Strangely, those same misgivings that I had with ‘Achitect…’ remain more or less present here too. And he does a fine job in trying to tell the story with as much strength and commitment as possible, which I find very laudable indeed.
Stoltz’s voice definitely remains an acquired taste I find but it’s a taste I am really beginning to acquire. It has retained that higher-pitched delivery from the previous albums and contains that sense of passion that was always present. In some ways, it doesn’t seem possible that it has been nearly 20 years since Hollow’s last outing because Stoltz’s voice is almost instantly recognisable. As concepts go, it is refreshingly brief and certainly not overblown and exhausting. The story plays out over ten tracks, during a 45-minute running time. According to Stoltz, the best-placed intentions don’t work out and the woman’s son is led down the wrong path by a new set of friends. In keeping with ‘Architect…’, this new album is a concept piece, about a mother who moves home to try to protect her adolescent son. Naturally, I agreed to take a listen and, after several more spins, I’m in a position to offer my thoughts on ‘Between Eternities of Darkness’, effectively the solo work of vocalist and guitarist Andreas Stoltz, with Stalder Zantos on the drums and a few others offering brief guest appearances elsewhere. The world moves in mysterious ways, I can tell you. After ‘Architect of the Mind’ the Swedes seemed to disappear off the face of the planet.Īs fate and happenstance would have it, just a couple of days later, I get a message in my inbox from Andreas Stoltz, an original founding member of Hollow, proudly declaring that Hollow were back and releasing their first album in two decades. But nevertheless, I liked it enough to casually wonder to myself whatever happened to the band. The progressive-leaning power metal was nicely written and executed, but the production and generally higher-pitched vocal delivery meant that it felt quite harsh to listen to. If I’m honest, it never got particularly regular rotation, although I liked several of the songs on the album. I’ll admit I knew nothing about Hollow at the time and decided to buy it based on the record label alone because I was aware by that time of the pedigree of the Nuclear Blast label.
It was recorded by a Swedish band called Hollow and I remember discovering it in a second-hand record shop a few years after its release. I had cause the other week to rehouse a few of my ever-expanding CDs and in so doing, I cast my eyes upon an album called ‘Architect of the Mind’, a little-known album released via Nuclear Blast Records in 1999. Album Title: Between Eternities of Darkness
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