The room decorated in true horror style the OHOH boys had really put in so much effort to make the night special for their fans.
Opening this amazing night was I The Map Maker situated locally to the Southampton talking heads and good friends with Our Hollow, Our Home. These boys warmed up the already eager crowd for tonight’s destruction. Playing Capsized and Ghostwalker. They rained down catchy beats and rocking riffs which was a nice beginning to Holloween.
Next to tear up the mic was Lifetight who sound similar to Devil Wears Parada. These guys made a presence on stage, pits opened up to welcome the hardcore vocals and crunchy chords leaving one truly satisfied. Playing such songs as Energy, Big Boy House and Dreams. These are definitely worth a check out if metalcore is your style of music.
Long standing Shields entered the stage slaying the crowd, from London they made my evening, seeing them before tonight they did not disappoint one bit. Front man Joe roared down the mic with powerful and enchanting growls that shock you to the core. Pits upon pits opened up during their set, which filled the room with so much energy and was magnificent. Playing songs from their album Guilt such as I’ve Dealt With Worse, No Hope and title track Guilt. Definitely a good pick for the tour line-up.
Holding Absence were next up these guys from Cardiff, gave a nice twist to the evening with their mellow tunes which surprised me greatly. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy them as much as I did. Front man Lucas Woodland had such harmonious vocals I was shocked and in awe. With a mix of softness and heavy parts made this band a must have on my playlist and should be on yours too.
They played songs such as Permanent, Heaven knows and Penance. They made a nice calming change to the atmosphere as the crowd sung back making it a moment not to be missed. Few technical issues with the mic but Lucas didn’t falter and sung without it because, why not. Similar to the lighter songs of Architects such like song Blood Bank. Favourite song of the set was Heaven Knows, check the video out below.
The band that truly made the night other than the OHOH boys themselves has got to be Crystal Lake. All the way from Japan, these boys completely entertained me through the whole of the set. These boys will be big in the future I just know it. The powerful and dominating vocals from frontman Ryo with a mix of electronic core gave this performance a 10 out of 10 for me personally. If you haven’t heard of them you are missing out greatly. They played songs such as Prometheus, New Romancer and HATRED. The true power could be felt reaching into your soul. The stage presence was outstanding. Pits opened up to completely destroy what was left of the crowd. We even got a special treat of a cover of Limp Bizkit – Rollin’. These boys are very similar to an Architects / Enter Shikari / Limp Bizkit mix. Bringing the techno, raps and hardcore slams to our beaches these boys made the room electrified raining raging riffs and bountiful breakdowns making everyone move.
The hosts of the night Our Hollow, Our Home dominated everyone who had been before showing us the true meaning of southern metalcore. Playing the album Hartsick in full they ended the night spectacularly. Hammering heavy breakdowns for the crowd to mosh to, and catchy lyrics which were chanted back with force from their fans. We also had a treat of having the shape of you cover played live which was such a fun and amazing experience. Crowd surfers galore, at one point I had Joe from Shields land on me and the crowd lifted him up in true metal fashion.
The fact the other bands were so enthusiastic about enjoying the experience of the night made the crowd even more willing to participate and share this special evening together as one. You can definitely see the future is bright for these boys and the amount of passion and time put into every little detail to make Holloween a thing for years to come. With such a big fan Base behind them and catchy tracks these guys will be becoming ever more popular in the metalcore scene and playing at some well renowned festivals near you. If you haven’t heard of Our Hollow, Our Home you need to now.