{"id":51290,"date":"2016-02-25T08:19:15","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T13:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=51290"},"modified":"2016-02-25T08:19:15","modified_gmt":"2016-02-25T13:19:15","slug":"holy-grail-times-of-pride-and-peril-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/holy-grail-times-of-pride-and-peril-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Holy Grail | Times of Pride and Peril<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"holyPasadena, California\u2019s Holy Grail continue their brand of Heavy Metal on their third release, Times of Pride and Peril<\/em> released on the Prosthetic Records label, their follow up to 2013\u2019s Ride the Void<\/em>. Fans of Savage Messiah, Charred Walls of the Damned, Pharaoh, and White Wizzard are going to want to hear this one, for riffing, razor sharp guitars, forceful vocals, and hell bent drumming are all over Holy Grail\u2019s latest. <\/p>\n

Metal can take on many forms, but here the music is clear-cut, Heavy, Classic, and uncomplicated, but at the same time, it must be said, this is really pretty damn good. The drums of Tyler Meahl (also the drummer for Huntress) are excellent; the guitar work is something to take note of, and the vocals are powerful, commanding, soaring, and good God, does vocalist James Paul Luna have a range. On many occasions, he sings his lungs out, and projects his voice into the upper octaves with an ease that is something to behold. The sound is clear, the mixing well done, and throughout the CD the listener\u2019s interest is kept high with one song after another offering a blistering metal attack. A tad empty perhaps on the bottom end as it seemed the bass guitar was lost a time or two in the mix, but nothing that takes away from enjoying what is solid heavy metal. But having said that when Blake Mount\u2019s bass guitar work is heard (especially on \u201cWaste Them All Away\u201d) it is truly impressive. The songs are instantly likeable, sinfully infectious, and it\u2019s refreshing that while hearing a collection of songs it is tangible that the band loves creating \u2013 and playing music. <\/p>\n

The twin guitar attack was great on so many occasions; the give and take between the two guitars is what gave Times of Pride and Peril<\/em> the intense, and passionate guitar sound it had. Listen to the somber intro of the opening track \u201cCrystal King,\u201d which quickly explodes into an all out metal punch to the face, the true immensity of \u201cThose Who Will Remain,\u201d the drums of \u201cWaste Them All Away,\u201d the melodic \u201cDescent Into the Maelstrom,\u201d the epic fury of the CD highlight, \u201cSudden Death,\u201d the rallying sounds of \u201cPro Patria Mori,\u201d the swagger of \u201cNo More Heroes,\u201d and closing this CD is the excellent, almost 10 minute \u201cBlack Lotus.\u201d<\/p>\n

By way of comparison to Holy Grail\u2019s Ride the Void<\/em>, which had a more Melodic Power Metal feel, namely on that CD\u2019s \u201cBestial Triumphans (complete with its vocal screams,) the melodic guitars of \u201cTo Decayed To Wait,\u201d and the song that takes the term riffing guitars to a whole new level is Ride the Void\u2019s<\/em> highlight, \u201cSilent Screams,\u201d Times of Pride and Peril carries through with the band\u2019s devotion to the melodic, but make no mistake these songs fall under the genre of heavy metal, and fans of Heavy Metal will love this.<\/p>\n

Of course, useless American radio will ignore Holy Grail just as they have with so many other band\u2019s music, but put radio aside for they will never change, and pick this one up, for it has got to be said again, this was pretty damn good. <\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJames Paul Luna \u2013 vocals
\nEli Santana \u2013 guitar
\nAlex Lee \u2013 guitar
\nTyler Meahl \u2013 drums
\nBlake Mount \u2013 bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\nCrystal King
\nWaste Them All Away
\nSudden Death
\nThose Who Will Remain
\nDescent Into the Maelstrom
\nApotheosis
\nPsychomachia
\nNo More Heroes
\nPro Patria Mori
\nBlack Lotus<\/p>\n

Label: Prosthetic Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.holygrail.bandcamp.com<\/a><\/p>\n

HRH Rating: 8.8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari – Columnist — Pasadena, California\u2019s Holy Grail continue their brand of Heavy Metal on their third release, Times of Pride and Peril released on the Prosthetic Records label, their follow up to […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":51291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[2317,2491,12095,11587,12096],"class_list":{"0":"post-51290","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-holy-grail","11":"tag-prosthetic-records","12":"tag-times-of-pride-and-peril"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}