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HOLLOW HAZE
Memories Of An Ancient Time

Scarlet (2015)
Rating: 8.5/10

And so with vocalist Fabio Lione leaving the nest after just one year at the helm, Italian metalheads Hollow Haze now move into another important episode of their career.

Memories Of An Ancient Time is the sixth instalment from this highly regarded clan, whose line-up changes over the years have become as talked about as their albums. With only guitarist Nick Savio remaining since the band’s inception in 2003, this time round – with the second part of a musical trilogy which began with 2013’s Countdown To Revenge – the band has enlisted the talents of a trio of guest vocalists; namely Rick Altzi (Masterplan, At Vance), Mats Levén (Candlemass, Krux, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) and Amanda Somerville (Kiske / Somerville, Avantasia, HDK, Trillium).

It’s no surprise then that Hollow Haze’s latest is another extravagant epic, with a strong Egyptian theme laced with extraterrestrial liaisons. Mika Jussila (Nightwish, Apocalyptica, Children Of Bodom) is the man responsible for the lavish mastering here; something you’d expect with such a thought-provoking subject matter. But even so, I really do believe you have to be a real fan of this sort of metal to appreciate the overall quality.

To be honest, I’ve always stayed relatively clear of such majestic creations, at times finding the notion rather lost on me as the band in question twiddles, fiddles and canoodles its way through a myriad of enchanting lyrics, engaging riffs, bulbous symphonies and progressive arrangements. However, I do sort of get what these bands are up to, and so after several listens I can safely say that Memories Of An Ancient Time is a grower; propelled by its power metal nuances and symphonic grace, even if at times this plays like some huge, pompous metal opera of soaring choirs, grandiose statements and bombastic structures.

This is an album that requires your full attention, and as this monster of a record unfolds you do realise that when bands get this sort of metal right it can still be explosive, while always stoking the fires of the imagination. But above all, it’s still a heavy metal album boasting some clinical and fast riffing, contradicted by the sweetness of Amanda Somerville’s tones.

However, it’s the vocals of Mats Levén that really carries this platter. For me, Hollow Haze’s best frontman was Alessandro Sonato whose fiery yet soaring pipes made the End Of A Dark Era (2010) opus so potent, but Levén has his own style and so he effortlessly imposes himself on this record, bringing the likes of ‘Rain Of Fire Lights’ to life. Not that the song was lying dormant – after all, how can one not be impressed and bamboozled by the shredding chaos and symphonic slams that drag the track into the ears. Levén is still of that classy, slightly gravelly vocal tone and yet can also have such a commanding and booming croon which works well with the other vocalists involved. ‘Rain Of Fire Lights’ really sticks into the mind, and is a molten lump of metal full of racing percussion and rattling bass.

So many of these sorts of albums are let down by boasting a tepid vocal display, but this is a mighty fine lump of power metal where the tracks run thick and fast like golden magma spilling from the mouth of a mighty sphinx. The best of a classy bunch is the hammering ‘Created To Live’ with its catchy synths, and the extravagant ‘An Ancient Story’ with those gorgeous female vocal wisps and slow-building chords of menace. As the album shifts through each track though, you can only stand agog and marvel at the sheer splendour of it all; Hollow Haze once again constructing huge labyrinths of sound where the guitars fizz and brood, working in cohesion with the trudging drums of Camillo Colleluori, and Dave Cestaro’s plundering bass.

‘Night Is Calling’ begins like an epic fantasy film; one could imagine those gargantuan strains booming out of the cinema screen before the track starts to gallop in regal fashion. And then we have the melodious trickles of ‘Eyes Of The Sphinx’; a real, simmering venture of cool vocal croons before the injection of a sizzling solo and pulverising drum.

While there may be those of you who scoff at such metal melodrama, we must remember that this is the sort of metal we craved back in the 80s as kids immersed in worlds of fantasy and denim, and it’s great we can still explore such vast soundscapes. These plateaus are not alien by way of too many chord shifts or jarring drum stabs. Instead, we find ourselves engulfed by warm topics and smouldering structures rounded off by those inviting vocals.

The Middle Eastern strains of ‘Lance Of Destiny’ make way for the hammer and tong thrashing of ‘Demon’, before ‘Gate To The Eternity’ wraps us up in its intricacies; simmering, brooding and building with tension, it’s daubed in acoustic subtlety and threaded by a beautiful solo.

Hollow Haze has once again transported us to another magnificent landscape. The journey feels like a strange dream that has taken many hours, possibly days, but that’s testament to the layers the band offers. And I’ll say it again, this is certainly music that needs your full attention and Hollow Haze held mine throughout.

Neil Arnold

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