Rockshots Records has announced they will once again be releasing the next recording from Swedish power prog band Hollow, led by Andreas Stoltz (ex-Binary Creed). Entitled Tower, the fourth album follows 2019's Between Eternities Of Darkness, which marked the band's return after a 20-year hiatus since unleashing the 1999 album Architects Of The Mind via Nuclear Blast Records.

Featuring ten tracks, Tower is a story album best listened to as a whole, which tells a tale of transformation with its blend of progressive metal/rock, power, melodic death and thrash elements. Andrea Stoltz is accompanied by drummer Stalder Zantos who also appeared on Between Eternities Of Darkness.

"Working with Stalder Zantos has been a more continuous element in writing the material for Tower than on Between Eternities Of Darkness and this has definitely influenced the outcome as has contributed more on this album than on the previous one," adds Stoltz.

On Hollow's Architect Of The Mind artificial intelligence and creation was the topic, on Between Eternities Of Darkness parenthood and tragedy and for Tower the concept of inner and outer freedom is explored. It’s also about belonging and transcendence and Stoltz hopes these are things that most people can relate to.

"The relating bit is important, since art - regardless of form - is a meeting of emotions and ideas. It needs to find something to resonate within the person who takes part in it. When asked, I find it hard to describe the music, but it’s metal. It has distorted guitars, double bass drums and harks back to bands like Judas Priest and Queensryche. But there is also quite a bit of contemporary metal on Tower. Since this is a concept album with the ambition of conveying a story, listening to it as a whole is encouraged. I hope you can find something that resonates with you on it. Hopefully, Hollow’s fans will be able to trace today's music back to Modern Cathedral and Architect of the Mind. I’ve made an effort to keep it as straightforward and simple as possible. I think most fans will have no trouble recognizing it as Hollow," comments Stoltz.

In preview to the Tower release on November 26, Hollow is revealing the album's title track as the first single. It's a traditional metal song with some nice riffing and a catchy chorus. The song's tale is about the protagonist who grows up in seclusion and their contact with the world outside the Tower is limited to their guardian/teacher. 

Stoltz explains the title track in further detail:

“Tower (the title track of the album) was one of the first songs to be completed and it’s also a great representation of the album as well as Hollow’s music. I wanted to write a record that was a bit more uplifting than the previous one and it all fell into place when I realized that Tower (the album) was going to be a kind of fantasy story. But also about inner change. In a sense, we’re all trapped in our towers, i.e. our minds. This song started the writing process of the whole album.”

Tracklisting:

“Birth”
“The Tower”
“Guardian”
“The Waiting Is Over”
“Destroyer Of Worlds”
“Every Drop Of My Blood”
“Sunrise”
“A Home Forgotten”
“Nation Of Man”
“Wander On”

“The Tower”: