"Three Years Hollow"
"Three Years Hollow"
3 Years Hollow doesn't pull any punches. The Quad Cities quintet—Jose Urquiza , Tony Reeves , Neil Kuhlman , Dex Digga , and ChrisCushman —dispenses honest hard rock that's equally hypnotic and heavy on its first full-length album for Imagen Records.
Over the past decade, the group has solidified itself as one of the Midwest's most incendiary and infectious young acts. Their breakout independent single "Remember" charted at #1 on Octane, while "Chemical Ride" is closing in on 400,000 YouTube views. In 2012, they emerged as regional victors during the Ernie Ball-sponsored Rockstar Energy UPROAR Festival "Battle of the Bands".
Playing the Tinley Park, IL date of UPROAR, they caught the attention of ImagenRecords who proceeded to offer them a deal soon after. Now, with production by none other than Clint Lowery of Sevendust and Call Me No One, their latest album bristles with irresistible intensity and magnetic melodies.
Becoming a local stalwart, 3 Years Hollow shared the stage with everybody from Papa Roach to Buckcherry, and they've siphoned their live energy into a kinetic anthems.
About the sound, Jose explains, "We want to play melodic hard rock. That's the music that brought us together. At the same time, we all have drastically different influences from progressive rock to hair metal to pop punk. We all agree on what 3 Years Hollow is though."
That cohesion comes across on the likes of "For Life". Coupling a fret-burning solo and chorus from Lowery with Jose's dynamic delivery, it practically explodes on impact.
"It's about a person who is struggling and has fallen away from the world alone," says the vocalist. "You can see the damage and the demons the person deals with on a daily basis. However, all of a sudden, there is hope instead of despair. The final message is to pull away from the demons, stand strong against them, and keep them out for the rest of your life. It was such an honor to bring that track to life with Clint."
Then, there's "Hungry", which bares its teeth via a bombastic beat and arena-size hook. It taps into their on-stage intensity. "We wrote that in the jam space," recalls Jose. "We want people to get close to the music. We give everything we can so fans forget about everything else."
Ultimately, 3 Years Hollow constantly keeps the listeners in mind with that honesty. "Everything I write about is a completely personal experience or something I've witnessed or experienced myself," he concludes. "I talk about things I've seen or experienced. I want to give everybody something real."