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HOLLOW HAZE
Countdown To Revenge

Scarlet (2013)
Rating: 8/10

Countdown To Revenge is album number five from Italian metallers Hollow Haze, a band who’ve been rattling out grandiose metal since 2003 but never getting the recognition they deserved. Mind you, gigs with German metal kings Accept certainly did them more good than harm, and this 11-track affair comes straight out of the box writhing like a metallic serpent, bolstered by the venomous vocals of Fabio Lione (Rhapsody Of Fire / Vision Divine).

This is the first Hollow Haze platter to showcase the soaring talents of renowned frontman Lione, who replaces Alex Sonato, the singer on the band’s last two records, including the critically acclaimed Poison In Black (2012). For me, Lione is a marked improvement on Sonato, having a far greater and certainly more epic range for this style of powerful, majestic metal.

This sort of metal can be an acquired taste due to its orchestral drama and polished feel. Hollow Haze, among numerous others (often European), are certainly one of the more adequate bands carving out this type of vast, melodic metal landscape. Any fan of hard-hitting metal should certainly give this record a spin as well, though.

Firstly – and revisiting that vocal style – we’re hearing a set of lungs that combines the glorious heights of Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) with a more modern, epic range. These strengths are complimented by the clean orchestrations of Antarktica and the Wintermoon Orchestra which, rightly so, give the platter an icy, clinical feel as Nick Savio’s guitars chisel out those huge valleys of sound.

Storming in after a brief orchestral intro (‘Room 212’), album opener ‘Watching In Silence’ adopts all the theatrical nuances one would expect from such heroic metal. Hollow Haze have always been an ambitious band, keen to tell their tales by way of lush arrangements and stately dynamics. The band keeps the drama going with the pacey ‘Still Alive’, a track which combines classical preparations with a thrashy drum and ominous guitar chug.

Clearly Fabio Lione has found his fiery home with Hollow Haze, his voice slipping in without trace of any cracks as ‘No Rest For The Angels’ sweeps into the room, evoking images of grand halls and luxurious tapestries unfolding. It’s the sort of track that would need to be heard to be believed live; the solos are punchy, the drums racy and again the vocals soaring into the zenith – Lione aided by Rick Altzi (At Vance / Masterplan / ex-Thunderstone) – to create another vast landscape of sound.

With this type of album, it’s always difficult to pick out a favourite track because there is always a conceptual feel about proceedings due to the textures and overlying drama. For instance, ‘Life Has No Meaning’ – one of the more melodically subtle tracks on the opus – is far removed from the pounding eight-minute title track, but both songs are testament to a band and its ability to create moods and sprawling pastures.

There are certainly sceptics within the metal fraternity who would deem this sort of heavy metal as being over the top in its quest for atmosphere. I can see where they’d be coming from, but in small doses bands such as Hollow Haze need to be experienced. After all, how can one fault the reflective symphonies of ‘Il Tempo del Fuoco’ or the Helloween-styled power metal soar of ‘A Fading Angel’s Life’? It’s metal at its purest, metal which doesn’t rely on anything remotely evil or weighty to deliver its message.

Hollow Haze may be stuck within hair metal pomp and goth-laced histrionics and theatre, but for some this is what makes metal such a tour de force. Hats off to mix-master Sascha Paeth (Avantasia) for giving Countdown To Revenge such a clean, yet furious sound, and let’s hope Hollow Haze keep hold of Fabio Lione – this guy has added an extra dimension to that already flourishing landscape.

Neil Arnold

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