So we have a one man band called Ov Hollowness from Canada, on a label called Hypnotic Dirge Records, with long songs and titles like “Desolate”, “Winds Forlorn”, and “Drone”. I’ll give you one guess as to what style of music this is.

Emocore.

Just kidding.

The best (in my opinion of course) of Hypnotic Dirge’s recent trio of releases (Funeral Fornication and Evoke Efrits being the other two), Ov Hollowness is one Mark R performing all instruments and vocals. In the realm of depressive, one man black metal, he fares quite well on this second effort of his.

Not as full on suicidal or atmospheric as his two label mates mentioned above, Drawn to Descend  is more about somber, mid-paced steady riffs and melancholic droning. I hear elements of fellow Canadians Woods of Ypres in some of the song structures, but there’s also a few bursts of more traditional black metal (vocals, some tremolo gallops here and there) scattered around the moping gait.

I really like the production tone here, rather than water thin; reedy guitars, the tone has a nice resonant buzz with an actual, tangible rhythm section and solid (albeit programmed) drums. It allows tracks to breathe with a depressive simplicity rather than slit your throat with over the top atmospherics  and psychosis.

The 9-minute opener “Older and Colder”, being the first impression is where immediately thought of Woods of Ypres, starts out with a steady and catchy but somber main riff laced with some effective solo work and a nice mid-song break. In direct contrast “Drawn to Descend” starts with a melodic frosty blast beat and rasp showing Mark R has a grasp of that style as well as a melancholic marches like the next track “Desolate”, “Winds Forlorn” and “Drone”; all rangy, hypnotic dirges  with simple riffs and just enough despondent mood to identify with other depressive black metal acts.

However, the album does end with a bit of a head scratcher in “The Darkness”. A sort of rock/thrash number that opens with a almost AC/DC -ish riff, I scrambled in the CD booklet to look for some sort of credits to see if it was a cover song as it simply does not fit in with the bands themes or the CD’s tone and atmosphere. That being said, I’ve not heard the band’s previous album, Diminished, to determine if this style is more prevalent and this is a mere remnant and Drawn to Descend‘s depressive style is a new shift. Either way, while being a bit of an album ending let down, it does not deter from the other 40 or so minutes that deliver some solid music from a label that’s finding a decent little niche and digging up some nice Canadian (and other international) depressive black metal acts.

 

[Visit the band's website]

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