Fozzy’s “Chasing the Grail” is an ongoing search through dark tunnels and dead end mazes. It’s a quest for the light amidst the darkness, though even the light appears as gray.
There is a heart-pounding rush, “Under Blackened Skies” and an angry resolve of “Martyr No More.” In an almost breathless panic, Fozzy frets, “Where is the grail I’ve been looking for?” Without it, he fears he will ever be alone.
Amidst determined battle riffs and piercing guitars, Fozzy discusses the gods of war, the fight between good and evil, faith, and the need for revival. Revival of what though? Heaven, “raining fire at will” and housing a god who “pounds his nails hard” seems just as ominous as Hell. Indeed the darkness is almost welcomed when declared inevitable in “Let the Madness Begin.”
Perhaps the revival is in regards to self – “Scared by what’s in the mirror, save my soul.” Particularly intriguing is the dialog in “New Day’s Dawn” in which the plea is made, “If my heavens start to fall, I need you to pray for me.” This tone of desperation and prayer is denoted by soft keyboard notes, all on the trail of the trudging burdened guitars backing “Hard times hard and I’ve lost the dream.”
Chasing the Grail winds off track with “Watch Me Shine” and “Friday the 13th,” neither of which contributes to the ongoing theme. Yet the album finishes strong with the dramatic finale, “Wormwood”. Latin whispers and acoustic strums build into ominous beastly shouts and metal squeals as Fozzy announces that “Armageddon has arrived.” This last track is a fitting culmination of the entire album, a piece in which Fozzy slowly assesses his surroundings, then flees from the encroaching mayhem. He learns the seriousness of life, saying, “This is no game;” no more entertaining dark voices. “Humanity will cease to be,” the chase will come to an end, for the only grail worth pursuing is that “the Book of Life bear your name.”
~ Myriah Christine, Contributor
*Read TST’s interview with Ex Fozzy guitarist Mike Martin HERE.*
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