Now, this is a weird band name. And weird names - if they are not 666 letters long - get stuck into your mind; a good move. Even if HOLD PERSON's name (and album cover) prepared my ears for something more mature/prog/liberal, the inner product turned out to be somehow different. These Spanish warriors seem to adore the Heavy/Epic Metal glory of the 80s. A good move, again (for my likes, huh!).
Spanish is a friendly language; Spanish metalheads are too responsive, too. And they seem to breathe Metal, in general! HOLD PERSON was formed in 2000 and Lost Memories is their first full-length. They've so far released a couple of demos, too, plus they have a good local gig experience. In benefit, they've also organized the Trolls Of Metal festival in Madrid, a fest designed to take place each year from now (then) on. Lost Memories is a self-financed release featuring 11 tracks of 'classic' Heavy Metal music with a 'touch' of epos/folk amendment plus a glimpse of Euro Power feeling.
The production of the album is 'old-school'; don't know if this was done on purpose or if it was a matter of budget. I'd prefer it to sound more solid, though. The tracklist consists of songs in the IRON MAIDEN/(early) MANOWAR/RUNNING WILD vein, with enough of the 80s US Epic Metal supremacy (CIRTH UNGOL, HEATHEN'S RAGE, STEEL ASSASSIN). Atrocious guitars, endless dual leads, fast drumming, reasonable bass lines and a dynamic voice that, however, needs lots of work and auto-discipline in higher notes. There are 'calm' parts present in some tunes but, in general, the album can be characterized as 'savage'. One song is performed in Spanish, while the track's titles can give you an idea on the lyrics concepts. And, yes, I enjoyed the fanatism of Fighting For Metal!
In the series of the 'underground' European Metal renaissance of the 21st century (BOOMERANG, POWERVICE, STORMWARRIOR, ASSEDIUM, BATTLE RAM, WRATHBLADE did randomly come in mind), this Spanish quartet shows a good blend and - with a couple of things to be fixed - they will show us their teeth more viciously in the years to come.