Hollowed Sky - When We Collapse

Hollowed Sky

When We Collapse
self-released; 2026

​By ​Dino DiMuro​​​
​

Alternative rock band Hollowed Sky of Annapolis, Maryland has an interesting sound that I decided was Metallica meets Geddy Lee, without realizing that lead singer Robyn Bingham is a woman! Quite unusual for hard metal, but it allows Hollowed Sky to share that cool high-low dynamic that makes Rush so distinctive. The band was formed in 2016 and saw a few personnel changes before dropping their newest collection, When We Collapse.

The band describes its music as being "infused with elements of progressive rock and metal. Cinematic and moody with dark lyrical themes, perfect for late-night drives and rainy afternoons."  The members are Robyn Bingham (vocals), Joseph Bradshaw (drums), Charles Rupertus (bass) and Stephen Berchielli (guitar). These songs were recorded at the band's home studios by guitarist Berchielli, with mixing and mastering by Jeremy Hayes. 

​The opening track "Hookworm" dates to 2023, shortly after Robyn Bingham joined as vocalist. Now that I know her gender, I can hear Bingham's vocals in the larger context of rockin' singers from Grace Slick (ask your parents) to Ann Wilson. This track is built on hair-trigger riffs atop which Bingham somehow finds a melodic center and nails it to the wall! The playing is stellar throughout and the quality of the home-studio mix matches any pro release. I love the dynamic where the track quiets and the bass, drums and lower guitar strings take a moment to fill the atmosphere. "Patchwork Beast" dates from 2024 and pulls back on the gas for a more contemplative, minor-key rocker at the start, but slowly adds power and volume. Imagine the hardest rocker by Heart fed through a chain of stomp boxes and you may have the idea! It seems as if there's not a riff on earth that Bingham can't ride with total confidence and swagger. A Medusa's head of trebly guitar riffs cap off this monster track. 

"Death by Paper" is a great title of a very recent single, and starts the band down more of a progressive metal path. Lots of pattern changes, fast inverted melodies and marching-soldier drums. The sudden infusion of wah-wah guitar totally grabbed my attention. "Feed the Clementines" is another track where it may take you a couple listens just to get past the constantly inventive math-rock arrangement to the soulful, wailing heart of the song, which even hints at Kate Bush toward the end. "Kill My Darlings" is a phrase well-known to writers of books and songs, and Bingham seems to take particular relish in the vocals here. Continuing the death theme, we come to the disturbing (for me) "Four Slow Minutes" which (without a lyric sheet) appears to be wishing a slow death on an enemy. Regardless, the music here clearly owes a debt to Metallica's "St. Anger" which is one of my favorite albums (I said what I said!).

"The Northern Lights" is a track I remember by thinking of the very first note, which sounds like the bass just awoke from a centuries-long nap. The song itself is a bit more accessible in classic metal fashion, with inventive but easily-followed riffs. "No Light" is the like the finale of an off-broadway horror revue, with lowered lights, stale tobacco and an almost Holy performance by Bingham that soon epically blasts the stratosphere. Don't you dare leave early!

Overall, Hollowed Sky may not be rewriting the prog-metal rulebook, but they've created a powerful document of killer sounds that gripped me with white-hot knuckles. Recommended for sure!

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