The Holy Grail is the second album and debut on Lion Music from American Classic Hard Rock Guitarist/Composer Iain Ashley Hersey and the follow up to his worldwide acclaimed debut release Fallen Angel (Frontiers in Europe and AVEX in Japan.)
The Holy Grail is full of the kind of expressive hard rock that only a handful of artist are able to produce these days. Utilising 4 powerful vocalists in Graham Bonnet (Rainbow/MSG/Alcatrazz,) David "Swan" Montgomery (Tuff/ZepAgain,) Randy Williams and Carsten "Lizard" Schulz (Domain/ Evidence One/Midnite Club,) Iain has managed to bring variety yet consistency in the quality stakes to the album. Fans of expressive guitar work will hear a true original in Iain Ashley Hersey with super 'Strat' tones being his stock in trade.
Born in New Hampshire and growing up in New England, Iain cut his teeth on the heavier British Blues 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 the 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 with simplicity.
Relocating to Los Angeles, he spent a year as a student at Musician's Institute in Hollywood. "More of an excuse to get settled into LA"..."I skipped all the main classes as I already knew all that stuff from Berklee and basically just hung out and played with Joe Diorio, Frank Gamballe and Scott Henderson." At the end of the year, he was invited on as an instructor which he did for the next six years.
Certainly influenced by the voices from the past Iain has always strived to grow musically and develop his style and has now certainly carved out his own unique voice and signature. To define his style would be to conjure up an interesting recipe, and in his own words: "It's kind of a Heavy Blusey 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 to 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 the hi-tech gadgets in favor of a 'less-is-more," straight ahead attitude he says, "Nothing beats a vintage '50's 'Strat' powered by a late '60s Marshall!