Crucial Velocity, a powerhouse band featuring members of King Diamond, Shaolin Death Squad, and Chastain Harris, have teamed up with Metal Insider to premiere their latest single, “Hollow.” The track moves as a commentary on humanity’s failure to learn from history, opening with Georg Hegel’s timeless quote: “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” Accompanied by a video by Wayne Joyner, known for his work with Dream Theater and Tremonti, “Hollow” showcases the band’s vision of melding dark atmospheres with hook-driven harmonies.
Set for release on January 10, 2025, the band’s sophomore album, Controller, is a continuation of their 2023 debut. Moving towards a heavier and darker direction, the record continues Crucial Velocity’s evolution, combining the complexity of influences like Opeth and Voivod with the melodic appeal of bands like Queen and Ghost.
Nate Bauer comments:
“Hollow’ was written after a conversation with a friend about ideology. Ideology, in my opinion, is the root of all evil. Ideology pushes politics and religion into dangerous cult like territory. Ideology promotes thoughtless thought in that you basically surrender yourself to whatever the ideology is without feeling the need to really think about what it is you are following. People placing complete trust in the ideology and the leaders who promote them. We have seen this happen over centuries with the rise of very evil leaders or civilizations. And yet, here we are in 2024 and supposedly intelligent people are still being caught up in dangerous ideological movements. We need to get back to pragmatic thought. Deep thoughtful thought. Androo O’Hearn captured the anger in the lyrics with his death metal growls while still maintaining the melodic approach that defines the Crucial Velocity sound.”
Watch the clip below and pre-order the album here:
Crucial Velocity “Hollow”
Video by Wayne Joyner (Dream Theater, Tremonti, Devin Townshend)
Matt Thompson (King Diamond) – Drums
Androo O’Hearn (Shaolin Death Squad) – Vocals, Keys
Michael Harris (Chastain/Harris, Darkology, solo artist) – Lead Guitar
Nate Bauer – Guitar, Bass, Keys, Songwriter
Gary Long (Nomad Recording, Dallas TX) – Mixing, Mastering
Lyrics:
Take all that you can get
Fake everything about you
Makes me believe not
Living by the lies you follow
Mind molded by the man
Blind to everything around you
Find nothing to believe
Revel in your life so hollow
Thought only what you’re told
Caught in another lie you’re
Bought and paid with your soul
Dying for the cult you follow
Hidden by a wall you cannot see through
You are blinded
Guided by a system of thoughtless thought
Indoctrination
Thinking outside your perfect box
Unwilling
Guided by a system of thoughtless thought
Turning your back on us all
You are nothing but a shallow hate machine
Spreading like a new disease
Hold firmly to your hollow ideology
Listen to your conscience please
You are nothing but a spineless hate machine
Spreading like a wild fire
Held captive by your hollow ideology
Taking over all conspire
Mind molded by the man
Blind to everything around you
Find nothing to believe
Revel in your life so hollow
Thought only what you’re told
Caught in another lie you’re
Bought and paid for with your soul
Killing for the cult you follow
You are nothing but a shallow hate machine
Spreading like a new disease
Hold firmly to your hollow ideology
Listen to your conscience please
You are nothing but a spineless hate machine
Spreading like a wild fire
Held captive by your hollow ideology
Taking over all conspire
