Richmond’s got a new black metal project to get behind – meet Empty Hands and be prepared to get the fuck out of the way.
Richmond’s got a new black metal project to get behind – meet Empty Hands and be prepared to get the fuck out of the way.
Matt Gumm, guitarist for Empty hands, reached out to us with his band’s new demo and it has managed to make a few spins in the office since then.
Most of Empty Hands are RVA locals with a history of dredging through metal house shows. The five members (Gumm – Guitar, Justin Torone – Guitar, Robert Holsinger – Bass, Andy Bunch – Drums, Tanner Ridgeway – Vocals) could all share stories about “our parents freaking out when we brought home some pissed sounding record with something horrible on the cover,” and that undoubtably played a role in Empty Hands formation, says Gumm. “From there it was just a matter of time before each of us picked up our respective instruments and tried to cobble together something with friends.”
Gumm said the music, which is a bit on the harsh side (so heads up), represents his and his band mates’ state of mind at any given time – often these moments are not high points, but they make for some solid tunes.
“You get to feel something you never really knew existed within yourself for about 3 minutes,” said Gumm. “Then its over and your life is a little more bleak until you find something else that can cut a little deeper and you are moved again. ”
The different members of Empty Hands each had different levels of recording experience, so going into this demo recording session was kind of a crap shoot, but one Gumm looked back on fondly in the end.
“We may have been a bit more of a handful than Cavin Vanderpoel (our engineer) was expecting but everyone really killed it,” said Gumm. “I think we ended up using just about everyone’s first take of all of their parts.”
Gumm said the band aimed for a stripped down and basic album, with a less engineered sound and few edits. “I’m pretty proud of what we ended up with. I think all of our expectations were surpassed in how smooth everything went and how great it turned out,” said Gumm.
It took a bit for Empty Hands to come together, and patience was key to the project. “Taking the time to write something worth playing and listening to,” said Gumm. “Even from something as simple as getting all of the right people in place; we had the hardest time finding a singer.”
Vocalist Tanner Ridgeway was the result of a Craiglist ad – so sometimes things just fall together. “I think there were some serious doubts about whether we were ever going to make any progress.”
Keep an eye out for more from Empty Hands, especially as they release a split 7″ with their friends Venomspitter.
They’ll also be taking the state at Strange Matter on 5/3 with Baltimore’s Multicult, so check them out live there, and keep up with them on facebook here.
