Posted in Whathaveyou on January 18th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Greeting listeners with its opening track positioned as the first single, Heavy Temple‘s second long-player, Garden of Heathens, is set to arrive on April 22 through Magnetic Eye. One will find the self-recording Philly hard fuzzers’ twisting grooves intact from where they left off on 2021’s Lupi Amoris (review here), with High Priestess Nighthawk bringing a refined post-Homme croon to the verses before shifting soulfully into the second chorus. What was true then would seem to remain true now. If you’ve got the itch, Heavy Temple are the scratch.
So be it. “Extreme Indifference to Life” streams below and I count this near if not at the top of my most anticipated records of 2024 list. Note the band toured with Howling Giant for a first European run last Fall, and that I’m pretty sure Garden of Heathens was already recorded before that; guitarist Lord Paisley has been replaced by Christian Lopez, whose nom de plume I’d imagine is pending.
From the PR wire:
HEAVY TEMPLE unleash first single ‘Extreme Indifference to Life’ and details of new album “Garden of Heathens”!
Psychedelic doom fast-risers HEAVY TEMPLE have released the booming opening track ‘Extreme Indifference to Life’ as the first single taken from their forthcoming sophomore full-length “Garden of Heathens”, which has been slated for release on April 12, 2024 via Magnetic Eye Records. The pre-sale is now available at http://lnk.spkr.media/heavy-temple-garden
HEAVY TEMPLE comment: “The lyrics of our new record ‘Garden of Heathens’ are rather personal”, singer and bass player High Priestess Nighthawk reveals. “They are always the last thing to get done, but these nearly wrote themselves. The words came from the darkest parts of my mind that I usually don’t want to confront. Coincidentally, ‘Extreme Indifference to Life’ deals with the imposter syndrome to the extreme: the anxiety of overthinking everything, always wondering if you’re good enough, or even if you were ever any good to begin with.”
Tracklist 1. Extreme Indifference to Life 2. Hiraeth 3. Divine Indiscretion 4. House of Warship 5. Snake Oil (and Other Remedies) 6. In the Garden of Heathens 7. Jesus Wept 8. Psychomanteum
Wherever HEAVY TEMPLE are heading on this diverse and dynamic record, they always stay real with both feet on the ground. Except, that is, when it comes to the lyrics. With her words, the High Priestess admits to peddling a version of things that isn’t real – with a grim smile and quite deliberately so. In fact, that’s the theme running through “Garden of Heathens” as a red thread. From the American Dream to relationships, below the surface there is anxiety, betrayal, and doubt. And while some of the lyrical metaphors might at first glance seem to focus on religion, they are definitely not that literal. Rather, these are Nighthawk’s most personal lyrics ever.
Recording line-up High Priestess Nighthawk – vocals, bass Lord Paisley – guitar Baron Lycan – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
As ever fronted by founding guitarist/vocalist Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich — who makes ready to embark on a stint of solo acoustic shows in Europe even as their announcement arrives — The Obsessed have announced the first US run of headlining touring they’ll undertake to support the Feb. 16 release of their first album in seven years and first with the current lineup, Gilded Sorrow. Joining the doom legends in the endeavor are Boston’s Gozu and Nashville’s Howling Giant, who both issued their own stellar LPs in 2023, be it the former’s Remedy (review here) or the latter’s breakout, Glass Future (review here), which they’ve newly revamped their own lineup to support, adding a second guitarist to play as a four-piece.
The Obsessed, who for most of their decades have been a trio, have also been working with two guitars the last couple years, and it doesn’t seem to have hurt them any. They note below they’re about to put out a new single from Gilded Sorrow later this week, so that’ll be something to look out for, and you can find their comment, what Gozu and Howling Giant also had to say about it, and the dates, below, along with far too many links and videos from all involved parties, cobbled together from hither and yon across various social media outlets and so on. Who the hell doesn’t like a package tour?
Have at it:
Says The Obsessed: “Hitting the American highways with our friends Howling Giant and GOZU this March/April. Let’s see y’all out there! We will have our new record, Gilded Sorrow, on the merch table at all these shows. Stay tuned for another new single THIS FRIDAY!!”
Says Gozu: “2024 looking good! Who will we see?”
Says Howling Giant: “Back on the road we go! Very excited to be heading out with The Obsessed and GOZU this March/April. We’ve got James locked and loaded for a set chock full of tunes from Glass Future, we can’t wait to see everyone!”
3/13 Philadelphia, PA – Milk Boy 3/14 Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery 3/15 Richmond, VA – Cobra Cabana 3/16 Wilmington, NC – Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern 3/17 Asheville, NC – The Odd 3/19 Atlanta, GA – Boggs Social & Supply 3/20 New Orleans, LA – Siberia 3/22 Fort Worth, TX – Tulips 3/23 Austin, TX – The Lost Well 3/25 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad 3/26 Mesa, AZ – The Nile Underground 3/27 Los Angeles, CA – Resident 3/28 Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewing 3/29 San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick 3/30 Las Vegas, NV – The Usual Place 3/31 Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon 4/1 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive 4/3 Chicago, IL – Reggies 4/4 Lakewood, OH – The Foundry 4/5 New Kensington, PA – Preserving Underground 4/6 Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall 4/7 Brattleboro, VT – The Stone Church 4/9 Cambridge, MA – Sonia 4/10 Portland, ME – Geno’s Rock Club 4/11 Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom 4/12 Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows
THE OBSESSED line-up: Chris Angleberger – bass and vocals Jason Taylor – guitar and vocals Brian Costantino – drums Scott “Wino” Weinrich – guitar and vocals
GOZU is: Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals Joe Grotto – bass Doug Sherman – lead guitar Seth Botos – drums
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals James Sanderson – Guitar and Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 4th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Of course there’s always the risk of a band trying to fix something that isn’t broken, and Howling Giant‘s dynamic and approach on 2023’s Glass Future (review here) had not-broken as a defining characteristic, but listening to the record, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that they’d look to bring in a second guitar for live shows. There’s enough depth of layering there, then you get into keys, which having another guitar adds more flexibility for, and it makes sense. Their sound is getting bigger and they’re nothing if not focused on how they present their material to an audience, so yeah, second guitar, more vocals to add to the mix for harmonies. No problem trusting this is a win.
And I guess that’s the power of what putting out one of the best albums of the year gets you: trust. What, you think Howling Giant — who just went to Europe for the first time in Heavy Temple this Fall and you know are looking to go back — are going to try to screw up the momentum they just spent four years working to build, half during a global lockdown? If they were that dumb they wouldn’t be where they are in the first place.
I hope I get to see them live soon. I’ve watched a bunch of videos and all that, but this set is something I want to be in a room with. Would also accept the out of doors, weather providing.
From their socials:
Happy New Year to all and thank you for an amazing 2023! Releasing Glass Future, touring with the likes of Elder, Ruby the Hatchet, Heavy Temple, and Restless Spirit, and finally getting over to Europe was a true pleasure.
We’ve got dates coming very soon for this spring to continue the Glass Future release tour, and we will also be bringing a familiar face into the HG fold as a full-fledged member of the band. Everyone welcome James Sanderson, guitarist/lyricist/merchboi to the stars! He had his first performance with us in town at the Glass Future release show and he passed his final exam with flying colors. See y’all out there
Howling Giant are: Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals James Sanderson – Guitar and Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Boston party sludgers Leather Lung have left boozy trails up and down the Eastern Seaboard these last several years — Maryland Doom Fest this past June, Desertfest NYC in 2022, and so on — and it would seem they’ve at last distilled their crusty-weedy-good-time-aggro-nod down to putting together a debut full-length, which will arrive on March 15 through Magnetic Eye Records. Graveside Grin follows behind the 2022 EP, Dive Bar Devil Mixtape, which was a quick two-day session through which they tested out their new-ish five-piece incarnation. They’ve been at it one way or another for a decade now — I feel like I lost time in there somewhere — and are immediately conveying rowdy vibes with the LP’s first single, “Spit in the Casket,” for which you can see the video below.
Must be nice to have friends. Leather Lung took a whole bunch of theirs — including Naked Guy On Motorcycle and boozy ladies galore — for a duly raucous woods party that seems to have somehow turned into a cogent music video. It looks like fun, which of course is part of the point. The other part is the raw weight of the riffs and the bounce in their nod. I guess the benefit of being together for 10 years before you put out your first full-length is that you know what the fuck you’re doing, or at least that’s what it sounds like where Leather Lung are concerned.
I’ll admit that, not being much for fun or joy generally, I feel a bit distant from the spirit of what Leather Lung do, but they do make it easy to go along with harsh sounds. And look up there. These guys look like the best time 1994 ever had, and no, I’m not making fun of that.
The PR wire sent the following:
LEATHER LUNG release first video single ‘Spit in the Casket’ and details of forthcoming new album “Graveside Grin”
Boston, Massachusetts quintet LEATHER LUNG unveil the first video single ‘Spit in the Casket’, the opening track of their forthcoming new album “Graveside Grin”. The sludge metal band’s first proper full-length is chalked up for release on March 15, 2024.
LEATHER LUNG comment on the single: “The opening track ‘Spit in the Casket’ is a middle finger in song form”, singer Mike announces. “It was written in the catharsis of leaving a toxic relationship. This song is dedicated to anyone that has ever disrespected you and lets them know that it won’t happen again. We play this track like we are kicking down your door with it. For that reason, we have chosen ‘Spit in the Casket’ as the first single and opening track off our new record ‘Graveside Grin’. This also happens to be our first full length release and first effort as a 5-piece band. It’s our beastly new form and we’re showing teeth. So better stay on our good side and blast the newest single as loud as it goes!”
Tracklist 1. Spit in the Casket 2. Big Bad Bodega Cat 3. Freewheelin’ Maniac 4. Empty Bottle Boogie 5. Guilty Pleasure 6. Macrodose (Interlude) 7. La La Land 8. Twisting Flowers 9. Headstone 10. Cornered Animal 11. Raised Me Rowdy
Let’s get this party started! The incorrigible headbangers in LEATHER LUNG have heard the pleas of their enthusiastic following to bring forth a new album of substance-fueled boogie metal, and have obliged at last with the raucous new full-length “Graveyard Grin”. The proper debut album from the New England five-piece has everything promised by their previous EP releases: a thick, chugging concoction of stoner metal, doom, and unrelenting sludge, blended into a refreshingly heavy brew with a catchy kick.
LEATHER LUNG are a wild bunch that know the meaning of fun. This is hardly surprising as the band sprang into existence out of friendship and the punk and hardcore scene of Boston in 2012. Starting as a four-piece, they quickly gained an excellent reputation in their local scene, as well as plenty of critical attention through a string of EPs, starting with “Reap What You Sow” (2014) and followed in regular intervals by “Lost in Temptation” (2016), “Lonesome, On’ry and Evil” (2019), and “Dive Bar Devil” (2022).
‘Dive Bar Devil’ is also the name of LEATHER LUNG’s own brand of lager beer, which has already sold out and been re-brewed multiple times. One may speculate that this is the liquid coming out off the can that the band’s Green Lady mascot of each of their record covers opens forcefully in the artwork of “Graveside Grin”.
Now a five-piece with the addition of a second guitarist, LEATHER LUNG are ready to take on the world. Following crushing live appearances at DesertFest New York and Psycho Las Vegas, the band return with “Graveside Grin”, a massive sign that these freaks from Boston are ready for the road and amped to get the global party going.
Recording & Mix by Chris Johnson at New Alliance Audio, Somerville, MA Mastering by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Portland, OR
Artwork by Mike Vickers Illustrated by Ester Cardella Layout by Mike Vickers
Line-up Mike – vocals Zach – guitar, vocals Ben – drums Jesse – bass, vocals Greg – guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
So to pick up the thread where we left off: last time around, UK heavy rocker Psychlona were getting confirmed for Desertfest London 2024. That was just a couple days after revealing they had swapped out half of their lineup. Today comes the news that the Bradford-based four-piece have signed with Magnetic Eye Records — as regards Psychlona news stories in the last two weeks, this is the big one — to release their next album sometime in 2024. Apparently somewhere in there they were confirmed for Stoned From the Underground next July too. One might speculate it feels pretty good to be in Psychlona right now.
Not the least because their new single “Liberty” absolutely oozes vibe. And the vibe is ooze, so that works out too. Molten psychedelia, dug-in tempo but not too slow it loses you, mellow but sure of where it’s headed. If it ended up opening or closing their new long-player when the time comes, yes.
Congrats to band and label. The PR wire has it as follows:
PSYCHLONA sign with Magnetic Eye Records & release new video single ‘Liberty’
PSYCHLONA have set their signatures under a multi-album deal with Magnetic Eye Records, with the British desert rockers planning to release their fourth album via the label later in 2024. See below for statements regarding the signing.
In celebration of joining Magnetic Eye, PSYCHLONA also release a new video single today. Please see below for further details of the smoking track ‘Liberty’.
PSYCHLONA comment: “We are stoked to be joining Magnetic Eye”, guitarist and singer Phil Hey writes on behalf of the band. “We had a few offers on the table but we all knew that this label was the way we wanted to go. We have already worked with label director Jadd Shickler under various guises over the past few years and he has become a trusted confidant and friend. That was probably our primary reason, very closely followed by the fact that Magnetic Eye has a great roster including Greenleaf, who are one of my all-time favourite bands. It made perfect sense. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with Jadd and the guys!”
Jadd Shickler welcomes PSYCHLONA: “I’ve been working with Psychlona for several years in different capacities, and admire the fast leaps forward they’ve taken in a short time”, the Magnetic Eye director explains. “In 2020, they gave even Lowrider and Elephant Tree some tough competition for a lot of folks’ favorite record that year. Then they played back to back at Psycho Las Vegas, and I saw people go crazy for them firsthand. I dig their effortless desert vibe despite the guys being as British as it gets, and I love the dynamic they bring to our carefully curated roster of driven, sonically unique acts. I can hardly wait to hear what they’ll do on their first full album for us next year!”
Live 17-19 May 2024 London (UK) Desertfest 11-13 July 2024 Erfurt (DE) Stoned from the Underground
Line-up Ian ‘Izak’ Buxton – bass guitar Scott Frankling – drums Phil Hey – guitar, vocals Martin Wiseman – lead guitar, backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This is a ‘make it official’ kind of announcement from Philadelphia’s Heavy Temple, who’ve already appeared at Desertfest New York 2023 (review here) and subsequently banged out a European tour with Christian Lopez on guitar, as well as, you know, probably hung out a whole bunch at rehearsal and stuff. Lopez takes the place of Lord Paisley, who joined Heavy Temple in time to play on 2021’s debut full-length, Lupi Amoris (review here), be a part of their continuing emergence as a touring act, and take part in tributes, splits, the whole thing.
It’s only been a few years, but Heavy Temple have been through a couple of guitarists and drummers around founding bassist/vocalist High Priestess Nighthawk, so it’s not the craziest thing in the world to think they’d be trading out personnel again. Lopez, meanwhile, had been playing with Sun Voyager — I got to see him with them this Spring (review here) and they were awesome — and they’re in NY and Heavy Temple are in Philly and that seems like a heck of a commute, so I’m not sure what the status with Sun Voyager is, but I’ll tell you from personal experience that Lopez tore it up as the new guy in both bands, has shred and apparently will travel.
And while I’m a little sad to know there’s new Heavy Temple somewhere on the planet and I haven’t heard it — at least I think so if I read the implication below correctly — I’m glad to learn the three-piece’s second album will be out in 2024. I have no doubt it will be a highlight.
From socials:
You may have noticed some changes in the HT camp. @calivibescustom started as a fill in for Lord Paisley on our Euro tour but has quickly cemented himself as in invaluable member of the Temple consort. While we are sad that our paisley prince will no longer be shredding with us, he leaves behind his contributions to arguably the best record we’ve ever made, due in no small part to his talent and ability. We wish him all the best in his new endeavors and look forward to whatever this new iteration may be.
This is the tl;dr part. When I started the band 11 years ago, I always wanted a permanent line up, but wanted to be realistic when it came to commitments and time. So I modeled the band after Queens of the Stone Age, meaning I viewed it as sort of an open collective. Having now had more than a handful of line up changes, it truly shows me what I’ve always known, which is that there is no growth without change.
I’m once again eternally grateful for all the creativity and inspiration I’ve found with everyone I’ve been fortunate enough to call a bandmate. Never stop not stopping.
Posted in Reviews on October 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Thoughtful and clever, Howling Giant‘s Glass Future demonstrates its consideration of craft even in its choice of samples, as intro “Hourglass” begins with a sample of Burgess Meredith in The Twilight Zone talking about how he has time to read because everyone else is dead — “there’s time enough at last” — and the 10-track/41-minute album closes with “There’s Time Now,” bookend-referencing the same soliloquy. The Nashville trio have put in as much work as possible over the years since their debut, 2019’s The Space Between Worlds (review here), and the songs of Glass Future would seem to reap the benefit of that experience in positioning the band to make a record that sets high goals for itself and meets them, not just tightening the melodies and harmonies of the vocals — to which guitarist Tom Polzine, drummer Zach Wheeler and bassist Sebastian “Seabass” Baltes all contribute — but enabling Howling Giant to hone a sound at once informed by progressive heavy rock and pop-punk.
“Siren Song” tells the tale. At five minutes, it’s longer than the brooding “Aluminum Crown” or the rush of sample-topped instrumental “First Blood of Melchior” — Frankenstein isn’t quite on theme with the apocalyptic sci-fi being engaged elsewhere in the lyrics (also debatable whether the apocalypse is fiction), but the dialog fits the mood and is timed well to the mosh riff in its second half — or the penultimate rush of “Juggernaut,” and “Siren Song” has a hook of the caliber of that song or “Glass Future” itself, or “Sunken City,” or even the suitably mournful and slow “There’s Time Now,” but its structure is different. Where even the verse of “Hawk in a Hurricane” is a hook, and “Sunken City” wants so badly to get to its next chorus that it barely ends the first, “Siren Song” holds back slightly, at least on relative terms. To be sure, the initial flurry of riff, Elderian verse/bridge spaciousness and even the earlier stage of the chorus make a positive impression, but they’re playing for the blindside when “Siren Song” opens up at 2:34 and unveils the first of Glass Future‘s made-for-the-stage megahooks. And the play works. All of a sudden, the end of the world is a party.
And one could rail on and on about the post-modernism of that point of view and I’m sure that that would be a whole lot of fun for my brain and typing fingers and for exactly nobody else. More important is that between “Hourglass” and “Siren Song,” Howling Giant are telling you much of what you need to know in terms of how to read Glass Future. Before the album hits six minutes, they’ve given a sense of atmosphere and dropped hints of melancholy that will flesh out further on “Aluminum Crown,” “Tempest and the Liar’s Gateway” and “There’s Time Now,” established the tones and the righteous punch of the Kim Wheeler production and mix, reminded handily of the difference talking out melodies and vocal arrangements can make, and began the impeccable construction of the whole album from the first of the songs around which its overarching flow is based. “Siren Song” represents multiple sides there as well, and it’s worth emphasizing that Howling Giant are not simply unipolar fast in “Hawk in a Hurricane” — its ambient finish is a purposeful comedown ahead of “First Blood of Melchior” — or slow in “Aluminum Crown,” which answers its more languid roll with later push, but that the material included here has functional intent behind it.
This dynamic extends to what each track brings to the record, and involves the interplay of one piece into the next. Side A builds momentum as “Aluminum Crown” gives over to “Hawk in a Hurricane,” which plays midtempo through tis chorus complemented as many of the songs are here by the organ of Drew David Harakal II (also synth/piano), who’s already bolstered “Siren Song” and “Aluminum Crown” and soon takes a solo on the title-track that reminds me of Amorphis and is thus endeared forever, the keys adding depth to the arrangements, variety to the sound and reach to the melodies. As Polzine and Wheeler‘s voices pair (JamesSanderson also contributes to “Siren Song,” “Hawk in a Hurricane” and “There’s Time Now), so too do Polzine‘s guitar and Harakal‘s keys, and the level of detail and consideration in those arrangements shouldn’t be understated. With “Glass Future” capping side A through a lyrical narrative around an asteroid smashing into the planet — the first verse begins with the image, ‘Flashing lights race on monitors lining the wall’; we’re already running, grounded in the human experience of watching a mass extinction not in slow motion — the speed and twisting course come around to preface the sharpening of focus across side B.
“Tempest and the Liar’s Gateway” begins a succession of four tracks of unflinching poise and mastery. Slow, Fast, Fast, Slow, if you want the basic pattern, with “Tempest and the Liar’s Gateway” expanding on the quieter delivery of “Aluminum Crown” and a hook about death waiting up ahead before “Sunken City” and “Juggernaut” comprise a one-two punch of two of the sharpest heavy rock songs one might hear in 2023. In their energy, lyrical themes, catchiness and the exquisiteness of the performances captured, “Sunken City” and “Juggernaut” feel like a realized version of the pop-heavy that was promised with Torche but which Torche never had much interest in being. Howling Giant could hardly make it easier for a heavy rock audience to get on board. After years of willful progression live and in the studio, they come bearing gifts, which are the songs themselves, and where the first half of Glass Future had “Hourglass” and “First Blood of Melchior” and the end of “Hawk in a Hurricane” for atmospheric sprawl, that side B’s softer or more contemplative moments occur within “Tempest and the Liar’s Gateway” and “There’s Time Now” lend an even more focused feel. “Sunken City” and “Juggernaut” would be frontloaded on a lot of records. Howling Giant are smarter than that.
On an album of lyrical highlights, “There’s Time Now” is nonetheless a standout, and its storyline of living in apocalyptic aftermath is well told, whether it’s the notion of “Walking on top of abandoned cars” or stars “blinking out one by one” before they at last lay it all on the proverbial table, “It’s the end of the world.” The second verse utilizes a favorite metaphor of nature’s persistence in “Green pushing through all the grey cement” as a reminder Earth will go on regardless of what happens to humans, and similar to the mirror of the title and the Twilight Zone sample earlier, in “There’s Time Now” they’ve arrived at a point where, “The siren’s still singing, there’s no one to hear,” harmonized for emphasis calling back of course to “Siren Song.” The first verse of “There’s Time Now” repeats as a third, with a key change that underscores the band’s background in theory as well as their knowledge of how to push emotion in a song; it’s one more level on which Glass Future is a model of what a modern heavy rock record can be. The kind of lessons that, especially backed by the efforts of Howling Giant on tour, lead an act to become influential.
Rife with personality, wit, care and heart, Glass Future lets the diverse aspects of Howling Giant‘s sound find coherent existence as a single thing — see “Howling Giant‘s sound” — as the band maintain the high level of craft they’ve fostered in The Space Between Worlds and codify the epic nature of their breakout contribution to the 2021 split with Sergeant Thunderhoof, Masamune/Muramasa (review here), while effectively translating it into shorter, tighter material. This they deliver with class and distinct vitality, everything symmetrical, in its place, serving a purpose, but not hackneyed or forced or cloying. It is an ambitious culmination of the work they’ve done to-date — they might need a full-time keyboardist/organist for live shows — and a step forward on a path they’ll continue to walk. I don’t think they’ve peaked or stopped growing, but they’re going to have a challenge in topping the defining statement they make here. One would hardly call it optimistic, but Glass Future holds nothing but promise to that end.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I’ve been back and forth with Howling Giant trying to set up an interview to talk about their stellar new record, Glass Future, and the tour in Europe they’re currently undertaking in the company of Philly’s Heavy Temple, and so yesterday caught word that the van the two acts were traveling in together had its window busted in broad daylight and the band lost laptops, merch, clothes, and so on. No gear seems to have been taken, so that’s one expense avoided, but travel documents and other items are gone. Of course there’s a GoFundMe. If you haven’t donated, I’m putting the link on its own line to make it stand out and guilt you into it:
Just looked and they passed their goal. It doesn’t matter. Give them your money. What were you going to do, pay bills with it?
The European run wraps up at Desertfest Belgium on Oct. 22, Glass Future drops Oct. 27 — good for me, casually using ‘drops’ like the kids do (or did, anyway) — and they’ve just announced two more weeks of touring in the Midwest and Southeastern US that will take them into mid-November. They might slow down for winter or they might not, but if you haven’t dug into any of the singles from the album yet, I’ll tell you outright that the onus is on you to see them now or regret it later.
Dates and info from the PR wire:
HOWLING GIANT announce US-Tour in Fall 2023
Hot on the heels of the release of their sophomore full-length “Glass Future” on October 27, HOWLING GIANT will hit the roads of North America again. Warming up for their headliner dates, the cosmic stoner metal trio from Nashville, Tennessee will support BLACK TUSK on the first three shows, before taking the helm themselves. After three more gigs, label mates RESTLESS SPIRIT will join the tour as special guests in support of their brand new album “Afterimage”.
Please see below for all confirmed HOWLING GIANT live dates.
HOWLING GIANT comment: “All systems go!”, singer and guitarist Tom Polzine enthuses. “We are stoked to unleash Glass Future on October 27th, and cannot wait to bring this album to life in November at a US dive bar near you. We’re pumped to share the stage with our buds in Black Tusk and Restless Spirit. Come hear the sounds of these new riffs as they plummet towards our fragile planet. We’ll have shirts for sale in the crater.”
On rather sad news, HOWLING GIANT got robbed while in the city of Milan during their ongoing European with label mates HEAVY TEMPLE, who are also affected. If you want to lend a helping hand, please feel free to contribute or spread this link:https://www.gofundme.com/f/howling-giant-heavy-temple-robbed-on-tour
Howling Giant supporting Black Tusk 03 NOV 2023 Atlanta, GA (US) The Earl 04 NOV 2023 Wilmington, NC (US) Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern 05 NOV 2023 Asheville, NC (US) The Odd
Howling Giant headlining 07 NOV 2023 Louisville, KY (US) Portal 08 NOV 2023 Cleveland, OH (US) No Class 09 NOV 2023 Detroit, MI (US) Sanctuary 11 NOV 2023 Chicago, IL (US) Reggies, Music Joint
Howling Giant with support Restless Spirit 10 NOV 2023 Cudahy, WI (US) X-Ray Arcade 12 NOV 2023 St Louis, MO (US) Platypus Bar 14 NOV 2023 Dallas, TX (US) Club Dada 15 NOV 2023 Austin, TX (US) The Lost Well 17 NOV 2023 New Orleans, LA (US) Gasa Gasa
REMAINING EUROPEAN DATES: 13 OCT 2023 Roma (IT) RCCB 14 OCT 2023 Viareggio (IT) Circolo ARCI GoB 15 OCT 2023 Carmagnola (IT) Circolo ARCI Margot 18 OCT 2023 San Sebastian (ES) Dabadaba 19 OCT 2023 Barcelona (ES) Razz3 21 OCT 2023 Paris (FR) Glazart 22 OCT 2023 Antwerp (BE) Trix, Desertfest Belgium
HOWLING GIANT is Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
