Holy Grail, Cauldron and Wizardry Play Union Pool on May 4th

A double-bill of Cauldron and Holy Grail should make for a hot show. Tickets for the show at Union Pool are $10 and like-minded local band Wizardry is opening the show.

Rising stars of metal Holy Grail will be teaming up with Cauldron for a North American trek. The tour touches down in Brooklyn, NY on Wednesday, May 4th at Union Pool. Holy Grail will close all U.S shows and Cauldron will close all Canadian dates. Holy Grail has been touring in support of their critically-acclaimed Fall 2010 release, Crisis In Utopia, and Cauldron is touring behind their 2011 disc Burning Fortune.

Only assembled a few years ago, Holy Grail is already at the forefront of the new wave of metal that pays homage to such legends as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Dio. The band's debut EP "Improper Burial" (released in late 2009), featuring just two original tracks and two covers, earned Holy Grail significant press accolades including a 2-page feature in hometown paper LA Weekly, a spot on Decibel's "25 Most Anticipated Releases Of 2010" list and inclusion on Metal Hammer's "Guide To The Best In The Upcoming New Wave Of Trad Metal". Holy Grail was also recognized with a nomination for Metal Hammer's 2010 Golden God Awards in the "Best New Band' category - quite an honor since they hadn't even released a full-length album yet! Metal Hammer sums it up best: "With a killer name, awesome logo and a sound that is more metal than metal itself, Holy Grail are one of the most promising traditionally inclined metal bands to emerge from the US in the past decade...This is metal played with conviction and belief and you're going to love it."



Holy Grail / Cauldron Tour Dates

APRIL
15 -- West Hollywood, CA, Viper Room
16 -- Oakland, CA, Oakland Metro Opera House
17 -- Portland, OR, Dante's
18 -- Seattle, WA, El Corazon
19 -- Vancouver, BC, Media Club
21 -- Calgary, AB, Republik
22 -- Edmonton, AB, Brixx Bar & Grill
25 -- Winnipeg, MB, Royal Albert
26 -- Thunder Bay, ON, Crocks
28 -- Toronto, ON, The Wreck Room
29 -- Quebec, QC, L'Agitee
30 -- Montreal, QC, Il Motore

MAY
1 -- Allston, MA, Great Scott
2 -- Hartford, CT, Webster Underground
3 -- Philadelphia, PA, Trocadero
4 -- Brooklyn, NY, Union Pool
5 -- Washington, DC, Red Palace
6 -- Columbus, OH, The Summit
7 -- Chicago, IL, Subterranean
8 -- Minneapolis, MN, Triple Rock Social Club
9 -- Kansas City, MO, The Riot Room
10 -- Denver, CO, Three Kings Tavern
11 -- Salt Lake City, UT, Club Vegas
12 -- Mesa, AZ, Nile Theatre

Links:
Holy Grail

Enforcer: Photos from Club Europa, Brooklyn, NY 9-18-09 (NWOBHM)

Swedish traditional-metal/NOWBHM-influenced band Enforcer made their first trek through the US this Summer as part of the North American Nightmare tour. The band played Club Europa last month with Cauldron (Earache), Black Anvil and At War.

Don't make the same mistake that I did and forget to wear earplugs - Enforcer is loud and vocalist Olof Wikstrand has one h*ll of a metal scream.



Enforcer started about three years ago but the band didn't hit my radar until their song "Mistress of Hell" was included on Earache's Heavy Metal Killers compilation that came out earlier this year.



Enforcer is a young band but they have managed to capture the melodic power of the early 80's metal bands and sound like a cross between early Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. The band released their debut album Into the Night about a year ago on Heavy Artillery Records and are currently back in the studio to record a follow-up. There is a new track, "Roll the Dice", streaming on the band's MySpace profile.

White Wizzard: Video Interview & Live Footage, Club Europa 8-20-09 (Earache)

Los Angeles based NWOBHM/traditional metal band White Wizzard made their East Coast debut last month at the Brooklyn Thuder Fest at Club Europa. The band's debut EP "High Speed GTO" was released on Earache Records earlier this month and is getting excellent press. (Check out the coverage in the Village Voice)

I had the opportunity to catch up with the band before their set and I've included some footage from the band's live set after the interview.



White Wizzard recently posted on their MySpace page (link below) that they just finished recording their first full-length disc which is due out early next year.

Links:
White Wizzard

Cauldron Release Debut CD "Chained to the Night" for Earache Records

Out of the demise of the NWOBHM-influenced Toronto metal band Goat Horn, bassist/vocalist Jason Decay and drummer Al Chambers regrouped with guitarist Ian Kilpatrick and formed Cauldron. The band released a limited edition vinyl EP "Into the Cauldron" in 2007 which sold out right away. (The CD version is available through Cauldron's MySpace page).

The band's full-length debut, Chained to the Night (Earache Records), dropped last week. Musically, this new disc fits squarely in realm of classic 80's metal. The band's influence range from the NWOBHM bands like Anvil and Raven to Metal Blade's Metal Massacre bands. Giving a direct nod to these bands, Chained to the Night closes with a cover of Black 'N Blue's "Chains Around Heaven" (from Metal Massacre Vol. 1). Similar to power-trios like Raven, Cauldron plays high-energy power metal with strong guitar leads. Jason Decay sings with a clean, melodic vocal style and the band describes their music as "straight-up, beer swilling, bullet-belting metal". Check out the track "Chained Up in Chains" which is streaming on the band's MySpace page and this will give you a good sense for what the new disc sounds like.

Cauldron is currently finishing up a UK tour with Earache label mates Bonded by Blood and then the band returns to Canada for series of late-May/June shows. The band will be hitting the States in late August with Sweden's Enforcer.

Cauldron's current tour dates are:
May 29, 2009, 8:00PM, Red Rooster, Burlington, Ontario
June 1, 2009, 8:00PM, Level 3, St. Catherines, Ontario
June 2, 2009, 8:00PM, Casbah Hamilton, Ontario
June 3, 2009, 8:00PM, Trinity Lounge, Sarnia, Ontario
June 4, 2009, 8:00PM, Cubby Pickle, Windsor, Ontario
June 5, 2009, 8:00PM, St. Paul’s Church Milton, Ontario
June 6, 2009, 8:00PM, Bovine Sex Club, Toronto, Ontario
June 11, 2009, 8:00PM, Tyrolen Warm Up Party, Blädinge, Kronobergs län
June 13, 2009, 8:00PM, Tyrolen Muskelrock Festival, Blädinge, Kronobergs län
August 20, 2009, 8:00PM, USA tour start w/ Enforcer, Detroit, MI

The first pressing of the CD version of Chained to the Night comes with a bonus disc with two previously unreleased studio tracks - "The Striker Strikes" and "Restless". The new disc is available from Earache's online store and there is also a vinyl version which has a different bonus track, "Cauldron Call".

Here is an early live performance from the band that was recorded at Cafe Decuf in Ottawa on Nov. 30, 2006.