Metal Bulletin Zine: HolyName - the sound of holy drone heaviness

Thursday, February 9, 2023

HolyName - the sound of holy drone heaviness

HolyName's self-titled album presents an interesting mix of the heaviness of contemporary American groove, closer to deathcore/djent than anything, with growling. That's not the "interesting" part. The interesting part is the melodic singing. Such singing is certainly not usual in deathcore or any core, for that matter, and it is also not usual in any form of metal music, either. I am speculating here because I have not read any interviews with this band: Given that "The new album is essentially a love letter to Christ and a tribute to the history of eastern orthodoxy," is it possible that the melodic singing has taken inspiration from traditional hymns in what people call "chant" like one finds in some Catholic and Eastern Orthodox "chant" hymns?

I don't know. Maybe?

Anyway, I could be wrong. Be that as it may. It is very likely that you have not heard "deathcore" like this before. Here are a couple of songs from the album.