Grand Rapid Metalcore Up and Comers Hollow Front have been building a fanbase slowly over the last few years. With two albums under their belt already, The Price of Dreaming is the band’s third and most refined album to date.
From the hauntingly beautiful opening of the release with In The Spotlight, listeners are quickly shown the utter range of the band. Almost instantly with Comatose, the sound of modern metalcore rushes out with hammer-on riffs, fry screams and incredibly ambience but thanks to the sheer technical ability of all involved, easily manage to stand out from every other band trying to create the same sound currently thanks to the fantastic clean vocals and Djent elements.
Another aspect I appreciate is the level of detail put into the electronic backing instrumentals that help make each and every track feel truly epic, with Self Sabotage being one of the album’s highlights thanks to the level of detail in the background details of the sound. That’s not all though, as the release is filled with those chunky riffs and arena-ready choruses that Metalcore has become so fond of over the years. The hooks and chorus of the album’s title track The Price of Dreaming is truly one of the best metalcore track of the year so far.
Then we just have the utterly fantastic level of musicianship found in every single track. The drumming in Better Off, the guitar and bass work in Treading Water and every single performance in Two Worlds Away (This track is my personal favourite) are all phenomenal and show each member at the top of their game.
Hollow Front has dropped nothing short of a phenomenal album with The Price of Dreaming. While the release doesn’t do anything new, it takes an already established formula and polishes it into a perfect shine. If you’re a fan of any of the modern Metalcore titans, you’ll love this release, hopefully as much as I do. Utterly brilliant.
