CIMMERIAN
Hollowing
Self-released (2014)
Rating: 7/10
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Having known so little about this Illinois-based bunch, I was keen to get my grubby paws on Hollowing, Cimmerian’s second full-length opus. I’d heard that their debut platter Infinite Perdition (2011) was a half-decent affair, but was never fortunate enough to set my ears upon it. I must say that this nine-track affair is quite impressive, however.
As ‘Rumination’ makes its entrance, the first thing I have to say is that there is a strong European metal influence here. In fact, from start to finish, the album is drenched in a sort of icy melody which I’d expect from a band coming out of Germany or possibly Scandinavia. Immediately, I’m dreaming of vast, sprawling, frost-bitten wastes and great ships on mirror-like lakes as the opening strains bleed into my ears.
Vocally, however, the band take on a deathlier lean as Evan Dale emits a guttural rasp over the jarring instrumentation of Tim Nagel’s bass and his brother Dean’s guitar, which accompanies Dale’s own axe-work.
There is certainly a haunting and poetic grace about Cimmerian’s sound, one that has echoes of older Opeth as it casts long shadows amidst gothic architecture and frozen soil, with the guitars at time aching grey and then the next, in crystal clear motion driving hard with that distinctly European feel. Except for those deep-end vocals, there’s no real malevolence to proceedings. Instead, the band opt for a more classical type of metal, which has a melancholic hue that is caressed only by deathlier promise.
‘Extinguishing Vanity’ maintains the technical aspects, particularly in the dry iced guitar sound and unusual double vocal attack. The real standout track on the record is the eight-minute ‘Dissident Voices’, however, which plays out initially like some goth-tinged metal melody of crisp guitars and ashen vocals. Despite this being gargantuan in nature, it nonetheless begins to make me question the marrying of the deathly vocals and the less threatening music. This is where this type of metal becomes rather lost on me, because despite the cleverness of the mellower segments of this number, the lack of weight means that ‘Dissident Voices’ becomes one of those remote, progressive passages that leave me rather frosty.
Hollowing is an extremely solid and often intriguing record that seems to have so many spiritual elements which worm their way between those grating guitars and well orchestrated drums. While the synth-driven ‘Among Ghosts, We Slept’ and the thrashier ‘Metaphysical’ are wondrous examples of broad-minded metal, I nevertheless feel like I’ve been shut outside in the winter blizzard, and am reminded of some of the bleaker black metal structures I’ve had to sit through over the years. Again, while each instrument is king here, Cimmerian could be a tad too clever for their own good as they shuffle from the occasional jazzy composition to more straightforward technical prowess.
With its vein of piano, closing track ‘Introversion’ pretty much sums up the grey façade of this record, and makes me realise that such bands are certainly an acquired taste. While there’s nothing inaccessible about Cimmerian, the cold European flavour simply suggests that my bones are getting too old for this brand of polished, advanced metal. For those of you who like the colder climes of metal, however, Hollowing should appeal.
Neil Arnold
