Hollow Corp.

With more Mastodon-esque slow metal bands becoming increasingly dominate in the North American metal scene, it becomes easy to forget about the plentiful hidden gems that exist (and always have) throughout Europe. France's Hollow Corp. are, in some respects, amongst the cream of the crop. Despite a delay of more than a year since the record's release in Europe, Prosthetic has finally picked up Cloister of Radiance for North American release. The record is comparable to some of the finer in drone, stoner and doom metal, at times reminiscent of Buried Inside or even early Isis, but with no scarcity of individuality. Their dense, layered assault is not without its shortcomings, however, with the initial track losing its hook very early on, and some unwelcome breakdown-like sections that drag just a little too long. Despite this, songs like "Code" and "Opium" display some incredible riffs that you won't soon forget. This is a fantastic debut.