Southampton based metalcore band Our Hollow, Our Home are hotly tipped as one of the most rapidly growing bands in the UK metal music scene right now. Their third full-length release Burn In The Flood is set to drop on May 28th via the band’s own label //Hollow Music. The band aim to document their personal growth as a band, as well as openly speak out about the genuine struggles faced throughout daily life on this blistering new album. We spoke to vocalist Connor Hallisey and singer/guitarist Tobias Young all about the album, the band’s decision to self-release and the importance of artists to fan engagement in times like these.
You kicked off this new album campaign with a massive lead single and title-track Burn In The Flood. Having garnered over hundreds of thousands of views and streams and like you have said previously, some of the most intense anticipation for an OHOH drop, did you ever feel like you were on the verge of such a big song during the writing and recording process?
Connor: The moment I heard the opening riff for Burn In The Flood, I knew that it had to be the next thing our fans heard from us. It was one of the demos we were most excited about during the pre-production process, which again was only solidified for me when we started to hear the tracks come together in the studio. I think it does a really good job of showcasing the new elements introduced to our sound throughout the album whilst having the signature OHOH sound at its core throughout, but as always, we were really blown away by the reception it has received and it made us even more excited to release the next few singles in the lead up to the album.
Staying on the subject of the singles, on Remember Me, and deep cuts Nerv and Children Of Manus for that matter, you have some stellar features from the likes of Ryo Kinoshita, Oli Duncanson and Lochie Keogh respectively. Were you inspired by each member’s own band’s sound? Was this the catalyst to getting Our Hollow, Our Home to have a flavour of their sounds on your own work?
Tobias: We’d spoken to both Ryo and Lochie on 2019’s Never Say Die! Tour about potentially collaborating on the new album, and both of them were really stoked to be on board, but we never went into the song writing process with them in mind for specific tracks. It became very apparent which sections were best suited to these respective vocalists as the music and lyrics came together. We couldn’t be happier with how all three features have turned out, and getting to include artists we consider friends such as our touring photographer Oli to be a part of our album was really something special.
Each of the singles music videos, from Remember Me to Overcast have such a strong visual aesthetic and incorporate the album’s artwork too. What was the creative vision behind the artwork and the music videos?
T: Having stuck to fairly monochrome art styles for our previous two album campaigns, we really wanted to shake things up and have a very vibrant colour palette attached to this album. It only felt natural to keep our videos on brand with this artistic direction, so the whole campaign felt like a completely polished package. Every song on the record has its own vibrant, custom piece of artwork, each reflecting the song’s style and lyrical content, and we wanted to make sure our visuals kept the theming of the album present.
Speaking of the album, Burn In The Flood as a whole, showcases some of the best song writing we’ve heard in the metalcore scene right now. Songs such as In Retrospect and Better Daze really incorporate the overarching theme of being caught or trapped within your own emotions. How did discovering these subject matters come about?
C: We’ve always been a band that wears its heart on its sleeve, and have never shied away from difficult topics and painful subject matter. This album was no exception, in-fact rather than hiding behind clever metaphors, we wanted to be more honest and straight to the point with our lyrics this time around. The last 12 months have been particularly challenging for us all, and have sparked a lot of soul searching and inward thinking within our close-knit camp whilst we were deep within the writing process, and I’d like to think that has come through in our lyrics in an honest and relatable manner.
It definitely seems from the previous album In Moment // In Memory to this one, Our Hollow, Our Home have truly embarked on such a personal growth journey, both as individuals, especially with Tobias during the previous record, and as a band too. How has it felt for you to be able to document this in the form of the band’s music? Has it felt really liberating and therapeutic in a weird way?
T: As a band, we are always striving to push forward both musically and as people. It was really exciting to step away from such a difficult album cycle and be able to tackle other subjects that we feel are important and need to be talked about. Musically, we’d like to think this record takes the best parts from both albums whilst adding an exciting new flavour to our tried and tested formula. We couldn’t be more excited with how this record has come out and we can’t wait for the rest of the world to hear it!
So the third LP is set to drop with much anticipation on 28th May 2021 through the bands own //Hollow Music. Was this a conscious decision to self-release your music from the outset?
C: The independent route was never something we really thought about, ‘cos to be honest for a long time nobody really cared about what we were doing at all, so we’ve always just kind of powered on through and done things ourselves. We’ve been very fortunate to have an ever-growing team of loyal supporters which has allowed us to continue to do things on our own terms. I’d never say we were actively against signing to a label, it’s just that our fans have put so much faith in us to steer this ship ourselves, that it would really have to be something special to make us deviate from the path we are on right now.
Just to end, one of the biggest things you say about the album cycle for Burn In The Flood is that it was made for the fans. In times like these where in-person artist-to-fan socialisation has been restricted, how important has it been to connect with your supporters over social media and this album campaign? Do you also hope that your upcoming tour will be a great way to rekindle that instant connectivity back with your fans again?
T: Our fans are the lifeblood of this band, and it has been extremely difficult to not be out on the road meeting the people who help keep us going and hearing their stories. During these difficult times, we have tried our best to be as pro-active as possible when it comes to interacting with our Team OHOH family. As avid gamers, we set up a brand-new twitch tv channel (HollowGamingCo) along with a Team OHOH Discord, both of which are growing by the day! Both have been great platforms to interact with our fans throughout the pandemic and are both something we aim to keep growing long after things begin to return to normal.
Interview by: Katie Conway-Flood
Our Hollow, Our Home’s new album Burn In The Flood is due for release on 28th May 2021 via Hollow Music, available to pre-order in various formats and alongside special merch bundles HERE.
Our Hollow, Our Home have also announced a UK/European tour, with support from For I Am King, THECITYISOURS and Chuggaboom.
September 2021
Tue 14th – DUBLIN, IE – The Grand Social*
Wed 15th – BELFAST, UK – Voodoo*
Fri 17th – BRISTOL, UK – The Exchange
Sat 18th – MANCHESTER, UK – Academy
Sun 19th – GLASGOW, UK – Nice N Sleazy
Mon 20th – NEWCASTLE, UK – Think Tank
Tue 21st – LEEDS, UK – The Key Club
Wed 22nd – NOTTINGHAM, UK – The Old Salutation
Thu 23rd – BIRMINGHAM, UK – O2 Institute 3
Fri 24th – LONDON, UK – 229 The Venue
Sat 25th – EXETER, UK – The Cavern
November 2021
Thu 4th – PARIS, FR – Le Klub
Fri 5th – LYON, FR – Rock N Eat
Sat 6th – AARAU, CH – KiFF
Sun 7th – COLOGNE, DE – Club Volta
Mon 8th – BERLIN, DE – Cassiopeia
Tue 9th – FRANKFURT, DE – Das Bett
Wed 10th – NUREMBERG, DE – Z-Bau
Thu 11th – HANNOVER, DE – Béi Chéz Heinz
Fri 12th – HAMBURG, DE – Indra
Sat 13th – LEIPZIG, DE – Naumanns
Sun 14th – VIENNA, AT – Viper Room
Mon 15th – BUDAPEST, HU – Dürer Kert
Tue 16th – PRAGUE, CZ – Rock Cafe
Wed 17th – MUNICH, DE – Backstage
Thu 18th – KARLSRUHE, DE – Die Stadtmitte
Fri 19th – TRIER, DE – Mergener Hof
Sat 20th – DEN BOSCH, NL – Willem Twee
Sun 21st – ANTWERP, BE – JH Kaddish
*Our Hollow, Our Home only with Dream Awake
Tickets for the tour are on sale HERE.
