Pantera - Hollow - Guitar Tab

Vulgar Display of Power

1992 5:46

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About Hollow

Few Pantera tracks demand as much patience from a guitarist as "Hollow," the brooding closer from Vulgar Display of Power. Where most of the album leans on percussive chugging and aggression, this one asks for control: clean, sustained chords held with care, and a slow, deliberate picking hand that stays relaxed rather than tense. The song sits in E minor, which gives the open low E string real weight when you let it ring, and the challenge is keeping that resonance even and clean across the full duration of each note. Transitions between chords need to be smooth rather than choppy, so any sloppy fingering will be immediately obvious in the quiet mix. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the chord changes at a reduced speed until the transitions feel effortless before bringing them up to tempo. Pantera rarely put songs this restrained on a record, which makes the emotional control it asks of your playing genuinely worth the time to get right.

• "Hollow" is one of the few Pantera songs built almost entirely on clean guitar tone, so right-hand control and even picking pressure are the main technical demands.
• The song is in E minor, and letting open strings ring fully is central to getting the heavy, sustained sound the part requires.
• Because the arrangement is sparse and quiet, any fret buzz or muted notes will stand out clearly, making clean fretting the key thing to practise.