Blazing onto the scene with their latest hard-hitting single Until You Bleed, rising alt-rock outfit Hollow Zoo are turning up the volume, and the emotional intensity. With killer guitar tones, a heavy groove, a ripping solo, and vocals that shift effortlessly from grit to grace, the track is a raw exploration of toxic love and the damage it leaves behind.
So with the new single out now, we sat down with them to discover more about the band’s no-rules approach to music, and what’s next for this bold new force shaking up the rock landscape.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
I’m not sure about the rest of the band, but for me it was bass guitar because my uncle was a musician and I wanted to be like him.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Well we all listened to different things growing up but for me (Nate) it was kind of everything because my mom and dad loved music and played all sorts of different stuff.
What was the first album you remember owning?
Again not sure about the rest of the band but, the first albums I remember owning was a mix tape with a bunch of rap on it. I didn’t own it for very long because of the nature of the songs on it, my parents destroyed it. It wasn’t stuff a kid should have been listening to.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
You know that’s not something we have talked about as a band, so I couldn’t answer for the rest of the band. For me personally I never really learned to play other people’s songs because I felt like it would keep me from finding my own style or that I would subconsciously just be copying something I learned. So instead I focused on making up my own techniques and styles.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
I don’t know if I would call it a habit, but we do sometimes like to go back through all of our different practices and rehearsals to find stuff we abandoned or parts of songs that were changed or re-written to get inspiration for making new music. Sometimes there is a stark contrast between the demos and the final songs and we end up dropping parts that were great but didn’t fit into the song. We take those parts and add them to newer stuff or start a whole new song from them.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I’m not sure about the others but right now I’d say some of my favourites are “House of Protection”, “War on Betty”, “Lost Souls” “Samurai Pizza Cats” and “Seven Hours after Violence” All of those bands are really good and offer something a little different than the usual metal. That being said, Slipknot, Deftones, Faith No More and Tool are always in rotation for me.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Man, that's a tough question because there are so many great bands we admire. I think the group consensus would probably be Tool. For me personally it would be hard to narrow that down to one. It’s probably a list of four or five that I’d be equally stoked to open for.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Creating music and playing live. There is just no comparable feeling to that of playing live and seeing peoples reaction to our music.
And what is the most frustrating part?
The business side. It can be hard not to get buried in the noise. We aren’t on a label, we don’t have a corporation pimping us out to all of the tours, streaming services, influencers, or the budget that comes along with having a label. We have been lucky enough to work with some really good people (like Liberty PR) who have helped us get some traction.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Record everything. You never know when that thing you thought was just a stupid exercise or a fun little throw away riff will be your biggest hit.
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Hollow Zoo's new single 'Until You Bleed' is out now. Check it out in the player below.