Joey Eppard

Holy Grail – Ride the Void Review

Holy Grail – Ride the Void Review

Holy Grail is one of these new-wave, big-named bands that got picked up by Nuclear Blast in the last couple of years that I had never really bothered to check out. Mostly my apathy can be blamed on crankiness ’cause I’m old. But their specific brand of nod-to-the-old-school power metal with a modern edge seems to perfectly encapsulate a lot of what’s going on in the metal scene these days, and their 2010 release Crisis in Utopia was met with generally positive responses. Still, I somehow managed to ignore these guys when they dropped their first record and given all the chatter I figured I’d make up for that by giving Ride the Void a go.

3 – The Ghost You Gave to Me Review

3 – The Ghost You Gave to Me Review

3 was one of my favorite discoveries of the year 2007. The End Is Begun ripped me out of my progressive complacency and reminded me that well-written, well-performed progressive rock or heavy metal, can be some of the most interesting and effective music. In a world dominated by polyrhythms and breakdowns, 3 was a refreshing blast of melody, piccolo toms and some of the most creative and unique guitar playing and song writing that I’d heard in a very long time. So I guess it’s fair to say that I have been anticipating their follow up, The Ghost You Gave to Me with no small amount of anticipation.