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| Album art by Maz Armageddon |
With two full-length releases and one single under their belt, Jacksonville, Florida’s Hollow Leg have gained a significant following with their heavy-hitting brand of groovy sludge. Originally a guitar-and-drums duo, the band is now a well-honed quartet and a beast live. They were one of my personal highlights of the recent Maryland Doom Fest. On Crown, the band branches out, exploring their bluesy roots in surprising ways and adding a bit of psychedelic drama to their swampy brand of doom.
The first song, “Seaquake,” stomps out of the gate with a punching riff and gives the listener a good taste of what’s to be found on Crown. Singer Scott Angelacos angrily sings about cursing the flesh and shaking the sea in a Matt Pike-worthy bellow. Brent Lynch’s delay-drenched way guitar gives the song a spacey, psychedelic feel.
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| Photos by Karen |
The remainder of the album sees the band alternately slow and lumbering, and angrily charging. They even go full acoustic on the instrumental “Atra,” which combines handclaps and a hypnotic blues riff in a spellbinding way. As might be expected from a band that operates in the same fertile ground that spawned both Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers, there’s always a heavy head-bobbing groove simmering underneath. All these ingredients blend together perfectly on what’s perhaps the album’s best song, “Seven Heads,” which mixes hypnotic hooks, a crushing rhythm and abrasive vocals.
Crown was released on CD in March by Italian label Argonauta Records. The song “Coils” also appears on Argonauta’s just-released summer sampler, Devouring the Mountains Vol. III.