The Hollow Earth Theory have named themselves after a pseudo-scientific myth that was very popular in the early nineteenth century. Whether or not the band believe there to be another world on the inner surface of our planet is not revealed in the lyrics of Rise Of Agartha or its accompanying press release; to judge by their fiercely contemporary sound, they’re all about the here and now.
The sound in question is pure Gothenburg metal - no surprise, considering The Hollow Earth Theory shlepped themselves over to Sweden on their own dollar to get Fredrik Nordstrom sat behind the desk with his hands on the sliders for the recording of Rise Of Agartha. As usual, Nordstrom has done a fix-up job of applying his glossy finish to the album, but there’s enough evidence to suggest that The Hollow Earth Theory had some solid material to start with.
Point in case - they’ve got a very coherent sound of their own underneath that Zeitgeist production job, and Rise Of Agartha has plenty of variety to keep you listening. Proggy bits, fretwankery thrashy bits… and some genuinely memorable melodies. The Hollow Earth Theory have a seemingly effortless knack of crafting sharp pop hooks in between the polished steel of the song structures.
There’s more than a hint of cheddar to the overall flavour, though. “Hostage” revives the “oh-oh-oh” vocal fills that hair metal abused so badly back in the day, but drops in a ferocious beatdown passage into the middle, while “City of the Damned” sees The Hollow Earth Theory thrashing out like mad beneath some very histrionic lyrics. And the chorus to “Hero Before Dawn” contains the line “I’m trying to find the hero inside me…” Bless!
But hey, what’s a bit of cheese between friends? On an album as competent as Rise Of Agartha, it’s more than forgiveable, and The Hollow Earth Theory manage to sound much more committed than the major-label nu-thrash hacks like Bullet For My Valentine or Avenged Sevenfold. It’s great to hear a British band getting out there and making something this strong off their own backs, and with a little luck and good will Rise Of Agartha could see them playing the big boys at their own game. Good clean metal fun; give ‘em a listen.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: Gothenburg, melodic metal, prog, Rise Of Agartha, The Hollow Earth Theory, thrash
