Album Premiere: MNRVA – ‘Hollow’

MNRVA Band photo

Back in 2018, something sinister rumbled from the dying light of South Carolina’s fading summer. MNRVA‘s Black Sky debut was a three-track EP of morose sludge that murdered silence. The EP showed great potential with its crushing distortion and flourishes of somber melody. Almost four years later, the trio return with their full-length record of dirty-riffed dirges, Hollow. Black Doomba Records hooked up Decibel with an exclusive stream before they release the album on May 20th.

If you heard the EP, you’ll immediately recognize “Not the One.” The riff is a haunting ear-worm and a perfect intro to the record’s Sabbathian specter. “With Fire” illuminates the secret pathway from stoner doom to the heaviest realms of grunge. “Third Eye” introduces a psychedelic aura that makes that song one of the album’s few sanctuaries. That refuge is immediately demolished by the ominous opening of “Hollow.” The title track is a simmering occult stew that bubbles out of the cauldron with sly references to The VVitch.

MNRVA plunge their sound into even deeper darkness than their EP on “Befall.” The rhythm tandem of Kevin Jennings (bass) and Gina Ercolini (drums) motors the band as they traverse the album’s bleak swamplands. Meanwhile, guitarist/vocalist Byron Hawk’s riffs are towering enough to cast shadows. By the time Hollow concludes, they have re-recorded all three songs from Black Sky and added five new crushers. The final stomp of “The Way” marches you into an open grave and buries you with woodland debris. MNRVA’s stoned menace conjures comparisons to Melvins, Beastmaker, MWWB, and Electric Wizard.

Summon black skies and live deliciously by pressing play below.

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