UMUR "Ride the Void" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Pasadena, California based heavy/power metal act Holy Grail. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 2013. Since the release of "Crisis in Utopia (2010)" there´s been one change in the lineup as guitarist James J. LaRue has been replaced by Alex Lee.

The music on "Ride the Void" is a melodic style of heavy metal with the occasional nod towards power metal when the music is most fast-paced and anthemic. The harmony guitar work is actually not too far removed from the guitar work by a contemporary artist like Avenged Sevenfold, but Holy Grail relies much more on traditional heavy metal virtues than the more mainstream oriented Avenged Sevenfold. Still a comparison isn´t all wrong as they both belong in the more polished and melodic end of the heavy metal spectrum. Because of the occasional use of raw vocals there is also a slight metalcore influence on "Ride the Void", but it´s a minor stylistic element and this is first and foremost a melodic heavy metal album. Galloping rythms, blazing lead guitar and harmony guitar work and a lead vocalist with a strong voice.

Holy Grail are a very well playing act and their dexterity and speed are at times very impressive. "Ride the Void" is also a very well produced album and the listener is met by a professional and powerful sound. I´m a bit more reluctant to praise the songwriting equally much though. The tracks are as such well written and powerful enough, but I don´t feel like I´m listening to something that´s entirely unique or something that has a lot of impact on me as a listener. It´s the kind of album that´s enjoyable enough while it plays, but not that memorable after it´s finished. To my ears it falls into the catagory of being pretty great but not really excellent and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

Kev Rowland Los Angeles quintet Holy Grail burst onto the metal scene in 2009, mixing traditional heavy metal with symphonic sensibilities and loads of melody while maintaining passion and aggression. Metal Hammer in the UK nominated them for best new band just for the songs on their debut EP – at that time they hadn’t even recorded and album. ‘Crisis In Utopia’ was released in 2010 and from there the band hit the road for two years touring with the likes of Blind Guardian, Eluveitie and Dragonforce (which sounds like a gig made in heaven) as well as many others. They are now back with new album ‘Ride The Void’ and producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Children of Bodom) has brought out a darker side.

Instead of odes to Valhalla, the band are now talking about serial killers and even cancer (inspired by a family member’s battle). At times they come across as Dragonforce, at others Bullet For My Valentine, others Children of Bodom but never losing that hungry powerful edge. These guys don’t sound American at all, as they have obviously been influenced much more by the European and especially British scene – is that Dave Murray and Adrian Smith interplay I hear on “Dark Passenger”? The band have definitely expanded their horizons and if you enjoy traditional metal that has a strong melodic edge then this is definitely for you. It is hard to pick a fault with this as the more I play it the more I love it. Now if only they would come and play in NZ… For more details visit www.nuclearblast.de

Conor Fynes 'Label Showcase - Prosthetic Records' - Various Artists (5/10)

Instead of opting for each band's in-studio material, Prosthetic Records decided to demonstrate some of their fine younger bands by recording a live show and compiling some of the takes onto a sampler. Being a big fan of two of these bands and a casual fan of a third, it was a welcome bonus to get this label showcase free-of-charge at a Witch Mountain/Castle show late last year. Apart from Prosthetic Records being one of my go-to labels when it comes to promising new albums, Scion A/V has also had a pretty solid history so far, having released albums for Enslaved and Immolation. Given this amount of promise squeezed into it, I'm surprised how disappointing it turned out to be. Although the exclusive live material for each band makes it worth a checkout for bigger fans of any of the bands, there are many more flattering ways these bands could have been showcased.

The showcase doesn't get off to the greatest start; although The Greenery demonstrate some chops within their given genre, their style of punk-infused hardcore sounds adolescent to my ears, particularly with regards to the shouted/whined vocals.Scale the Summit and Last Chance to Reason are the two bands here that I liked quite a bit before even hearing about this showcase, and I've also had the good fortune of seeing both play live- LCTR when they played with Obscura in Vancouver, and Scale the Summit when they toured through Las Vegas with Dream Theater on the ProgNation '09 tour. With that in mind, I wasn't surprised at all to hear both of these bands offer some great cuts here. Scale the Summit's typically mellowed style is most spared by the recording quality, which is weak at best. Sadly, while Last Chance to Reason's guitars get through well enough, Mike Lessard's vocals come across as screechy and far weaker than when I saw him perform live. Although I had heard a few songs by Holy Grail in the past, most of my experience with them had been vicariously, through hearing others talk about them. Within the context of this showcase, they demonstrate the greatest live energy, but they're also hurt the most by the bootleg-quality recording standard. Although they don't seem to innovate the tried-and-true style of power metal they're playing, I don't get the impression that was their goal to begin with.

With a particular nod to Scale the Summit, the quality of performance and musicianship here is kept to a fairly high standard, and while I can say with some confidence that The Greenery do not fit my tastes in the slightest, I could imagine some others digging what they have to offer. Had it not been for the sound quality and lackluster live setting, I could have recommended this to someone on the prowl for some good new bands. Instead, this may be best left as an apocryphal release for fans of one band to look for if they go through all of the official recordings and still want more.