{"id":267350,"date":"2025-07-16T19:19:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T19:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/267350\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T19:19:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T19:19:12","slug":"oskoreien-hollow-fangs-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/267350\/","title":{"rendered":"Oskoreien – Hollow Fangs Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Atmosphere is a hallmark of great black metal, but for California\u2019s Oskoreien<\/strong> it\u2019s only half the story. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Valena\u2019s long-running black metal project serves as an auditory exploration of complex theoretical themes. 2010\u2019s self-titled debut\u2014an earlier EP version<\/a> AMG<\/strong> Himself<\/strong> lauded\u2014channeled the atmospheric and acoustic black textures of Ulver<\/a><\/strong> and Agalloch<\/strong><\/a> into a deep contemplation of a nihilistic existence. Six years later, concept album All Too Human found Valena honing his craft, elevating Oskoreien<\/strong>\u2019s sound into a masterful post-black narrative. It unraveled the fallacy of free will through the chilling story of Charles Whitman. This bold, forward-thinking approach garnered significant acclaim and firmly positioned Oskoreien<\/strong> on the map. Valena now returns with Oskoreien<\/strong>\u2019s third album, Hollow Fangs, another heavy dose of atmospheric, cerebral black metal after nine long years of silence. And this time, it\u2019s plunging its teeth into the destructive currents of human consciousness and the accompanying anguish of finding meaning within a chaotic, deceptive world.<\/p>\n

Hollow Fangs finds Oskoreien<\/strong> refining its sound into a powerful black metal fusion. Strengthened by the addition of guitarist Rashid Nadjib (Wovoka<\/strong>) and bassist Matthew Durkee, the trio skillfully marries the visceral force of groups like Spectral Wound<\/strong> with expansive post-black melodies, creating engaging black metal that feels both familiar and distinctly their own. Torrents of wild, tremolo-picked guitars interlock with vigorous blast beats, powering Hollow Fangs\u2019 incisive bite. While recognizable black foundations provide a consistent anchor, Oskoreien<\/strong> employs unexpected deviations to forge rich, dynamic textures that guide the listener through distinct emotional arcs. Attention-grabbing riffs, including head-bobbing melodeath grooves (\u201cBernalillo Sunrise\u201d), intricate thrash patterns (\u201cFragments\u201d), and somber, doom-laden chords (\u201cPsychoticism\u201d), give way to waves of cascading, shoegaze-infused guitar leads (\u201cFragments,\u201d \u201cBernalillo Sunrise\u201d) that fuel emotional crescendos. Hollow Fang\u2019s compositions smartly transcend their otherwise modest formulas, employing appealing harmonies and intelligent chord progressions to inject the album\u2019s thirty-nine minutes with dynamism and profound emotional weight.<\/p>\n

\ufeffHollow Fangs by Oskoreien<\/a><\/p>\n

A defining characteristic of Oskoreien<\/strong>\u2019s songwriting is the sophisticated interplay between tension and release, built by the guitars\u2019 dissonant elements to underscore Hollow Fangs\u2019 pervasive sense of turmoil and apprehension. Intense passages culminate in cathartic payoffs which expertly contrast intensity with emotional release and hope. Oskoreien<\/strong>\u2019s poignant guitar melodies convey this. The chaotic and violent tremolo-fueled blast beats in \u201cTo Kiss the Viper\u2019s Fang\u201d give way to a somber, arpeggiated bridge with an almost acoustic feel, offering relief before re-engaging with another bout of powerful riffing. \u201cFragments\u201d and \u201cPrismatic Reason\u201d immediately establish their dark and menacing atmospheres with arpeggiated, anxiety-ridden high guitar runs and washing distortion before transitioning to beautiful guitar leads that inject much-needed liberation and light. Even Durkee\u2019s bass steps forward at times, adding another layer of depth as it ascends into higher registers\u2014a playful counterpoint to Hollow Fang\u2019s dissonant textures (\u201cFragments,\u201d \u201cBernalillo Sunrise\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hollow Fangs\u2019 production significantly bolsters the strength of Oskoreien<\/strong>\u2019s compositions. Valena\u2019s spectral rasps sound great, prominently featured in the guitar-dominant mix, which amplifies the album\u2019s darker, unsettling moods. Although the programmed drums are largely generic and unexciting, their distinction in the mix is a notable step up. Durkee\u2019s robust bass presence also materially contributes to the album\u2019s expressive effect. Even so, Hollow Fangs still has room for growth. The album\u2019s bookends, \u201cPrismatic Reason\u201d and \u201cTo Kiss the Viper\u2019s Fang\u201d feel a bit overlong, with \u201cPrismatic Reason\u201d also lacking the potency of the album\u2019s other tracks. Furthermore, the payoff in the latter half of \u201cBernalillo Sunrise\u201d lands somewhat flat despite its excellent, tension-building tom transition full of foreboding.<\/p>\n

Still, Hollow Fangs stands as unquestionable proof that Oskoreien<\/strong> is alive and well. While some tracks overstay their welcome and the album doesn\u2019t quite take the same evolutionary leap forward as its predecessor, Hollow Fangs nevertheless delivers a hefty dose of quality black metal. The emphasis on dynamic songwriting\u2014achieved through varied tempos, textures, and instrumental interplay\u2014creates moments of crushing ferocity and vast melodic emotional depth, with soaring, triumphant melodies that counterbalance each other perfectly. Almost a decade between releases can rightfully derail bands, but Oskoreien<\/strong> has defied this trend, producing an aggressive yet appealing black metal album that offers fans plenty to sink their teeth into.<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> Very Good!
DR:<\/strong> 6 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> 320 kbps mp3
Label:<\/strong> Self-Released
Websites:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> July 18, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Atmosphere is a hallmark of great black metal, but for California\u2019s Oskoreien it\u2019s only half the story. Composer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[743,10268,101794,12295,11463,77,101795,91261,11466,269,101796,6080,6082,12938,20848,16,101797,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-267350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-743","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-agalloch","11":"tag-american-metal","12":"tag-black-metal","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-hollow-fangs","15":"tag-jul25","16":"tag-melodic-black-metal","17":"tag-music","18":"tag-oskoreien","19":"tag-review","20":"tag-reviews","21":"tag-self-released","22":"tag-spectral-wound","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-ulver","25":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114864532112193581","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}