As 2024 began to pull to a close, the Bath-based metal act HollowKin released their ‘Confessions & Failures’ EP, a pleasingly heavy affair that also managed to use its short playing time to effectively showcase the band’s desire to blend genres. The four songs used a base of metalcore, but introduced elements of thrash, doom, prog metal, groove metal and hardcore to form a complex sound that showed off a band who were not only tight, but insanely confident.

Often working a similar blueprint, the four tracks that make up their 2025 release ‘Decrepit Nature’ are every bit as powerful. Following a brief sample, ‘Fragile Beings’ opens with a really intense riff where downtuned guitars collide with heavy rhythms, creating something that fuses metalcore with groove metal, sharing an intense grind. Moving into the verse, pneumatic drums and guitar lines with more of a jagged edge draw an even bigger influence from metalcore; the coupling of the sharp edged music and a vocal that adds a pinch of post hardcore anger makes Hollowkin sound even more intense than before – although nowhere near as intense as they do at the end of this number, where the riffs slow to introduce a doom metal aspect, coupled with an unrelenting death metal roar. Potentially more furious than most of their debut EP, this takes the heaviness quotient of HollowKin’s work up a couple of notches, and is pretty much guaranteed to impress those who love crossover metal sounds from somewhere near the extreme end of the spectrum.

One of the EP’s highlights ‘Silent Gospel’ kicks off with a punchy rhythm and a world of industrial-ish sounds before a sharp edged guitar and a heavier riff calls back to classic Fear Factory with an incredible mix of groove metal, industrial and metalcore. A shouty vocal owes more to hardcore than before, but this has the effect of making an angry lyric far more audible once frontman James Steaton-Pritchard is captured in full flow. By the end of the first verse, this already has all the makings of a HollowKin classic – the kind of number that’ll absolutely enthrall lovers of the previous release – but with the addition of a chorus that’ll invite mass shouting from the HollowKin audience when this is taken on the road, a middle eight that very briefly sounds as if it’ll drop into nu-metal climes, and a section that leans further into hardcore (driven by drummer Dan Ford absolutely hammering his bass pedals), this number covers an impressive amount of musical ground in under four minutes.

By contrast, ‘Memorial Torment’ isn’t quite as immediate, but with a bigger concession to groove metal at first, and with a few colder melodies cutting through the pneumatics of a dual vocalled chorus, it definitely sees HollowKin branching out a little more. Given time to adjust, the blend of shrill notes and almost muddy heaviness sounds very interesting, and with the vocals occasionally drifting into deathcore territory, it’s definitely a track that doesn’t hold back. In many ways, it’s made a strong impression by the end of the first chorus, but for those not entirely worn down by the heaviness, the latter part of the track will share some genuinely impressive sounds via a hardcore breakdowns before returning to the main hook to ensure Hollowkin’s commitment to bringing the most intense metalcore reaches the listener effectively. Delivering some of this release’s heaviest riffs, ‘Memorial Torment’ sets up a brilliant contrast with the closing number, which at first, could be mistaken for the work of an entirely different band…

Opening with clean soaring guitars set atop a clean rhythm, the intro of ‘Hedonist Decay’ finds the lads exploring more of a prog metal canvas, and even the arrival of the vocal shares something rather different from the HollowKin norm. Also adopting a cleaner tone, James reaches inside of himself to unveil a goth-tinged croon which compliments the music brilliantly. Within this track’s first couple of minutes, the band prove their ability to sound just as great with a very melodic approach. Even at the point where a heavy bass and second guitar crashes in, and you might be expecting some really heavy doom riffs, HollowKin cling on to this number’s melodic heart, sharing something that pulls a huge amount of influence from the more commercial latter-day Paradise Lost. At the track’s heaviest peak, just before the four minute mark, the introduction of a harder edged, chugging guitar offers a little more in common with some of the band’s other work, but the lack of pneumatics and a priority given to a huge, soaring, old school lead guitar break – for the first time on this release – really sets this apart. It’s fantastic, and would certainly appeal to a broader audience. Despite not being at all representative of HollowKin as a general rule, it gives this release another unmissable track.

There are a couple of moments here that show off a heavier HollowKin than before – and they were already pretty heavy – and the lengthier ‘Hedonist Decay’ captures a band who are clearly comfortable exploring some incredibly different musical terrain, but everything here works, and the material secures the band’s place as one of the UK’s best recent arrivals at the time of release. For a band who are still relatively new, this has the confidence of a release by musicians who’ve been working together – and bouncing great ideas off each other – for far longer. If you have any interest in well played metalcore, or metal sounds that reach for the extreme but still have an ear for an accessible riff, then this will definitely appeal, whether or not you’ve already found a love for HollowKin’s previous EP. ‘Decrepit Nature’ is a genuinely impressive work.

October 2025