Artificial Silence â Hollow Drift Review
By Twelve
Many bands donât make it past the first album (many more donât make it there at all). Maybe thatâs why weâre so big on sophomore releases here? It takes a lot to release your debut, to go through that harrowing process, to inevitably be told by some guy on the Internet that your music sucks, and then go off and do it again. So, before we even get to the review, kudos to Artificial Silence, a progressive metal band and the subject of todayâs article. Having released their debut, Negative Space, way back in 2018, the U.S. trio is back with an album that promises to be both proggier and newer than the last. But kudos do not translate into rating âround these parts. How does the actual music sound?
Artificial Silence are a progressive metal band. I know I said that already, but I need to emphasize that Hollow Drift is all kinds of proggyâitâs got a reasonable level of heaviness, but it also features moments of cappella singing (âThe Shadowâ), a sudden violin solo (âParadiseâ), and one song that inexplicably makes up half the runtime of the album (âHollow Driftâ). It also makes excellent use of a piano, which happens to be one of my favorite things in metal. Yes, there is a whole lot of prog happening on Hollow Drift, reminding me at times of Ayreon and Southern Empireâan album that succeeds or fails by its ideas and the grace with which it executes them. A headbanger this is not, but the scope of what Artificial Silence have made here is impressive. It helps that it sounds great; I really canât remember the last time Iâve heard bass sound so good in a new release.
Unsurprisingly, then, there is more than enough variety across Hollow Drift for it to be engaging and enjoyable. âTidal Lockâ is unquestionably the heart of the album, a gorgeous, melancholy epic with a supremely emotional core that makes great use of the singers, piano, and keys. It swells to a simple yet lovely tremolo riff towards the end that encapsulates what Artificial Silence do best: simple, straightforward ideas executed with conviction and layered on top of each other to make great music. âParadiseâ also does this well; for the most part, itâs a straightforward number that really comes alive in its final thirdâthe piano and bass go wild, competing for speed and space, a violin joins the fray, and the Karevik-esque singing (Kamelot) becomes grander, more sweepingâit suddenly feels like an epic that ends too soon.
Of course, I have to mention the title track; in the forty-eight-minute album, âHollow Driftâ is twenty-four of them, and it contains some of Hollow Driftâs best moments and its one weakness. First, the good: over the first ten minutes or so, âHollow Driftâ establishes a serious, brooding atmosphere that feels great after the lighter and melancholic tracks that precede it. It blends expertly in and out of a cabaret-esque routine, the kind of silly-but-also-serious move I would expect from Diablo Swing Orchestra. It also features some of the heaviest moments on Hollow Drift. Unfortunately, it is simply too long. The last ten minutes grasp at ideas but never really take hold of one long enough to build the thread. There are two false stops that both feel like they âshouldâ be the end, and despite many listens, I canât quite remember exactly how this strong album closes. It feels like Artificial Silence were going for a grand finish from a story perspective, but I just donât find the music holds up. This is a shame, especially because when it holds up, it really holds up! âHollow Driftâ features grandiose, epic, and fun music that recommends it highly anyway.
I couldâand would really like toâgo on. Thereâs so much to say about Hollow Drift and Artificial Silence that just doesnât fit into the word count. For example, the vocal lines in âFear and Retributionâ are upbeat enough to evoke early aughts US pop rockâI canât help but think Panic! At the Disco when I hear it. Thereâs so much going on here, and while I wish the title track had just a bit less in it, I love the myriad other ideas that make up Hollow Drift. It is a very enjoyable listen, one I plan to return to many more times.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: ~260 kbps VBR mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: artificialsilence.bandcamp.com | artificialsilence.com | facebook.com/artificialsilenceband
Releases Worldwide: June 12th, 2026
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