Since forming in 2016, Wilmington, North Carolina-based hard rock band Hollow Intent have been perfecting their explosive, guitar-driven sound and building a growing base of loyal fans. Their hard work finally started to pay off in 2019, when in May they were nominated for the 2019 Carolina Music Award’s Best Rock Group, with front man Will Baker also nominated for Best Rock Male. Then in August, they released their outstanding debut EP Monster to widespread critical acclaim (including from yours truly, which you can read here).

In addition to Baker, who plays guitar and sings vocals, Hollow Intent includes Mark Davis on drums, Shane Noren on bass, and Wesley Seven on guitar. The fearsome foursome are now back with a hard-hitting new single “Superhero“, which dropped March 20. The band states that the song is “about anyone with a ‘disability’ or ‘ailment’ that has the courage to shine through anything! Your weakness is a strength!”

The guys deliver another stellar track, maintaining their perfect score in terms of overall song quality. “Superhero” storms through the gates with an explosive barrage of raging guitars, pulse-pounding bass and smashing drumbeats set to a beautiful sweeping melody. The gnarly guitars are punctuated by pummeling jack-hammer riffs that together create a thunderous wall of sound for Baker’s ferocious vocals. As I pointed out in my review of Monster, he has a phenomenal vocal range that sounds beautiful and pleasing when singing clean, and positively feral when he launches into his metalcore screams and growls. His ability to transition from one vocal style to the other and back again is really impressive. It’s a gorgeous hard rock banger.

They also produced their very first video for one of their songs, which was directed by Jaiden Hord Frost, and filmed at The Warehouse Music Hall in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The video shows the band performing the song, interspersed with dramatic scenes of a young couple played by Will’s brother Nathan Baker and Annabelle Sanchez being held captive by a threatening-looking guy played by Tom Fuller. The unfolding drama seems to be a virtual imagining by the young man as he plays a kind of game on his laptop. The young man finally realizes that his eccentricities are nothing to be ashamed of, and summons his inner ‘superhero’ to overcome the bad guy and save their lives. The video ends with the words “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”

Connect with Hollow Intent:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream “Monster” on Spotify / Apple Music
Purchase on Bandcamp / Google Play