Riding The Void with Holy Grail – Album Review

Hey there fellow metalheads, Gabe here with another awesome album review!  When Holy Grail came out into the  metal scene in November of 2009 with their demo Improper Burial,  people didn’t expect to hear such an incredibly fresh and lively heavy metal sound.  Their follow-up with their first full length album Crisis in Utopia, which released in October of 2010 was a high-powered energy thrashing roller coaster.  So after such a long day out there enjoying all of these amusements, your probably looking for something to stuff your face with to please your inner metal appetite   Do you want a light low-calorie meal devoid of originality and flavor? I didn’t think so. You want something that has very skillful guitar work that shreds harder than then a paper shredder, has epic high screams like a banshee, and some of the highest-power, highest-energy solos that so face melting, no amount of alcohol can tame!  Anyways Holy Grail’s newest album, Ride The Void set to release on 1/22/13 and is sure to quest the thirst of any metalhead!

Band: Holy Grail
Album: Ride The Void
Genre: Thrash Heavy Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
Release Date: 1/22/13

Let’s start off with one of my personal favorite of the album, Too Decayed To Wait which begins in a Holy Grail-like fashion with a stunning guitar solo from both Eli Santana and Alex Lee.  What you notice in this song is that unlike in Crisis in Utopia, is how much James-Paul Luna has evolved more as a lyricist, because the song itself has a stronger lyrical structure with lyrics that are more emotional and political.  It still has a lot of the same old killer riffs and stuff and has James’s signature scream yell, which is something I really wish I could do the type of vocals he can unleash.  They continue to have contain momentum in the song with good riffs and contains a constant momentum.

A very close second is the song Crosswinds, which starts off with a fast and hard-hitting drums coming from Tyler Meahl.  You can also hear in the song is that James tries these death metal vocals which is something most listeners would never expect.  It is very cool to see that Holy Grail is experimenting with different types of songs and riffs and sounds.  It really separates this band from other new-wave thrash bands.

Their title track, Ride The Void,  is a slower song which  begins actually a violin solo which leads into another fast high-energy guitar solo.  These guitar solos are almost like a Holy Grail signature, bringing the song together.  Another thing that this song brings is a heroic screaming chant which leads into their signature high vocals.  The way this band transitions from part to part is just absolutely amazing!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO1zYMrbpjE]

There are  a couple of things that I would say that I really did not like about the album.  The thing I really loved about Crisis In Utopia is how there never seems to be a dull or boring moment in the album.  There were really amazing solos all around and it never seemed to get old, maybe because it was fresh and different.  There new album goes towards a more atmospheric approach with less harmonization in the album.  I guess that is what you have to sacrifice to try out new things.  Personally, I’ve grown to love that old sound so this time I was let down with this approach.  Even though I didn’t like that, a majority of the album was so incredibly fun to sing along with.  This album still brings the hard-hitting music that is Holy Grail while distinguishing themselves as a band in the heavy thrash metal genre.  So please go and buy Ride The Void, it will be the ride of your life!

Rating:

Track Listing:

1. Archeus
2. Bestia Triumphans
3. Dark Passenger
4. Bleeding Stone
5. Ride The Void
6. Too Decayed To Wait
7. Crosswinds
8. Take It To The Grave
9. Sleep of Virtue
10. Silence The Scream
11. The Great Artifice
12. Wake Me When It’s Over
13. Rains of Sorrow

Personnel:

James-Paul Luna – Vocals
Eli Santana – Lead Guitar
Alex Lee – Lead Guitar
Tyler Meahl – Drums
Blake Mount – Bass

Order The Album and Official Merch Here

See them on tour on the Metal Alliance Tour with Anthrax, Exodus, High on Fire and Municipal Waste! Buy tickets here!

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Have any question, comments, concerns or feedback?  Feel free to email me at gabe@dermetalkrieger.com!

Thanks a lot for reading and Long Live Heavy Metal!