"Extreme" means different things to different people. A regular person you find (hopefully with a mask on) on the street might tell you that extreme metal consists of bands like Slipknot for instance. Maybe the next person thinks Cannibal Corpse is the craziest metal can get, and so on. Then of course there are those entrenched in the subculture of extreme music enough to where they might find all of the above and even something more chaotic/crazy a standard listen. However, I'd go so far to say that even seasoned listeners of all things chaotic and boundary pushing would find The Holloway Tape to be pretty fucking out there, and I mean that in the best way possible. Their 2020 full length "Painted World Of The Holloway Tape" plays out like the acid just kicked in as you're being dragged down to hell, and somehow, you don't feel too bad about that outcome.
There are shades of many different influences in The Holloway Tape's metallic screamo sound: Dillinger Escape Plan is an apparent influence, as is the outright wackiness of bands like Ween and Mr. Bungle. What really sets The Holloway Tape apart from a lot of their influences is the outright blistering pace the band keeps up throughout the albums entire duration. Aside from a few transitions from song to song, this record is absolutely relentless in it's chaotic nature, like a train on fire breaking through every single roadblock until flying off the rails completely, still pushing forward despite seemingly no path left to take. Breakneck riffs, spastic drumming and all sorts of insane vocals permeate every inch of this hour plus long record, and it's a testament to the band's uncompromised vision that you're given little room to breathe throughout it's duration.
"Painted World Of The Holloway Tape" will certainly not appeal to everyone, but for those who love the unpredictable cacophony that genres such as noise rock, grindcore and screamo provide, it's an essential listen and serves as a fitting reminder of just how fucking insane this entire year has been. In a sense, it's the perfect album for these unpredictable times. The lack of full musical descriptions for this record is not unintentional in this write up, as much of the time The Holloway Tape defy any sort of description I could dive deep into without devolving into madness. Both tongue and cheek and dead serious, relentless and overwhelming to the senses, and extreme in every sense of the word, this album is done more justice being listened to then me telling you about it. So get on that:
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