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‘The Holy Grail’ is the second album and
debut on Lion Music from American Classic
Hard Rock Guitarist/Composer Iain Ashley
Hersey and follow up to his worldwide
acclaimed debut release ‘Fallen Angel’
(Frontiers).
"The Holy Grail" is full of the kind of
expressive hard rock that only a handful of
artists are able to produce these days.
Utilising 4 powerful vocalists in Graham
Bonnett (Rainbow/ MSG / Alcatrazz) David
‘Swan” Montgomery (Led ZepAgain), Randy
Williams and Carsten “Lizard” Schulz; Iain
has managed to bring variety yet consistency
in the quality stakes to this album. Fans of
expressive guitar work will hear a true
original in Iain Ashley Hersey with super
warm Strat tones being his stock in trade.
Growing up in New England, Iain cut his
teeth on the heavier British Rock Bands such
as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Bad Company
and guitar players like Beck, Blackmore and
Hendrix. Later seeking to develop his
musical vocabulary he studied at Berklee
College of Music in Boston where he expanded
his musical realm into that of Jazz
improvisation, eventually to return to the
fold of Rock and Blues. Iain comments,
"There was something about the pull of one's
roots and missing the power that comes from
simplicity.”
Certainly influenced by the voices from the
past Iain has always strived to grow
musically and develop his own style and has
now certainly carved out his own unique
voice and signature. To define his style
would be conjure up an interesting recipe,
and in his own words: “It’s kind of a
heavy Bluesy Classic Rock with a hint of
Fusion overtones.” But the comment that
he most often hears and of which he most
strongly identifies is: "People are
always coming up and saying how much I sound
like me." A connoisseur of vintage Fender
Stratocaster’s Iain's playing contains some
of the purist, sweetest and 'narlyist' tones
from the instrument you will have the
opportunity to experience. Shunning all
hi-tech gadgets in favour of a
'less-is-more,' straight-ahead attitude he
says, "Nothing beats a vintage Strat powered
by an old Marshall!"
The 12 tracks on The Holy Grail travel
through a variety of classic hard rock
moods. On the album Iain notes, “My aim
was to keep it simple, heavy, bluesy and
melodic, as well as with having a strong
groove and pocket. I also wanted to have a
nice canvas allowing me to be able to let
things rip”. Just one spin of the album
will reveal that Hersey succeeded in his
aim. The albums vintage overtones are
further enhanced by the production and mix
of Pat Regan (Deep Purple, Rainbow,
Blackmores/Night, Mr Big,).
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