Portland’s Holy Grove is a modern doom metal band that perfectly balances forward looking song writing while leaning heavily on past musical influences.  In fact, those past influences mean so much to the band that they posted a playlist of tunes that gave them the inspiration to craft the epic “II” (thanks for the Beck, Bogert, Appice tip by the way).  II is the anticipated follow up release to the band’s 2016 self-titled debut album which garnered well-deserved praise for strong doom riffage and Zeppelinesque vocals.  Using that album as a launching pad, Holy Grove blast off for the stratosphere with II.

The drum kick to start off the album swiftly demonstrates the band’s intent to up the heavy on this new release.  Crazy drum-fills provided by Eben Travis throughout opener Blade Born adds an extra layer early on that signifies a heavier direction for the band.  II clocks in at over 43 minutes spread across five tracks which allows the band to explore each song thoroughly.  Epic closer Cosmos is a showcase for the entire band, especially vocalist Andrea Vidal.  Her wail fades perfectly into a Trent Jacobs guitar solo just past the half-way point of the track that sets the course for the closing of the album.  Many bands will never be able to write a song as epic as Cosmos and Holy Grove has found it within themselves on only their second release.  This bodes well for the future of the band, but in the meantime set the controls for the heart of II and get lost in the riffs.