Later this month, Nashville heavy prog rock trio Howling Giant will head out on a European tour alongside their Philadelphia-based labelmates in Heavy Temple. The tour will precede Howling Giant‘s new album, Glass Future, by nearly a month, as that’s slated for Oct. 27, which both feels far away and will be here before you know it. That’s fortunate, because it’s a record that kind of needs to be heard.

Glass Future is their second record, ostensibly the follow-up to 2019’s The Space Between Worlds (review here), but the richly melodic, sometimes propulsive three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine, drummer/vocalist Zach Wheeler and bassist/vocalist Sebastian Baltes are about more than just full-lengths. In 2020 they participated in Magnetic Eye‘s Dirt [Redux] tribute to Alice in Chains (review here), in 2021 they had the instrumental EP Alteration (review here), the material for which emerged from a series of livestreamed lockdown jams. Later 2021 brought another [Redux], this one for AC/DC, and last year they posted an entirely instrumental version of the first album, seemingly just for the hell of it. In an age of ‘content creation,’ they are not a band who wants for it.

And no question that’s an asset working in their favor. They bust their collective ass putting word out there about themselves. Every post on their Facebook page for the last however long, whatever it is, has their European tour dates with it. They could give lessons in that shit. And we could sit here and whine about why does a band need to do that crap in the first place and what does it have to do with music and blah blah blah Gen-X blah. Fortunately, it’s moot because the songs are there as well, and never more so than on Glass Future. Whether you’re showing up for the Torche-esque brightness of the melodies in the instruments and vocals, or the harmonies in the latter, or the way even a mellower piece like “Aluminum Crown” has some shove by the time it’s done, the progressive flourish and thoughtfulness of their craft, or the hooks — god damn, the hooks — of cuts like “Siren Song,” “Hawk in a Hurricane,” “Sunken City,” “Juggernaut,” the maybe-Twilight Zone referencing closer “There’s Time Now” (the repeated line: “It’s the end of the world” bringing Burgess Meredith’s glasses to mind). As an entire work, it is impeccably done but not porcelain or brittle. It both takes and provides bumps, movement. It runs from the outset of “Siren Song,” isn’t afraid of double-kick in “Hawk in a Hurricane” or the ambient drone that follows the ending of the song proper, and uses the sample in “First Blood of Melchor” to launch a metal-as-rock organ-laced instrumental crashfest.

It’s an adventure of an album, and one that, when I started this post, I didn’t want to review. So I guess I’d better leave it there, because I can see where this is going and Glass Future isn’t out for nearly another two months. But if you haven’t yet gotten on board for this one, the video for “Aluminum Crown” — reportedly filmed in a living room — is as good an occasion as any. You’ll find it accompanied by the above-mentioned tour dates, which include stops at Up in Smoke, Into the Void Leeuwarden, Keep it Low, and of course, Desertfest Belgium 2023. No doubt Howling Giant will win friends at all of them and more.

From social media:

Howling Giant, “Aluminum Crown” official video

3D and VFX by Polar Desert Studios
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter: @thepolardesert

Aluminum Crown is out today on all streaming services! Smash the link in our down-yonder-ways to check out the accompanying music video by the powerful wizard Polar Desert Studios!

Preorder worldwide: en.spkr.media
Preorder US/Canada: us.spkr.media

Osnabrück and Paris added to the EU tour with Heavy Temple! Dates below, check em out!

29 SEP 2023 Pratteln (CH) Z7, Up in Smoke Festival
30 SEP 2023 Leeuwarden (NL) Neushoorn, Into the Void Festival
01 OCT Osnabrück (DE) Bastard
02 OCT 2023 Siegen (DE) Vortex
03 OCT 2023 Hamburg (DE) Hafenklang
04 OCT 2023 Jena (DE) Rosenkeller
05 OCT 2023 Kassel (DE) Goldgrube
07 OCT 2023 Munich (DE) Backstage, Keep It Low Festival 2023
09 OCT 2023 Budapest (HU) Robot
10 OCT 2023 Vienna (AT) Arena
11 OCT 2023 Bologna (IT) Freak Out
12 OCT 2023 Milano (IT) Barrios
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
20 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

Howling Giant, “Glass Future” official video

Howling Giant, Glass Future (2023)

Howling Giant on Facebook

Howling Giant on Instagram

Howling Giant on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings on Facebook

Blues Funeral Recordings on Instagram

Blues Funeral Recordings on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings website

It should come as no surprise that the new Sapna single is an album unto itself. Seemingly taken from an impending collection called Drones Vol. 1 — the cover art you can see below was posted with the track on Bandcamp — the 38-minute “Servants” follows last year’s self-titled debut (review here) for the project, who here work as the duo of drummer/vocalist/sitarist Kevin Conlon and producer/synthesist/dronemaker Ryon Westover, which leaves them without drummer Logan Kirby, though whether that’s a permanent change or not, I don’t know.

“Servants” is a sprawl of meditative psych-doom, with drones stretched underneath its central movement of drums, airy vocals and the various synths and keyboards that coincide. It enters its first verse at around three minutes in, where one might expect with such a longform piece the verse would come later, but sit tight, because it’s a slow march from there through a mind-psych landscape and it’s gonna be a while before that voice comes back. Sapna demonstrated a penchant for extended works on the self-titled’s 16-minute eponymous closer, but obviously “Servants” ups that reach significantly, and the drone is at least half the point. “Servants” dwells in its midsection and allows the setting to build itself up organically and to hold for the duration as the band seems to plunge deeper and further into its hypnotic breadth.

I dug the gosh darn heck out of that self-titled, was a pleasant surprise toward the end of last year, so will keep an eye out for more from Sapna about Drones Vol. 1. If “Servants” is the entirety of it, you would not call the volume lacking.

Info from Bandcamp is basically there as a placeholder, but it’s got the credits, so relevant just the same:

DRONES | VOL.1

Mixed/Engineered by Ryon Westover at Grey Gardens
Mastered by Mikey Allred at Dark Art Audio

Kevin Conlon – Drums, Vox, Sitar
Ryon Westover – MS-20, Odyssey, Deepmind 12, Wurlitzer, Harmonium, Tanpura, Mellotron

https://www.facebook.com/sapna.drone/
https://www.instagram.com/sapna.drone/
https://sapna.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/sapna.drone

Sapna, “Servants” (2023)

It would be hard to have a discussion about the most influential bands of the last decade in underground heavy and ignore All Them Witches. You’ll pardon me if I don’t try. The Nashville-based four-piece issued the quizzically-titled Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here) on Oct. 30, 2015, as a twice-over pivotal moment for group. First, it was their label-debut on New West Records, to which they signed earlier in 2015 as they began to make higher-profile appearances at fests like Bonnaroo and others, giving them an opportunity to reach a broader audience. Second, while they’d had the limited A Sweet Release EP (review here) out earlier that year and regularly put other odds and ends on their Bandcamp, as well as live shows for a minute there, the nine-song/47-minute Dying Surfer Meets His Maker was the proper follow-up to their self-released 2013 sophomore LP, Lightning at the Door (review here), which was already regarded as a landmark by the time the next album showed up, also marking the point at which they became a touring band.

Those two factors aren’t to be understated, neither is how All Them Witches met the moment. Even more than Lightning at the Door did coming off the band’s debut — 2012’s Our Mother Electricity (review here), which was released in 2013 through Elektrohasch as All Them Witches became the first American act on the label run by Stefan Koglek of Colour Haze — Dying Surfer Meets His Maker seemed to actively work against expectation. At a point when the four-piece — bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr., guitarist Ben McLeod, Rhodes-ist/violinist Allan Van Cleave and drummer Robby Staebler — could have shifted their approach with a direct eye toward growing their listener base, which they ended up doing anyhow, they dug in. Dying Surfer puts its emphasis on fluidity, on a whole-album presentation, on instrumentalism. Consider “El Centro” emerging from the subdued acoustic-begun opener “Call Me Star.” It wasn’t the first time they put a semi-intro up front — recall the previous album had “Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird” — but All Them Witches grew out in terms of reach instead of up in terms of volume.

Their songcraft loosened so that “El Centro,” which wants nothing for heft or groove in its eight-plus minutes as the longest included piece, and an atmospheric stretch like “This is Where it Falls Apart,” with McLeod leading a harmonica-laced jam in a style of liquefied heavy psychedelic blues that All Them Witches are now widely credited with creating, or the willfully soft melodic exploration in “Mellowing” before “Open Passageways” — which is the kind of song that doesn’t come along every decade and should be appreciated as such in composition and arrangement — served as the gateway to the transitional “Instrumental 2 (Welcome to the Caveman Future)” ahead of the closing pair “Talisman” and “Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters,” the latter instrumental but for some spoken parts early and late and the former an essential mood piece, its lyrics vague and characteristic of Parks‘ obscure poetry in telling a story from an assumed point of view. Even “Dirt Preachers,” which is so much Dying Surfer‘s outburst moment, loud and tense, breaking into its chorus like the Kool-Aid Man through the wall of your mom’s house in your ’90s daydreams, subverts expectation in how it’s constructed. It’s got a hook, to be sure, but in production and delivery it is introverted and lets the listener find it instead of reaching out at the risk of coming off cloying. If All Them Witches have ever been anything, it’s not that. “Dirt Preachers” is more memorable than catchy.

It’s neonostalgic hearing that and the record from whence it comes, not the least because the band have three subsequent studio LPs — 2017’s Sleeping Through the War (review here), 2018’s ATW (review here) and 2020’s Nothing as the Ideal (review here) — and multiple live releases and so on in the eight years since, but even now there are new aspects of Dying Surfer Meets His Maker that reveal themselves in terms of how the component songs interact. One can hear them working in pairs, as “Call Me Star” moves into “El Centro,” the purposeful turn of “Dirt Preachers” slowing into its emotionally resonant finish and smoothly giving over to the comedown jam “This is Where it Falls Apart,” and “Mellowing” serves as a lead-in for “Open Passageways”; though, if it’s an intro, it should be noted that it’s longer than the song it’s introducing. Does that make “Open Passageways” an outro?

This procession grows more complex but no less fluid as “Instrumental 2 (Welcome to the Caveman Future)” softly meanders on electric guitar, jams through its midsection and quiets again in the two and a half minutes before “Talisman” takes hold and builds to its finish of singing lead guitar and subtle angularity amid a tone warm enough that it seems to be what the lyrics are craving, and “Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters” capping by building on that shimmer, trippy but not lacking motion thanks in no small part to Staebler‘s kick drum, which along with the prominent fuzz in Parks‘ bass, is the last element to leave as they make their way out, the three sets of song-pairs leading to the blurring of lines that is the final trilogy, likewise raw and lush, fully dug in and brazenly their own. They could’ve started writing hits for nonexistent radio. They went the other way and emerged stronger for it.

All Them Witches last year released a series of monthly singles called ‘Baker’s Dozen’ (posted here) that continued to put light on the variety in their approach and the strength of their jams, they put out the physical pressings of the late-2020 Live on the Internet stream capture, and earlier this year, they launched a tour playing multiple nights in major markets, each night doing a different album in full, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker among them. Having left following Sleeping Through the War, Van Cleave re-completed the four-piece by returning in 2021. He would seem to be welcome on all fronts, internal and external. Three years (i.e., 2020-’23) is the longest All Them Witches have gone without an LP release since their inception, but they’ve never really stopped, and they’ve never stopped growing. Dying Surfer Meets His Maker is an essential showcase of that ethic, and an uncompromised view of who the band were becoming, in addition to being one of the foremost releases of the heavy ’10s.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

Well, we seem to have made it through camp this week, which is the same thing I said last Friday with zoo camp before getting the call from the counselor to go pick up The Pecan early because apparently like the last two hours of the entire week was a bridge too far in terms of her holding it together. It helps that what we’ve been calling “farm camp” — at Foster Fields, in Morristown, a working historical farm — is two and a half hours per day instead of eight or whatever zoo camp was. Still, on Wednesday we rolled in to pick her up and got to hear about her biting a counselor. Again.

I could go on and on here about my concerns, worries, etc., as regards The Pecan. Between the ever-present behavioral issues, attention deficit, hyperactivity, lack of concern for the feelings of others, basic mental health and periodically violent temper. She’s trying. I know she is. She has a good heart. I wish she had an easier time.

Tonight I’m going to see Metallica? At Giants Stadium? Weird, I know. It’s a long story. My sister went to the Guns ‘n’ Roses/Metallica/Faith No More tour in 1991. I even got to watch about 45 seconds of Metallica that night, at the tender age of nine. She bought tickets to tonight and Sunday I think mostly so she could take her older son (15 and accordingly brooding) and our mother (76, needs new knees and had cataract surgery this week, which went well), but, you know, family outing. I’ve never seen a Metallica show, and while the thought of watching some of the openers and then exposing myself to the potential of hearing about James Hetfield’s lifestyle determining his deathstyle makes my stomach turn, my mother will have a good time and I’ll remember my mother having a good time. That’s what it’s about. I’m not reviewing. I’m sure it will be fine.

Next Tuesday I travel to Portugal for SonicBlast. My first time there. The timetable got released a couple weeks ago and it’s a beautiful lack of scheduling conflicts that’s going to make for a few busy days. Three full fest days and a pre-show. That I’ll be covering, words and pics, as much as I possibly can.

5:30 now and I expect The Pecan up any minute, so I’ll leave it there for the week. Monday and Tuesday are already full before I fly out Tuesday night, a Medicine Horse premiere and maybe a Desslok premiere? Lots of videos lately. I might try to sneak in another review as well, just because there’s a ton going on, but it depends on time and how anxious/distracted I am about the journey to be made. I also have a new camera bag that replaces my cosmic backpack, which The Pecan took to camp three weeks ago and it got organic bug repellant spilled in it, smelling like ginger on an apparently permanent basis. I need to pack that, make sure I have earplugs, Advil, chargers, whathaveyou.

In any case, I wish you a great and safe weekend. Have fun, drink water, watch your head, don’t bite anybody who doesn’t want to be bit, and so on. Thanks as always for reading.

FRM.

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The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Robbie Willis from WyndRider

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

That’s a hard one to nail down. I like to do what makes me happy as much as possible, whether it’s playing guitar or travelling or just having a moment to myself. Because most of the time living day to day is full of shit that makes you miserable. I guess I have learned over time that you have to make the good outweigh the bad.

Describe your first musical memory.

Probably when I was very young in church. According to my mom, it was obvious that I loved music from the first time that I heard it. She used to sing Hank Williams and gospel music constantly. But the first actual concert I went to was Sammy Kershaw with my uncle when I was four or five years old.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I guess that actually changes all the time. Every time we play as WyndRider it means a lot to me. It’s the type of music I have always wanted to play ever since I started on guitar. And I have played a lot of other stuff. Getting to see Black Sabbath was… I was real high but that was fucking cool. And, the first time I saw Iron Maiden was really surreal because I ended up completely separated from my friends but only about 20 feet from the band. I felt like I might as well have been the only person there.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

There’s been a lot. But, I think shit changes too much to really hold a firm belief in anything for too long.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Poverty. Half joking. It can lead wherever you want. The whole point is to just try. Some dude once asked us when we are going to tour the UK, so hopefully it leads there. (Call me.)

How do you define success?

Whatever goal you have, if you have reached that goal or even close I’d say that is pretty successful. You can be as successful as you want, but if you aren’t happy in doing whatever it is then it’s worthless.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

An accidental suicide. That one was pretty bad.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I would like to make a short movie. But there’s a lot that goes into that and I don’t have a lot of patience. I have thought about it quite a few different times though throughout my life. Maybe one day I can make it happen.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

I think creating art is the most essential function of art. Somebody has got to do it. Not everybody has to like it. And what somebody considers art is not universal, but actually making it so that it’s there for someone to appreciate (or not appreciate) is the most important part to me.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

My son’s birthday is coming up. Watching him grow up is always something I look forward to, to an extent. Him getting older means he’s not going to think I’m cool anymore after a while.

https://facebook.com/WyndRiderOfficial/
https://www.instagram.com/wyndriderofficial/
https://www.tiktok.com/@wyndrider
https://wyndrider.bandcamp.com/

WyndRider, WyndRider (2023)

Been waiting for news about new Howling Giant? Me too. With a European tour lined up to support it before it’s even officially out — seems likely they’ll have some for the merch table at least before the run finishes at Desertfest Belgium on Oct. 22 — the heavy prog-rocking Nashville four-piece will unveil their second album, Glass Future on Oct. 27 through Magnetic Eye Records. They’ve posted the title-track to coincide with the release announcement, following the groove-riding “Sunken City” with a speedy and twisting riff complemented by Hammond shimmering enough to remind me of mid-period Amorphis (not a complaint), the two duking it out with solos near the end after the band have coursed through their tale of seemingly apocalyptic woe, presented of course with considered melody and arrangement, uptempo, fun.

Compared to the various apocalypses humanity has actually been through in the four years since Howling Giant released their first album, 2019’s The Space Between Worlds (review here), it is far preferable. Below you’ll find ordering links and some background info. This came in a Bandcamp announcement but I expect a press release won’t actually be far behind (it’s early here, so maybe once the US actually wakes up?), so if there’s more on the recording or whatever that’s relevant or a video or something like that, I’ll drop it in as needed and hope to edit accordingly [EDIT: Yup, that happened. Video below]. Just a heads up.

So, from Bandcamp then:

HOWLING GIANT – Glass Future Out Oct. 27

Buy at our shop here:
worldwide: en.spkr.media
US/Canada: us.spkr.media

Every song on HOWLING GIANT’s sophomore album “Glass Future” tells its own story. Yet even without an overarching concept, all could exist within the same universe. Such crafty lyrical world-building is hardly surprising coming from a trio of enthusiastic fantasy and science fiction aficionados. “Glass Future” downright asks to inspire a book or graphic novel, even as it explodes with furious energy and thunderous acrobatics.

Musically, “Glass Future” offers a continuation and evolution of all the elements that made the debut album “The Space Between Worlds” (2019) such a success. HOWLING GIANT entice classic metal and hard rock to interact dynamically with spacy, prog-infused passages, desert and psychedelic metal moments, rock organs, catchy hooks, and top everything off with soaring harmonized vocals.

HOWLING GIANT hail from one of the most legendary places for music on earth: Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Despite the city’s reputation for assembly-line pop country, the town called Music City is a place of deep history, where brilliant songwriters and virtuoso session players keep dozens of musical legacies burning bright. Fertile ground, then, for a preeminent fuzz-psych power trio who consciously live in the pocket of that lineage.

During the last two years, the trio integrated bassist Sebastian Baltes, the son of German metal legends ACCEPT’s former bass player Peter Baltes, fully into the band as a co-writer. HOWLING GIANT take a gargantuan leap forward with “Glass Future” that brings their outstanding musicianship and golden-throated triple vocal attack fully into stride. Nothing to do but try to keep up and enjoy the stunning sonic scenery along the way!

Tracklisting:
1. Hourglass
2. Siren Song
3. Aluminium Crown
4. Hawk in a Hurricane
5. First Blood of Melchor
6. Glass Future
7. Tempest, and the Liar’s Gateway
8. Sunken City
9. Juggernaut
10. There’s Time Now

HEAVY TEMPLE & HOWLING GIANT Euorpean tour
29 SEP 2023 Pratteln (CH) Z7, Up in Smoke Festival
30 SEP 2023 Leeuwarden (NL) Neushoorn, Into the Void Festival
02 OCT 2023 Siegen (DE) Vortex
03 OCT 2023 Hamburg (DE) Hafenklang
04 OCT 2023 Jena (DE) Rosenkeller
05 OCT 2023 Kassel (DE) Goldgrube
07 OCT 2023 München (DE) Backstage, Keep It Low Festival 2023
09 OCT 2023 Budapest (HU) Robot
10 OCT 2023 Wien (AT) Arena
11 OCT 2023 Bologna (IT) Freak Out
12 OCT 2023 Milano (IT) Barrios
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
22 OCT 2023 Antwerp (BE) Trix, Desertfest Belgium

Engineering & Mix by Kim Wheeler in Nashville, TN
Mastering by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, OR

Artwork by Susan M. Davies
Layout by Peder Bergstrand

Guest musicians
Drew David Harakal II – organ, piano, synths
James Sanderson – additional vocals on ‘Siren Song’, ‘Hawk in a Hurricane’, and ‘There’s Time Now’

HOWLING GIANT is
Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals
Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals
Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals

howlinggiant.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/howlinggiant/
https://www.instagram.com/howlinggiant/

https://www.facebook.com/bluesfuneral/
https://www.instagram.com/blues.funeral/
https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/
bluesfuneral.com

Howling Giant, “Glass Future” official video

Howling Giant, Glass Future (2023)

When Heavy Temple and Howling Giant were announced in April for Into the Void in Leeuwarden, I noted that I hoped the two bands would tour together. What they most have in common between Heavy Temple‘s hard-fuzz dark boogie and Howling Giant‘s sprawling heavy prog — aside from being labelmates under the banner of Magnetic Eye Records — is that both have only just begun to realize their potential. Doing this tour will help push both acts forward, and more over, doing this tour together is important.

Yeah, they’re playing Up in Smoke, Into the Void, Keep it Low and Desertfest Belgium, but the truth is these two — both with multiple tours under their respective belts — are the kinds of acts who in another decade or decade-plus could very well headline these kinds of events, so their pairing for a run now is an investment in further comity over the longer term of their careers. I hereby — and you know I mean business when I break out “hereby” — formally request on-stage collaboration, abundant guest spots if not the formation of a Heavy Giant Howling Temple family big band. Also video of that. Like, decent video.

And a note to Europe specifically: These bands are two of America’s brightest hopes for next-gen heavy. Skip seeing them now and you may live to regret it later.

Dates came down the PR wire with comment from the bands:

HEAVY TEMPLE & HOWLING GIANT announce co-headlining EUROPEAN tour!

HEAVY TEMPLE from Philadelphia, PA and Nashville, Tennessee’s HOWLING GIANT will both make their first journey overseas for a co-headlining European tour in advance of their upcoming new albums. The tour will include appearances at several key festivals. It kicks off in Switzerland at the Up in Smoke Festival in Pratteln and runs through until October 22 in the city of Antwerp at Desertfest Belgium.

Please see below for all confirmed HEAVY TEMPLE and HOWLING GIANT tour dates.

HOWLING GIANT comment: “We are fired up about this European quest with our shield companions in Heavy Temple,” drummer Zach Wheeler writes. “We’re ready to sling riffs and cross swords with the best of the best beyond the great pond.”

HEAVY TEMPLE add: “We hope that Europe is as ready for us as we are for them!”, bassist and vocalist High Priestess Nighthawk declares. “Can’t think of another heavy-hitting power trio that we’d like to shred across the pond with than Howling Giant.”

HEAVY TEMPLE & HOWLING GIANT Euorpean tour
29 SEP 2023 Pratteln (CH) Z7, Up in Smoke Festival
30 SEP 2023 Leeuwarden (NL) Neushoorn, Into the Void Festival
02 OCT 2023 Siegen (DE) Vortex
03 OCT 2023 Hamburg (DE) Hafenklang
04 OCT 2023 Jena (DE) Rosenkeller
05 OCT 2023 Kassel (DE) Goldgrube
07 OCT 2023 München (DE) Backstage, Keep It Low Festival 2023
09 OCT 2023 Budapest (HU) Robot
10 OCT 2023 Wien (AT) Arena
11 OCT 2023 Bologna (IT) Freak Out
12 OCT 2023 Milano (IT) Barrios
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
22 OCT 2023 Antwerp (BE) Trix, Desertfest Belgium

Heavy Temple:
High Priestess Nighthawk – vocals, bass
Lord Paisley – guitar
Baron Lycan – drums

Howling Giant:
Tom Polzine – guitar, vocals
Zach Wheeler – drums, vocals
Sebastian Baltes – bass, vocals

https://www.facebook.com/HeavyTemple/
https://www.instagram.com/heavytemple
https://heavytemple.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/howlinggiant/
https://www.instagram.com/howlinggiant/
howlinggiant.bandcamp.com

http://store.merhq.com
http://magneticeyerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MagneticEyeRecords
https://www.instagram.com/magneticeyerecords/

Heavy Temple, Lupi Amoris (2021)

Howling Giant, “Sunken City”

This weekend, Tennessee merchants WyndRider head to London, Kentucky, to appear at Holler of Doom III, and with a few shows later in the month, more in August and newly announced dates there and in September, they’ll apparently continue the streak of steady live appearances they’ve had going since they offered their self-titled debut (review here) at the end of March. The four-piece have traded drummers since then — as will happen when a new band starts playing out more; some personnel shuffle is not uncommon — but haven’t missed a step as word of their riffly tidings has begun to spread.

The dates below, some new, some previously known, include a couple long weekenders and local-ish odds and ends rather than a full two-week string or whatever, but as far as I’m concerned it’s cool they’re getting out at all. Note that the Ohio date is the Doomed and Stoned in Ohio fest, and I have no trouble believing there’s more to come, but for now here’s this from the PR wire:

WYNDRIDER has added many shows to their already packed summer

At the beginning of May, the band announced Richard Bucher was stepping down and introduced their new drummer, Josh Brock, as well as many appearances they would make with this new lineup. Now, they are announcing August and September dates and will make several more appearances this year in Charlotte, Savannah, Tampa, Jacksonville, Columbus, Lexington, Jacksonville, and more.

Upcoming Dates:
July 15-London, KY-Holler of Doom III Festival at Mountain View Farm

July 21-Knoxville, TN-The Pilot Light
with Realm, Dead Vibes Ensemble and NinjaWitch

July 29-Youngstown, OH-Ohio Doomed & Stoned Fest at Westside Bowl

July 30-Cincinnati, OH-The Comet
with Grey Host, Before the Eyewall, and Opium Doom Cult

August 12- Whitesburg, KY at Summit City on Main
with ENT, Portrait of Betrayal, LIPS, Hank 69, and Ponddigger

August 17- Johnson City, TN at The Hideaway
with Crop and ENT

August 24- Columbus, OH at Spacebar
with Wolftooth, Weed Demon, and Wurm Sun

August 25- Lexington, KY at The Green Lantern
with Blind Scryer and Suncage

August 26- Lynchburg, VA at Riverview Vinyl
with Smoke and Black Wind

September 15- Knoxville, TN at BrickYard Bar & Grill
with The Slow Attack, Stoneman, Neanderthal, and Lucky Perm

September 21- Charlotte, NC at Snug Harbor
with King Cackle and StormWatchers

September 22- Savannah, GA at El Rocko Lounge
with Damned to Earth and Doof

September 23- Tampa, FL at The Born Free Pub
with Worldeater, Snake Healer, Tension Electric, and Othalan

September 24- Jacksonville, FL at Rain Dogs
with Stoned Morose and TBA

September 30- Asheville, NC at Fleetwood’s
with Mean Green and TBA

WyndRider are:
Chloe Gould (Vocals)
Robbie Willis (Guitar)
Josh Brock (Drums)
Joshuwah Herald (Bass)

https://facebook.com/WyndRiderOfficial/
https://www.instagram.com/wyndriderofficial/
https://www.tiktok.com/@wyndrider
https://wyndrider.bandcamp.com/

WyndRider, WyndRider (2023)

With the recent release of their self-titled debut (review here) behind them, Tennessee heavy rockers WyndRider have lined up a string of shows this summer to support the album. Highlighted by fest appearances at Badseed and Holler of Doom in Kentucky and Doomed & Stoned in Ohio, where they’ll join a slew of badass acts, as well as a support slot on June 27 for the upcoming Red Mesa tour, the stint throughout June and July will also be the introduction of new drummer Josh Brock, who steps into the role in place of Richard Bucher. I don’t know what’s behind the percussive swap, but it’s worth noting that as of now, the four-piece are in possession of an all-Josh rhythm section, featuring as they do bassist Joshuwah Herald alongside guitarist Robbie Willis and vocalist Chloe Gould. And as the ancient saying goes, ‘an all-Josh rhythm section ain’t nuthin’ to fuck with.’ That or Wu-Tang. I get those two mixed up all the time.

Either way, if you didn’t catch the album yet — and if not, you’re by no means late; trying always to build bridges not keep gates; all are welcome here unless you’re a fascist — you’ll find the stream below, along with the dates and copious info sent along the PR wire. If you’re up for a bit of exploring, WyndRider will share the stage with a pretty wide assortment of cool bands, keeping good company as they continue to develop their sound and move forward with the partially-reconstructed lineup.

Dig in:

WyndRider Announces Summer Dates

WyndRider is a four piece, female-fronted Stoner Doom band from the mountains of East Tennessee. Joshuwah Herald (bass), Robbie Willis (guitar), Chloe Gould (vocals), and Richard Bucher (drums) made up the original members, playing their first show on March 31, 2022 at the Hideaway in Johnson City, TN. Their first single, Electrophilia, was recorded at the beginning of April (recorded, mixed, and mastered by Greg Glessing and Milby Shaffer) and published on May 26 of the same year.
With only one single available online since the beginning, WyndRider moved leaps and bounds, booking in Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, West Virginia, and around Tennessee. They have shared the stage with names such as Caustic Casanova and Book of Wyrms at Holler of Doom II Festival in London, KY, and Dizygote, Lung, and Gaffer Project in their hometown of Johnson City, TN. They returned to London, KY in the fall of 2022 to play a second festival- Mountains of Metal 7, and Lexington, KY for Revenge of the Toker Day Fest.

The band’s debut album, WyndRider, was recorded in late September by Danielle Fehr from The Wizard Productions. The recordings are the most raw, natural sounding form of the songs that they were able to capture in a studio setting, while still emulating the energy of a live performance. Bands such as Black Sabbath, Steppenwolf, Mountain, and Budgie inspired their take on a continuation of heavy and psychedelic music. The themes of this album are a culmination of subjects such as apocalypse, alien life, the Satanic Panic, and sarcastic dissection of the Christian Church. It portrays a new version of the physical, biting addictiveness that Rock and Roll inspired for another generation.

‘WyndRider’ was released in full on March 31, 2023, exactly one year after the date of the band’s first show.

At the beginning of May, the band announced Richard Bucher was stepping down and introduced their new drummer, Josh Brock. Beginning in June, they will continue performing with this new lineup and plan to make appearances in many cities this year, including Charlotte, Athens, Atlanta, Columbia, Cincinnati, Savannah and Tampa. They can once again be seen at Holler of Doom Festival in London, KY, as well as Badseed Fest (Whitesburg, KY), and Ohio Doomed and Stoned Festival in Youngstown.

“We are over the moon about how far we have come as a band in just a short time. We look forward to hitting the road this summer with Josh Brock and reaching all kinds of new territory! To everyone who has supported us this far and jammed our album, we cannot thank you enough.” – WyndRider

Upcoming Dates:
June 1- Charlotte, NC- Skylark Social Club with Occult Fracture and Witch Motel
June 2- Athens, GA- Flicker Bar with Ghoul Hand and Rosie & the Ratdogs
June 3- Atlanta, GA- Star Community Bar with Stoneman and Hot Ram
June 9- Johnson City, TN- The Hideaway with Nerve Endings and Dope Skum
June 17- Whitesburg, KY- Badseed Fest at Summit City on Main
June 24- Johnson City, TN- Capone’s with Season of the Witch and Appalachian Death Cult
June 27- Knoxville, TN- BrickYard Bar & Grill with Red Mesa, Shockwolf, and Sun Mantra
July 1- Columbia, SC- Art Bar with Cosmic Reaper and Ort
July 15- London, KY- Holler of Doom III Festival at Mountain View Farm
July 21- Knoxville, TN- The Pilot Light with Realm, Dead Vibes Ensemble and Ninja Witch
July 29- Youngstown, OH- Ohio Doomed & Stoned Fest at Westside Bowl
July 30- Cincinnati, OH- The Comet with Grey Host, Before the Eyewall, and Opium Doom Cult

More August and September dates to be announced soon.

WyndRider are:
Chloe Gould (Vocals)
Robbie Willis (Guitar)
Josh Brock (Drums)
Joshuwah Herald (Bass)

https://facebook.com/WyndRiderOfficial/
https://www.instagram.com/wyndriderofficial/
https://www.tiktok.com/@wyndrider
https://wyndrider.bandcamp.com/

WyndRider, WyndRider (2023)