The Los Angeles-based metal powerhouse HOLY GRAIL – whose aggressive touring over the past few years has seen the acclaimed group shared the stage with the likes of Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Exodus and Dragonforce, among others – will enter the studio this weekend with Grammy Award-winning producer John Spiker to begin tracking their third album. A February 2016 release is expected.Following an extensive tour campaign to promote their 2013 release “Ride The Void” – hailed by Metal Hammer as “full-blooded, forward-looking, classic heavy fucking metal” – the group spent much of 2014 writing their as-yet-untitled new release. Guitarist Eli Santana and drummer Tyler Meahl also kept busy by touring extensively with Huntress, whose lead guitarist Blake Meahl is Tyler’s brother.Featuring a blistering dual lead guitar attack and powerful vocals by James Paul Luna (praised by Decibel as “the finest metal singer of his generation”), HOLY GRAIL burst onto the scene in 2009 with their debut EP, “Improper Burial,” which led Metal Hammer to call the group “one of the most promising traditionally-inclined metal bands to emerge from the U.S. in the past decade.” It was quickly followed by “Crisis In Utopia,” which Revolver called “a nearly flawless full-length debut that ecstatically revives undiluted, straight-up metal in all its gauntlet-clad glory” and named one of the 20 best albums of 2010.In addition to the bands listed above, HOLY GRAIL has toured alongside such notable acts as Blind Guardian, Valient Thorr, Orange Goblin, Hellyeah, High On Fire, Black Label Society and Municipal Waste. The group has also performed at such major international metal festivals as Wacken (Germany), Download (UK), Soundwave (Australia) and Loud Park (Japan).Last month, HOLY GRAIL triumphantly returned to the stage with a live performance at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. during the home opener of the L.A. Kiss arena football team. A photo gallery (courtesy of Voorhees Photo) can be seen at this location. The band expects to announce summer tour dates in the coming weeks.