Scars Not Wounds

Music Mondays: The Mariana Hollow – “The Unburned”

/ saraletourneau / Leave a comment

If you’ve followed my music tastes over the past couple years, The Mariana Hollow may already be a familiar name to you. This alternative metal quintet from London, United Kingdom was hands down my favorite discovery during my tenure at Sonic Cathedral. Muscular rhythms, oceanic guitarscapes, evocative lyrics, and a gritty yet impassioned female voice – this unique amalgam has always made TMH a stand-out act.

Recently the band released two videos for “The Unburned”: one featuring the band, and the lyric video highlighted below. Maybe I’m biased, but how cool is the lyric video?! The archaic animations look like they came straight out of the medieval / Westeros era and make countless references to George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Fire And Ice saga. “The Unburned” itself was inspired by the character Danaerys Targaryen. Musically, this song is like one of Dany’s dragons prowling the desert before taking flight. It builds slowly, shouldering the gravity of its riffs and a thick sultriness, as Rebecca Spinks sings with a storyteller’s passion. It’s a truly unique song from TMH’s repertoire – and if you like this track, I highly recommend you check out other songs by this band!

“The Unburned” is taken from The Mariana Hollow’s 2013 EP Scars, Not Wounds. You can read my review of the EP at Sonic Cathedral here.

 

New at Sonic Cathedral: Review of The Mariana Hollow’s “Scars, Not Wounds” EP

/ saraletourneau / Leave a comment

TMH Scars Not Wounds cover

The Mariana Hollow faced the tough task of replacing one of their founding guitarists last year. It didn’t take long for the British alternative metal band to rebound, however. Within a few months, they recruiter a new lead guitarist, jumped back into their local gig circuit, and started writing new material. Scars, Not Wounds is TMH’s first release since making that transition. The five-track EP shows the band moving from their original guitar-driven sound to one that highlights the distinctive voice of frontwoman Rebecca “Spinky” Spinks. And for the most part, this new direction could be quite promising for TMH.

Click here to read my review of The Mariana Hollow’s Scars, Not Wounds EP.

Here’s a video of The Mariana Hollow performing the title track from Scars, Not Wounds earlier this year in London. The sound quality is pretty decent (not too bassy or overdriven), and shows Spinky’s vocal charisma and magnetic stage presence.

Coming Soon: I passed the 25,000-word mark for my novel-in-progress last weekend! So, stay tuned for a new “Chronicling The Craft” article later this week.

Five Years at Sonic Cathedral – A Retrospective, Part 4: Artists #5 through #1

/ saraletourneau / 1 Comment

We’ve reached the end of the Sonic Cathedral Retrospective countdown! I’ve been listing my 20 favorite artists that I’ve covered in my five years of writing at the Sonic Cathedral WebZine. And today, it’s time to reveal the top five – including the artist I chose for #1!

First, in case you’ve missed the previous installments, here they are:

Part 1: Artists #20 through #16

Part 2: Artists #15 through #11

Part 3: Artists #10 through #6

So if we left off at #6, that means we’ll start tonight with…

Continue reading →

The Mariana Hollow’s “Scars, Not Wounds” – A Documentary

/ saraletourneau / Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to announced that I’m one of several fans featured in The Mariana Hollow’s new documentary, “Scars, Not Wounds.” You may have read other posts here about The Mariana Hollow. This alternative metal quintet from the United Kingdom is one of my favorite musical discoveries of the past few years, on an artistic level as well as a personal level. (You’ll find out more in the next installment of my Sonic Cathedral Retrospective countdown, coming later this week.)

“Scars, Not Wounds” chronicles the making of The Mariana Hollow’s new EP of the same title. It also focuses on the major line-up change that led to the evolution in TMH’s sound. The band also took time to interview fans about why they like The Mariana Hollow’s music. Those fans include Mark Ashby of ProgTopia Radio, members of UK bands The Neon Choir and Breed77, photographer Thanira Rates, and some of TMH’s regular gig-goers in the London area. You can catch me twice in the documentary (2:37 to 2:47, and 24:42 to 24:58).

Prepare to listen, laugh, and learn. Be ready to lose yourself in the heavy, oceanic music of The Mariana Hollow. And most of all, enjoy! (NOTE: This video contains some adult language and may not be appropriate for young audiences.)

Coming Soon: As mentioned yesterday, I’ve got one more installment of the Sonic Cathedral 5-Year Retrospective countdown, as well as a new review coming at Sonic Cathedral and the next “Chronicling The Craft” article. It’s going to be an active week here, so stay tuned!