixed with some thrash and modern groove metal. These guys wouldn’t be out of place on a bill with the likes of Bring Me the Horizon and Enter Shikari.
There is a wide variety of subject matter in the lyrics, from the intensely personal “My Favourite Memory” which was written about James’ father’s battle with dementia, to the title track “Hollow” which criticises the hypocrisy of hate-filled religious leaders during the fight to legalise gay marriage in Australia.
The band perform energetic and captivating live shows and the power and aggression of these is captured into their recorded material.
This is a solid, straightforward heavy metal album with extended range / djent riffing, solid drumming and awesome vocals, blending clean with aggressive easily, and the whole album is a serious kick up the jacksie.
The title track “Hollow” is also the first single from the album and the bands newest video that was uploaded to YouTube on 17th April 2018.
The only thing I would say against this album is that it is possibly a little on the long side. At just over 59 minutes, with a sound that could, to some people, sound repetitive, this album could be a bit too much for some people. There is certainly a lull during the middle of the album in quality of the tracks, which although still good, may not be missed if they were to be omitted completely.
Having said all that, this is a great album. I can’t compare it to their previous releases as this is the first of their material that I have listened to, but I did like this one and I will certainly be checking out their stuff from before this.
I think this is a must for any metalcore fan! But don’t take my word for it, go out, buy it and see for yourself!
TRACKLISTING:
01. Slaves
02. Space to Breathe
03. Split in Two
04. Shadows
05. Webs
06. Hollow
07. I Disappear
08. The End
09. Seas of Red
10. The Maze
11. My Favorite Memory
12. Fading
13. Burrow
14. The Depths
LINKS:
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