To paraphrase an old expression, good things come to those who wait, but also those who work hard, persevere and have faith that their efforts and talents will pay off. Such is the essence of the story behind Spanish metal band Hollow Cry.
On the heels of the release of their debut album, From Ashes to Flames internationally, the talented young quintet from the city of Lleida, an ancient settlement in the Catalonia region of Spain, is fielding numerous offers for touring engagements, seeking to introduce the world to their unique brand of metal. It’s metal highlighted by elements of speed metal and metalcore but infused with infectious melodies and memorable musical interludes.
The title of the album could be said to be the story of Hollow Cry itself, as the band has risen from the ashes on more than one occasion, enduring stylistic changes, band members dropping out, name changes and the struggle to find not only a coherent and compelling musical identity, but also a struggle to find the necessary infrastructure to help the band grow and prosper.
“From Ashes to Flames has a longer story that many of the other songs and it’s a song that is a faster song, but one that you have to really sit down and listen to it to get all the feelings that we have put into it, as it talks about the band from its very beginnings to where we are today,” said vocalist/founder Xavi Strife, who is joined in Hollow Cry by the twin guitar attack of Aleix Farre and Marc Munoz, bassist Joan Flores and drummer Enric Pons.
The first forays of the band that would become Hollow Cry happened in 2007, when Strife, Munoz and Farre formed a cover band called Ektombe, which became part of the area’s garage band/punk metal scene. School, the ebb and flow of the commitment of some members led to a slowdown of momentum that was rekindled with the band reforming under a new name Winter Shades, making the move in a more focused form of metal as they continued to get cover gigs, throwing in original material whenever they could.
Winter Shades gigged sporadically as band members balanced work and family responsibilities with the band. By 2014, Strife had composed a core group of songs that would go on to be the definitive sound of the band and rededicated his efforts to get the band moving onward and upward. A big break came when worldwide agent/management firm Metal Music Bookings and Management was impressed with the band’s reputation for excellence on the Spanish scene, and with their original music, signing them to a deal.
With this critical piece of the puzzle in place, a change of name, and further refinement of the band’s look, sound and attitude, Hollow Cry took its boldest step forward in 2016, toiling away at their songcraft and recording process leading up to the release of From Ashes to Flames on Sept. 28, 2018.
“Things really got going for us when we sat down, and we said we will sign with Metal Music Bookings. They said, ‘hey, we want you to sign with us. You can be a great band, you have pretty good music.’ So, we sat down as a band and said, ‘it’s the dream of our lives, let’s get to it or we will be stuck here, and everyone will get tired and will want to do something else.’ So, we signed because we did not want to have a normal life, with normal jobs. We want to make music,” Strife, whose primary influence has been Linkin Park and related Nu-metal bands, said.
“We wanted to try to do one of the most difficult things in life which is to make a living with music. We know that everything related with music and art, writing, painting, is very difficult to do for a job, like being an actor. They are so different from normal jobs and being a normal worker.”
The band’s sound has been called metalcore, but it is essentially intense speed metal with metalcore elements, constructed and composed in a way that is accessible to fans of many metal and hard rock sub-genres.
“It’s metalcore, but we like to think of it as metalcore for everyone. We have some songs that are a little softer and slower that almost anyone can listen to, and the we also have the very heavy and aggressive parts for people who love a more darker metal,” Strife said.
“Almost every song from this album started with a good guitar base, like a riff or something where we say, ‘hey that’s amazing, we have to keep working on that.’ Normally both guitarists come up with something for me that is brilliant, and I said to all keep working on it. When the music part is close to being finished I take the stuff, I go home and listen to it almost 50 times trying to get the feel of the music, and then the words and melody starts flowing out for me. I live with the song for a little while and sort of add the finishing touches. But we all have a part in making the music, which is the best way, we think.”
Although much of Europe is fertile metal territory, with a heritage going back to the early days of the genre in the 1970s, Spain is only now starting to come around to a broader understanding and appreciation for the pulse pounding style. According to band founder Strife, it’s been a hard slog in the Spanish scene, which is why Hollow Cry’s ambitions go well beyond the Iberian Peninsula.
“It’s not a great scene. And even though we are not English speakers, we are from Spain, we decided to sing and write in English because we saw that we would not have many fans here and wouldn’t have much of a career. So, we decided we had to sing in English or else we would die as a metal band. And I think in North and South America, and most parts of Europe metal is very important for people and that it’s a good scene. We want to go to those places, and even into the eastern part of Europe to try and get our music known, and get fans, so that is the plan,” he said, adding that plans are in the works for fall and winter dates.
For more information, visit https://www.hollowcry.com, or https://www.facebook.com/hollowcrymetal.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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