Hollow Ground (band)

History

Formed in the North East of England during the late 1970s, Hollow Ground were a key act in the new wave of British heavy metal. Despite releasing only six tracks, those songs are now regarded as classic examples of the era. Their debut, the 1980 Warlord EP, featured "Flying High", "Warlord", "Rock On", and "Don't Chase the Dragon". This 7-inch single is scarce, with mint copies selling for around £200. Later that year, the band recorded "Fight with the Devil" and "The Holy One", which appeared alongside "Rock On" and "Flying High" on the Roksnax split album. Four additional tracks—"Rock to Love", "Promised Land", "Easy Action", and "Loser"—were cut but never issued. In 1990, "Fight with the Devil" surfaced on the Lars Ulrich and Geoff Barton compilation NWOBHM '79 Revisited. The Warlord EP tracks also appear on the CD Rare Metal: N.W.O.B.H.M. Metal Rarities, Volume 1. Singer Glenn Coates departed in 1982 to join Fist for their Back with a Vengeance album, which effectively ended Hollow Ground. Lead guitarist Martin Metcalf later worked with former Geordie vocalist Dr. Rob Turnbull on the 1986 classic rock album Powerhouse. In 2007, the band reunited for the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany, where NWOBHM fans warmly welcomed one of the era’s “lost” acts back to the stage. Hollow Ground also shared a bill with Jameson Raid and Cloven Hoof at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 30 March 2013.