The past decade has seen quite the number of contemporary metal bands rising up in pockets of the vast country that is the United States of America, riding the wave of pure and raw heavy metal. Formed in 2008, Holy Grail sure does count, backed up by refreshing, mind-blowing and head bang-worthy music. Lining up with vocalist James Paul Luna, Tyler Meahl on the drums, Eli Santana and Alex lee on guitars and Blake Mount on bass, Holy Grail follow up on their first album Crisis in Utopia, which gathered a lot of critical acclaim, with their latest offering Ride the Void. Personally, I can assure you that it is one helluva ride no metal-head should miss.

Many may point out that the band may yet to find their sound as they are newly formed and with the few line-up changes, with Mount missing for 4 months of tour in 2010. The ever so vital factor has been the entry of Alex Lee, the former guitarist of thrash kings Bonded By Blood, whose brilliant guitar licks and shredding make the band stand out in terms of blending retro thrashing with new-age technique and form a perfect product that appeals to the heathens of the current generation. This is evident in the second track, “Bestia Triumphans”, where everything there is to the band- start-stop double bass drumming, a distinct bass line with the right combination of guitar play. It is commendable that the guitarists work in tandem-as the rhythms chug along, the effervescent leads break down to what personifies the idiom ‘Music to the ears’.

The track-listing might seem a tad lengthy upon noticing the running time of around 55 minutes. Once the ride begins, the listener is simply drowned in the fast-paced blitzkrieg that are the songs ‘Crosswinds’, ‘Silence The Scream’, ‘The Great Artifice’ and ‘Too Decayed To Wait’. The riffing and the leads are simply splattered on the tracks and the orderliness isn’t bothering, although one could feel the technicality of the former could have been a notch up to match the freakishly amazing lead work. The drumming is excellent, with the double bass thumping trying to match the fast paced instrument work note to note and to an extent succeeds as well. The vocals are commendable as well, with James matching the speedy music with the right mix of shouts and clean bits.

My personal verdict for Holy Grail’s ‘Ride The Void’ would be to blindly go for the disc. Especially those whose ears are accustomed to the works of Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, or even old school rockers Judas Priest. Not that there is a comparison involved, but surely-one does not simply not Ride The Void.

Rating-7.0/10