Holy Grail: Crisis in Utopia

Holy Grail
Crisis in Utopia
Prosthetic
2010-10-26

Power metal is the metal subgenre with the most potential to be “fun”. However, many bands seem to take an all-or-nothing approach in that regard, either being totally over the top and ridiculous like Dragonforce, or completely serious and dramatic like Blind Guardian. Holy Grail is one of a few newer bands trying to find the right balance between these approaches. Their debut, Crisis in Utopia, is a largely successful, well performed attempt. The guitar solos have some wildness, but not too much. The lyrics are fantasy-themed, but they actually have meaning behind them. The vocals are high-pitched, but they sound natural, not strained. In short, this is a very good power metal album that manages to not take itself too seriously, while at the same time not being completely silly. Holy Grail might be able to bring the fun back to power metal, and allow the genre to keep its dignity at the same time.

RATING 6 / 10