[REVIEW] Scream Blue Murder ‘Hollow Stories’

Coventry based four-piece, Scream Blue Murder released their debut album Hollow Stories in 2016, starting the band on the right foot where they continue to grow in the industry. The full length, ten-track album is a display of the band’s energy for atmospheric, enticing music. First track, ‘Unbreakable’ shares the importance and talent for each instrument in slow rendition but introduces the band in such a heavy impact way. With a plethora of influences from bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Parkway Drive, Asking Alexandria and Cancer Bats, the four-piece have truly come together to combine their interests and efforts into one epic metal-rendition.
With ‘Restart, Rewind, Reset,’ heavy from the get-go, the heavy bass and distorted guitars come to life. One of the most stand-out elements of Scream Blue Murder is their modern twang on the metal genre, as the track moves in and out of heavy, combative attitude into anthemic. The tumultuous relationship between the instruments and the way they ricochet off each other in such a dynamic way gives a surge of power to each track. ‘No Hope,’ for example is a charming track that’s almost magnetic, and definitely a favourite of the album. With heavy riffs and an impressive display of fret and string control, the underlying accent of a porcine-like bass, the third-track is Scream Blue Murder’s ingenuity and talent when it comes to songwriting. As it moves forth into ‘Escape Plan,’ the band’s passion intensifies massively, where breakdowns become even more epic and their songs fluctuate in frequencies. It’s a must to mention and give kudos to drummer Jamie Bloomer for his pugnacious drums that brings much of the weight to each track on the Hollow Stories album.

‘We Are Survivors’ takes a slightly different approach to its predecessors, offering a very surreal atmosphere in a very visual manner. It’s like envisioning the band in their surroundings as the intro ceases into the song – and the track becomes the most infectious of the album. With very anthemic potential as the echoed vocals sing the words ‘we are survivors, we will survive,’ the fifth track nearly steals the show. While the song runs at just short of three and a half minutes, it’s a very moreish track but their subtle change in tone for the halfway mark of the album continues into ‘Dying Breed,’ where the hypnagogic atmosphere laces through the instruments. Being the most authentic metal track on the album, ‘Dying Breed’ brings the essence of nostalgia to their music, rejoicing and enforcing their influences of bands such as Suicide Silence and pre-That’s The Spirit BMTH.
But the talent and exploration of Scream Blue Murder go further than their turbulence, as ‘Let’s Do Coke… I’ll Have A Diet’ proves. Combining their metal genre with the like of party anthems, ‘Let’s Do Coke…’ is like the band’s way of rebelling against the usual rules surrounding the metal genre. It’s definitely boundary pushing, but it works well, taking headbanging into finger guns with eminent use of breakdowns to combine them. ‘Personal Message,’ is colossal in sound, bringing the sheer strength and power of vocalist Aaron Bloomer to the forefront. The militant vocals add to the overall attitude of the song, channelling the aggressive energy that makes it truculent. Second to last track ‘Flatline’ is brilliant. Using clean vocals to compliment the bellicose, the track falls together perfectly in timing and highlights the potential that Scream Blue Murder has in various areas. Last song, ‘Hollow Stories’ is practically like the conclusion to the album, combining each of the stand-out points that each track holds to create the ultimate track, and is a such a concise, wholesome ending to the album. Hollow Stories is an epic album written by Scream Blue Murder, promoting how exciting it is for metal fans to be following the band at this time.

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