Interviews: My Hollow

This is a new interview with the Melodic Death Metal band My Hollow from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you plan it or came out just like that?

The name My Hollow doesn’t mean anything in particular really. It started out as just a name, but has since taken on a life of its own, and can also be put into the ‘open for interpretation’ column. An excerpt from our biography explains my view on the name: Hollow: (1) a place or area that is lower than the area around it. (2) an empty space inside of something. The definitions of the word hollow describe My Hollow fittingly. With intense riffs and passages seamlessly giving way to lower, heavier parts in a lock-up, chunked out style with mutes leaving empty space in an otherwise chaotic sequence.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Metal in general is just so different from other genres. Yeah, a lot of the same elements are featured in other genres, but metal takes them all to the next level. Metal music can have elements from all different genres in one song and is just so versatile when it comes to the amount of stuff you can cram into one song. I see metal more as a spectrum of musical genres, with limitless ways to express oneself, and that is why I always wanted to play and create metal music.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Prior to starting the band none of the members knew each other. Angelo and Greg started jamming together with the original bass player, Gabe back in 2009ish through Kijiji and Craigslist, and Graham joined shortly thereafter. Then in 2010, I joined on bass also from Craigslist. Fast forward to 2019 and we found Matt through similar means. Then again in 2021, the only mutual friend to join the band was Danio on lead guitar.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Angelo: Mutiny Within

Greg: Insomnium

Graham: Converge

Sean: Ne Obliviscaris

Matt: Soilwork

Danio: Animals As Leaders

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Inspiration is a funny thing, for me at least. Sometimes I can sit down and write an entire song in one sitting and for others it can take me months to come up with the next part. Music for me is more of a feeling and not really inspired by anyone or anything in particular, but when inspiration does eventually strike, it usually comes all at once so I need to write it down or record it immediately before it's gone with the wind.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was at The Rockpile in Mississauga, our de facto ‘home base’ way back in 2019, before the pandemic and right before we made the decision to begin pre-production on what became the “Fighting The Monsters” EP. It's been a long time now and our album has been complete for quite some time now, so we can’t wait to get back on the stage.

7. Where would you like to act?

Anywhere and everywhere. There are so many venues to perform in and each offers its own experience. Some good, some bad, but really the performance is what makes it. Sometimes the bigger venues can feel sterile if the crowd isn’t big enough and the smaller venues can be really intense with a packed house. Either way, like I said the performance is what you make it, and as long as you give it all you got then you can’t have any complaints.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Having already collaborated with one of my favorite vocalists in metal, Bjorn Strid of Soilwork, I would have to choose another one of my favorite vocalists; Christian Alvestam from Solution .45, Miseration and Ex-Scar Symmetry among many others. I just love his voice and the way he goes about constructing his vocal melodies and harmonies. I typically listen to anything he’s featured on, because much like Bjorn did to Fighting The Monster, Christian usually improves whatever he features on.

9. Who not?

No one in particular, when it comes to metal there are so many avenues down which you can go that anyone can come up with something tangible. However, it's hard enough to write tunes with six members so outside influence typically isn’t welcome hahaha.

10. Have Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

My buddy Simon McKay from The Agonist said it best when he told me that if you don’t get at least some nerves before a set then it really doesn’t mean that much to you. I typically don’t get nerves from the crowd of people itself, but more from the responsibility that I have to both the paying viewer and my fellow bandmates to perform to my maximum ability and to entertain whoever is watching, whether they enjoy our particular brand of music or not I still try to make sure they at least had fun looking at us.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

For me, in terms of sheer inspiration when it mattered most it would probably be Metallica. When I heard them for the first time I was blown away and an instant fan. I heard them for the first time when I was in high school, and they were well past their prime at that point, but I was checking out their back catalog, and “Master of Puppets” and “Ride The Lightning” hit me over the head in a way I had never been hit before, you could say it was my ‘a-ha’ moment musically. I listened to those albums ad nausea and drew as much inspiration from them as I could. 

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

My signature on their breasts. Shit you not, right in front of my girlfriend (now my wife) too!

13. What do you think of your fans?

Our fans are awesome! We have a bunch from the Hamilton area that are now our friends whom we dubbed the ‘Hammy Boys.’ They have always been some of our biggest supporters. The Windsor area has also always been really good to us, it’s still the only place where I remember seeing more than one person in the crowd independently singing our lyrics, seriously not many bears that!

14. What do you think of our site?

Prior to the interview, I had not known about this site, but I wish I had. This website looks like a great place to find underground metal bands and to discover bands that you may not otherwise hear about. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you and have us feature on your site!

15. Something to add?

Keep an eye out for our upcoming EP “Fighting The Monsters” coming April 8th on all platforms!