Release Date: April 18th 2025. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken Cheeks - Tracklisting
1.Nothing Is Less Than Zero
2.Hollows Made Home
Members:
Jon Davis (guitars)
David Perry (synth / organ / keys / vocals)
Review
Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken Cheeks is the debut album from Psych/Doom/Drone Metallers Ungraven which features Jon Davis from the mighty CONAN and ex-Conan Member David Perry joining forces for a sombre and brutally surreal experience in to the world of Psychedelic Drone soundscapes. Ungraven feels like a creative extension from CONAN with Jon and David creating sounds that have been used sparingly on previous CONAN records though this time round this is a more Psychedelic and Spaced Out sound. Using influences such as Tangerine Dream, Goblin, John Carpenter and Circle that dares to cross over into the Blackened Drone soulless abyss.
The powerful synths, organs and keys from David Perry feel like they could have arrived from a recently discovered lost horror movie as his work oozes atmosphere and is quite astonishing into the multiple levels of frenzied heaviness that appear within both tracks that make up the album. Jon’s sprawling and multi-layered guitars add a level of screeching heaviness with frenzied sludge based movements transforming into fuzzed out nightmarish hallucinations which have moments of pure Droned Out BLISS to them.
David’s highly experimental vocals are quite vivid with the digitized and electronic effects that accompany them with Ungraven exploring a cinematic based odyssey which evokes memories of classic soundtracks such as ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK at times. The two tracks of Nothing Is Less Than Zero and Hollows Made Home both last over twenty one minutes each so be prepared for a long drawn out experience which is quite ethereal and progressive at the same time.
Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken Cheeks is the perfect companion piece to CONAN’S upcoming and outstanding new album Violence Dimension with that record touching upon similar themes as this great album itself though very sparingly.
This is not the easiest album to listen to with Ungraven having an eerie and blackened presence within their creative powers but everything is played beautifully and when the riffs do ultimately appear, they are long drawn out moments of pure Droned Out Metal perfection for me. As this is the type of Drone based album I love where I always lose myself in the moment and let the music take me upon a soulful journey of psychedelic heaviness.
Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken Cheeks ranks as one of the very best Drone Metal releases from the underground scene I've heard within the last ten years or so.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken Cheeks will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Friday April 18th 2025.
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