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HOLY GRAIL
Ride The Void

Nuclear Blast / Prosthetic (2013)
Rating: 9/10

Los Angeles, California-based metal leviathan Holy Grail return with their sophomore record, Ride The Void. Since their inception in 2008, when vocalist James-Paul Luna and drummer Tyler Meahl left White Wizzard, the band have been turning heads with their authentic sound and high energy.

Supporting their Viking and Medieval-inspired debut, Crisis In Utopia (2010), Holy Grail played alongside bands like Eluveitie, Blind Guardian, and DragonForce. Ride The Void adds a new dimension to the band’s sound musically and lyrically though and it’s a given that the band will be branching out beyond that niche this time around.

What grabs my attention so quickly about Holy Grail is their ability to blend so many styles together cohesively. The band are great at the big guitar, Dungeons & Dragons-style of artists ranging from Dio to DragonForce (‘Silence The Scream’, ‘The Great Artifice’ and ‘Bleeding Stone’), yet there is a strong sense of the progressive thrash sound of bands like Heathen and Xentrix (verses to ‘Take It To The Grave’ and ‘To Decayed To Wait’) as well.

They round it all off with anthem after anthem, chock full of dynamic choruses and strong melodies that are equal parts Fozzy and Iron Maiden (‘Bestia Triumphans’, ‘Crosswinds’ and ‘Sleep Of Virtue’). This is a band that wears their influences on their sleeves, but never so blatantly that you can name another band that they sound exactly like.

There are a lot of great songs here but the big rock of ‘Crosswinds’ stands out for a number of reasons. First, despite it being even more melodic than the other tracks (which some true hearts will certainly read as commercial), it bounces back and forth between overtly aggressive, anthemic, and progressive with its virtuoso style leads and high-pitched sing-along lead vocal work.

The more exploratory and thoughtful ‘Rains Of Sorrow’ is another highlight, taking the album out on a note that ensures that you will return for another go around. The bouncy title track with its dual guitar leads and punchy rhythm section is coupled with an odd melody that makes it sound unique and fresh, yet somewhat familiar at the same time.

Holy Grail were wise to shed a healthy portion of the dragons and Vikings approach of their debut. While I enjoyed that debut a lot, they would have boxed themselves into a niche they wouldn’t have been able to rise above a few years from now. Musically, this wonderfully showcases how incredibly talented these guys are and lyrically it proves that they can take you on a variety of journeys without losing momentum.

Fans of any of the aforementioned bands will certainly want to check this out, but I think it will have a definite appeal to fans of progressive music as well; the type that is both musically heavy and commercially-edged (think the first two Crimson Glory albums or Empire (1990) and Promised Land-era (1994) Queensrÿche, only more dynamic and heavier).

Mark Fisher

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