Here we go to the South of Africa. We talk with the members of the metalcore band Lower Hollow, who share how they overcame major challenges and transformed their unique sound into a powerful new album. Discover their journey of resilience and musical innovation detailed in this interview and much more.
1. You have the advantage of being from a city that hosts one of the biggest festivals in South Africa and has several bands in the metalcore scene. What do you think sets you apart from other bands in the country?
Ashley: Probably 2 main factors that make Lower Hollow who we are would be the skate punk style drumming, and for sure the atmospheric guitar style we incorporate into our sound. Whether as a singular aspect of our sound or both, I’ve not seen any bands here locally utilizing those qualities in their formula, at least not in such heavy doses as we do.
I also think we’re got something very particular in terms of our visual artistic vision, and we’re doing our best to just use this to help convey emotive aspects you’d find in our music.
2. It's never easy when members leave the band. What challenges have you overcome since their departure?
Ashley: I mean it may sound obvious, but finding new members is not an easy task, and even during the process of finding new members and releasing the album – we had 2 guys come and go. South Africa has been under severe strain economically & politically, which in turn means there are many folks leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
In the musician’s arena this is particularly pressing, and many bands have outright been crippled to the point of breaking up because members have immigrated. It sucks.
Considering this, good musicians are harder to find, and so this was really the main challenge. Calvin, the guitarist who came on board to help us, ended out leaving early on but then helped us find a new guitarist, Benji, who helped us find another guitarist Ethan (who will replace Chad when he eventually immigrates to Australia… you see the pattern), and Ethan and Benji both helped us find Sino, our new bassist.
It’s truly a wild scenario and I think a lot of South African bands are facing similar challenges. All in all just being able to still exist as a band in such trying times after 3 guys left, record a new album a year later is something in its own right to overcome.
3. "Threnody" seems to talk about grief and loss. Is it related to the three members who left, or what is it about?
Ashley: At times, it is. Both Trystan and I worked on lyrics, and in one avenue Trystan was speaking to grief and loss in his personal life, having lost his mom; along with dealing with a ton of emotions around his life experiences through this process.
On songs I’d worked on lyrically, I was processing online backlash brought on from guys leaving the band. At the time, it became a public opinion on a very sensitive issue we didn’t feel like folks had the right to know and discuss so openly. To try and air why band working relationships break down isn’t fair, and we tried taking a noble route, remaining silent for the sake of others.
I’d never been treated that way before, by anyone. It felt crushing, to be made to feel that way in a public space and try and defend yourself to people you don’t know and who don’t know you, when ultimately you feel you can’t speak to what even went down… It’s really hard, because at every turn you feel pushed into a corner. The sort of world we live in where people are so quick to cast judgement only hearing half-truths, part of the story… is unthinkable, and it’s ultimately so destructive. So yeah, there’s definitely a high element of airing those feelings.
4. The change seems to have had a beneficial impact on the musical level. How is the technical aspect different in the approach to constructing the musical riffs?
Chad: Having a new song writer with a different taste in music and different influences inevitably leads to a different/new sound, as is the case here. The approach to song writing for this album stems from a more atmospheric and melodic vein of music, where it previously had a much bigger focus on the rhythmic side of things...such as breakdowns and all that. I drew a lot of influence from some post black metal artists and added that to our melodic hardcore sound. Another big influence for me is Tuomas Holopainen, and I think anyone familiar with his music might recognize a section here and there where that influence made its way into our music, at least when it comes to certain melody choices in some songs.
On top of that, presenting a different style of music also gives other folks in the band a chance to help shape the sound by throwing in their influences. While I am the main song writer here, this was by no means a solo effort. When I wrote the demos for these songs, the drums I wrote were super basic and some parts weren't even close to what the final product would be on the album. The drums are such a driving force on this new album, and they wouldn't have had the same impact they do if my ideas for the demos were what was heard on the album. Ash really came up with a lot of creative ideas on drums, a lot of the times being very untraditional in the best possible way. I mean, the entire ending of "Social Disease" was built around an idea Ash came up with on drums, and isn't something I would've come up with at all. Trystan's diversity on vocals also allowed us to branch into new territory that might not have worked otherwise, and having this in mind also helped to create certain parts of songs that I think ended up sounding amazing.
5. The creative process for the latest album "Threnody: Songs of Fortitude" seems to have been more arduous than for the first album. Is that true?
Ashley: Well, from a writing standpoint it was of course a whole lot of hard grind, especially initially getting into the new groove. Chad and I worked mostly on the music songwriting itself and as ideas were coming into full songs, we’d present them to the band and start learning them, adding vocal ideas, so that we were all mostly comfortable with the format of songs.
We had a huge weight on our shoulders to present a strong follow-up release, and looking back, I feel we adapted well to the challenge where guys were mature enough to take criticism well and not be too personal around feedback. No one held onto ideas that didn’t serve the song really well, which ultimately made the bigger difference.
The actual recording itself went extremely well by comparison to the “Bloom & Expire” sessions, largely because we had a game plan and just stuck to it. Everyone brought their best attitudes into recording sessions and made tracking super easy.
The previous album was a new process for everyone, so a lot came down to teething issues of just not having a process in play. So much of what you’re deciding on, is happening as issues present themselves. This time around, we had a map so it was really just a case of navigating and getting on with it
6. On a more technical note, what types of effect pedals were used for the guitars, and how were they integrated into the mix for the track "Leech"?
Chad: Like with all the songs on the album (apart from "Lamentation"), there's those leads that are very much a driving factor of this album...they're always there and they really just act as a melodic and more emotive way to carry a song. Most of the leads are made up reverb and slight delay that come from the Amped Roots amp sim. We used this amp sim to best match the TC Electronics G Major effects unit, which is what I use for my leads live. I also use the TC Electronics Flourescence shimmer reverb pedal in certain parts as well. The shimmer reverb is mainly used for cleans but is used for leads in a section or two. Most the effects you hear will be coming from the G Major unit.
7. Did you use samples and loops on this album to add extra textures to the songs?
Ashley: No samples, synth or anything electronic or programmed was used on any song throughout the album. Basically, as Chad mentioned there’s shimmer type reverb working in and around parts of songs, and whenever there’s Cello or Piano, it’s actually live recordings of these instruments being played and mic’d up.
Not that we’re against using synthesized textures or samples in this way, as we did it on the last album “Bloom & Expire”, but there was just a very defined course of action we wanted to follow in pursuit of our sound on this new album, so we stuck to our plan throughout.
8. Which song has the best lyrics on this album, in your opinion, and what is it about?
Trystan: I would say, lyrically, the best song on the album without a doubt goes to “Somewhere to Belong”. This is a hauntingly beautiful song that captures the ache of feeling lost and desperate for a sense of finding a way back home. The lyrics paint an incredibly clear picture of longing and disconnection. Overall, “Somewhere to Belong” is a powerful and relatable song that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like they don't quite fit in.
9. Are there any ideas in the works for a future video for one of the tracks from the latest album?
Ashley: Currently we’re just doing the hard grind on our current tour, but beyond this we’d love to film a video for the title track “Threnody”. Hopefully this happens and we’re able to pull it off well.
10. What are Lower Hollow's plans to promote "Threnody: Songs of Fortitude" through tours or events?
Sino: The album itself is quite eclectic and borrows aspects across various genres, so it only makes sense that we apply a similarly multifaceted approach to our marketing efforts. We plan to utilize the many tools that social media has to offer to build our brand without compromising our core values as a band. The tours / live shows in themselves are where all these efforts culminate, and where we can actually show what we're fully capable of outside of the digital sphere. We aim to deliver high energy performances each night, which will hopefully garner a solid fanbase.
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In conclusion, we see that this band has a solid strength to overcome challenges. Lower Hollow has managed to turn major challenges into opportunities for growth and musical innovation. Their new album, "Threnody," showcases their ability to evolve while staying true to their unique identity. This interview not only reveals their difficult journey but also their determination to create authentic and powerful music. These South Africans could soon become a true inspiration for all metalcore fans. The path is set for a bright future; it remains to be seen if it will endure. In the meantime, don't hesitate to listen to their latest album.
