After a somewhat impressive display of traditional Heavy Metal power, Holy Grail decidees to try their hand at a Christmas themed release. Crisis in Utopia varied in reception from bands and critics, but largely it received a good deal of positive press. The Passadena, California-based group headed back into the studio for a 2011 EP release through Prosthetic Records, and the effort became a two song release titled Seasons Bleedings, taking some of Metal's most vintage, well known songs of yesterday and bringing them to Holy Grail's current fanbase. But, with these being just two covers, does this EP really demand to be a stocking stuffer?
The audio quality here is spectacular for just a two song EP, and shows the support the band have not just for themselves, but as well as from their label. The guitars here feel heavy and loud in the traditional Heavy Metal sense that everyone should be familiar with by now, having enough edge to them that they come through with a decent amount of authority against a loud, pounding bass guitar that takes over the mix and just makes the whole thing that much more solid. The drums come through loud with a nice click to the bass kicks that add to the deeper sound without completely dominating the rest of the instruments, allowing the cymbols and snares to come through well. The vocals have a nice little rhasp to them through both songs, and also can go into a bit of a clean performance, both packed with plenty of energy to match the the already enthusiastic performance the band gives off on here. The whole experience comes through very rich and often can be intimidating considering the song's chosen, and how commanding the instruments make everything sound.
But what it all really boils down to are the covers. "No Presents for Christmas" was originally performed by King Diamond, and overall this version is not that bad. It has the same kind of energy behind it, if not moreso actually, and the vocals do a good job at trying to replicate the original performance while still retaining the band's original sound. Holy Grail does a good job at making the song their own in a sense without violating what makes the original so great, though it doesn't quite feel as maniacle as the initial performance had it come off as, though the closing laughter is still enough to send chills up any listener's spine. This is met with "Kill the King," originally by Rainboiw. This version is another tight performance from the group, and again is matched with a great deal of energy. This track definitely feels a lot heavier compared to "No Presents for Christmas," and it should. The tight sound of the music matched with the superb guitar solo all greatly benefit from the deeper audio quality of this release, and make for another solid, enjoyable rendition of a classic track.
Yes, Holy Grail's renditions of these timeless Metal classics are both very strong, and very much well worth experiencing for fans of theirs, or of the composers to the original songs. But, like all cover songs, these will ultimately just make you want to hear the original version instead. "No Presents for Christmas" is pretty spot on, which will immediately make you yearn for the tight, classic production of the original song and it's rawer sound, but there's also "Kill the King" which is good, but ultimately comes through a little too much in this version and again will find you wanting to just pop in your classic Rainbow album and give it a spin.
Seasons Bleedings is good for a cover EP, and Holy Grail does a decent job to try and make things their own. If you enjoy traditional Heavy Metal sounds or these classic cuts, there's really no reason to ignore this release, but it largely boils down to whether cover releases of any kind are your thing. For two songs, it makes a decent stocking stuffer for yourself, or that Metal fan in your life, and makes for a compilation you could come back to a spin every year around the time of the holidays.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Prosthetic Records. |
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