Hollowscene
Hollowscene

The origins of Hollowscene trace back to the early '90s when guitarist Andrea Massimo and keyboardist Lino Cicala formed Banauu. In 2016, they regrouped under the name Hollowscene and released an album—Burial—with an expanded lineup. Now, under Black Widow, they release an album dedicated to Shakespeare's work, Coriolanus. Moreover, true to the finest prog tradition, Hollowscene have always drawn from noble literary inspirations like those of T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land) and Edgar Allan Poe. Stylistically, Hollowscene are devotedly and calligraphically aligned with the sound of the 1970s Genesis: theirs is a classic symphonic progressive, well-played and with a good foundational inspiration. From the opening track “Welcome To Rome,” we are projected, in a sort of journey back in time, to the atmosphere of an album like Selling England By The Pound. In the subsequent “A Brave Fellow,” we find moments very much inspired by the piano. The limitation of such a proposal is to be excessively mannerist and self-indulgent; however, even if the vocals do not constitute one of the strengths of this work, the album is solid and is absolutely not inferior to the average of other current groups in the genre. Indeed, the class and instrumental capability of Hollowscene are of excellent level as we can hear in the mini-suite “Rage & Sorrow.” The final track is a little surprise, a cover of “The Moon Is Down” by Gentle Giant. Recommended for followers of symphonic prog. Those looking for non-derivative sounds should abstain.