Holding Absence

Holding Absence is a post-hardcore quartet from Cardiff, Wales, that delivers pummeling percussion, striking guitar riffs, and huge choruses. Emerging in 2015, the band issued its eponymous debut long-player on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sharptone%22">Sharptone</a> in 2019 and made its first U.K. chart appearance two years later with The Greatest Mistake of My Life. Personnel changes preceded the release of the band's third full-length effort, 2023's hard-hitting and inward-looking Noble Art of Self Destruction.

Following an initial stint fronted by Zac Vernon -- late of <a href="spotify:artist:6Rm6Kxqg4WmFqDodsAf0Gi">Parting Gift</a> -- and with Giorgio Cantarutti on rhythm guitar, by early 2017 they eventually settled on a lineup comprised of Lucas Woodland (vocals), Feisal El-Khazragi (guitar), James Joseph (bass), and Ashley Green (drums). That year saw them put out a number of singles including "Penance" and "Heaven Knows" and having earned a committed local fan base, the band went on to sign with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sharptone+Records%22">Sharptone Records</a>. In 2018, they released a split EP, This Is as One, with British metalcore act Loathe, with whom they toured Europe on their first dates outside the U.K. Following these shows, and part-way through the recording of their eponymous debut, El-Khazragi left to play bass for Loathe. A nomination for Best U.K. Breakthrough Band at the Heavy Metal Awards followed and, before the year was out, El-Khazragi had been replaced by two guitarists. Scott Carey joined on lead, while Chris Smitheram played rhythm for a short while. However, by early 2019 Carey had become the group's sole guitarist.

When their first LP appeared in March 2019, it was a product of two different bouts of recording with two different lineups. Still, the singles "Like a Shadow" and "Dream of Me" boosted their profile, and the record garnered positive reviews. While the rest of 2019 was spent touring the continent again, 2020 was a productive year in the studio and saw them create what would ultimately become 2021's U.K.-charting The Greatest Mistake of My Life. However, before the record was released, Joseph departed to focus on a project with his housemate under the moniker, James & The Cold Gun, leaving a core trio of Woodland, Green, and Carey to promote it. Benjamin Elliott took over on bass before releasing The Lost & the Longing, a split EP with <a href="spotify:artist:2tjnvrUmP46XNjFh9V0NGc">Alpha Wolf</a>, and 2023's The Noble Art of Self Destruction. The band's third full-length effort, the dynamic and immersive LP focused on themes of struggle, forgiveness, and self-improvement. ~ Rob Wacey & James Wilkinson, Rovi