Metal Inside(r) Home Quarantine is Metal Insider’s pandemic column during the ongoing uncertainty behind COVID-19. We ask artists five questions on what’s been keeping them busy during these unprecedented times. We caught up with My Hollow bassist Sean De Faria as he’s been spending this time working on new music.

What have you been doing to pass time during Quarantine?

Quarantine was definitely an interesting time, everything seemed strange and no one knew what they could or couldn’t do, so the first few weeks were unproductive and disruptive. During that time we had a new member, Matt Williams (keyboards) and he was still learning the songs. Not only that, but we were in the beginning stages of pre-production for “Fighting The Monsters,” so the whole process got dragged out longer than any of us wanted to. However, this time was very well utilized by our main songwriter, Greg Gallagher (guitar), who was able to begin hashing out ideas for the next release which we now have a good head start on. Overall I’d say the quarantine time was both productive and frustrating, but as a band whose main strength is our live show it’s really been challenging to lay low for so long and we can’t wait to hit the stage again. 

Have you been listening to any music or have any playlists worth checking out?

There are actually a bunch of local bands that I’ve been listening to lately. In our ‘GTA bubble’ there is a treasure trove of great bands producing some great music and music-related content. Some records I’d recommend checking out would be:

 Invicta – Halls of Extinction

Primalfrost – Lost Elegies

Lutharo – Hiraeth

Aepoch – Hiraeth

Iomair – Fishing for an Apparition

A lot of people have been spending this time cooking, including making their own bread. What food have you been prepping during this time?

I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but I have two kids and I’m the primary cook in the house. Cooking for kids is both simple and impossible. They have no idea what they want, then once they decide on something they don’t want it once it’s made. So, I’ve become a master of Mac n cheese, spaghetti, and chicken fingers! Aside from that, I’ve made some good knock-off Bubba Gump-style shrimp and Popeyes-style chicken strips for the wife and I. Beer can chicken and burgers are my favourite BBQ items.

In terms of entertainment, what movies, TV shows, books, or games have been keeping you busy?

With two kids and a wife to entertain, time for such activities is at a premium, so when I get the opportunity I tend to focus on one game, in particular, FIFA 22. It’s by far my favourite game to play these days.

What advice do you have for your fans in isolation during this time?

For me, it’s always been easy to stay busy and that’s down to me always having a project on the go. I do a lot of home renovations and improvements myself, and being a homeowner there is no short supply of that type of work. The thing that really keeps me going is my passion project; My Hollow. Much like a household, there is always something to do within the band. We are very DIY, so we’ve expanded our skill sets to be able to record our own much, shoot and edit our own content and create/design our own merchandise. So, in short, during these times having a passion project to throw your time towards or even to distract yourself with has been crucial for me personally.