HOLLOW ILLUSION – Invisible

Norwegian hard rockers Hollow Illusion are undoubtedly good musicians, but their previous offerings have failed to truly impress me; they had plenty of promise and potential as well as some good ideas without being solid or thoroughly enjoyable affairs. The latest output, Invisible, is definitely a marked improvement on its predecessors and these guys have never sounded as good and interesting as they do here, but they are still some ways from delivering a consistently wicked and thrilling record that tickles the imagination and stirs the senses. Overall, this output is simply too uneven and uneventful for that. Having said that, the title track and ‘Leave Me Alone’ possess a solid drive and catchy choruses, and the shuffle-like groove of the former tune is pretty cool. ‘Burning Up’ is arguably the most enjoyable and entertaining piece on the disc and contains some great riffs, and one can easily imagine that one going down a storm in a live setting.  

Invisible is neither a mandatory listen nor an album with longevity to it, but it does hint at exciting things to come, and their next one just might be a proper kick up the arse.