So, a couple learnings here. First, at some point between then and now, Nashville’s Howling Giant pivoted from Blues Funeral to Magnetic Eye Records. I’m not sure when, but their new single “Sunken City” is hosted by the latter, and it’s all under the umbrella of Spkr Media and the cruel tutelage of Pai Mei Jadd Shickler anyhow, so it’s good to know, but maybe more of a bookkeeping thing less important than what the song itself tells us.

To that: Big riff, big melody, big hook, big prog — Howling Giant are going for it. This is a band who’ve been positioning themselves to engage an audience for years now and it seems their upcoming album will find them looking at least in part to reap what they’ve sown and raise their profile in the heavy underground. Yes, I’m talking about touring Europe. Nifty and more that they’ll spend a month on the road with Elder and Ruby the Hatchet — Howling Giant are no strangers to touring, and I’m sure these dates will be killer; I hope to attend the Connecticut show — but as they’ve already been confirmed for Into the Void in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, and Desertfest Belgium 2023, I have to think there are more tour dates coming. Both of those fests are in October. Does that mean a September album release?

That would make releasing a first single four-to-five months ahead of time very, very early. And if they’re releasing it to promote the US tour, it’s still a month early. So maybe the record shows up in July, but the PR wire knows more than I do and says “autumn,” so I’m just going by what I read. All the same, “Sunken City” fucking shimmers and is every bit the righteous groove that might just aid Howling Giant in manifesting their long-laid plans for global domination — or Twitch streams; whatever that is — so if it’s half a year early, it’s still right on time as far as I’m concerned. The rest will fall into place with the hard work, extensive planning and unpredicted pains in the ass that always make new albums seem like magic.

Song is at the bottom of the post. The PR wire has the tour dates and more:

HOWLING GIANT release new single ‘Sunken City’ and announce US live dates with ELDER & RUBY THE HATCHET!

In advance of their upcoming US tour with ELDER and labelmates RUBY THE HATCHET, Nashville psych-metal power trio HOWLING GIANT release the soaring digital single ‘Sunken City’ as a first taste of their sophomore full-length, which is scheduled for autumn this year.

Please see below for all confirmed HOWLING GIANT live dates.

HOWLING GIANT comment: “‘Sunken City’ was one of the first songs we wrote for our new record and we’re excited to play it live on tour with Elder and Ruby The Hatchet”, drummer Zach Wheeler writes. “The track showcases some of our favorite riffs, licks, and songwriting to date, and we’re very much looking forward to everyone coming out to hang with us on the road and hear ‘Sunken City’ live!”

HOWLING GIANT Live * +ELDER +RUBY THE HATCHET
03 May 2023 Buffalo, NY (US) Mohawk*
04 May 2023 Cleveland, OH (US) Grog Shop*
05 May 2023 Indianapolis, IN (US) Black Circle*
06 May 2023 Rock Island, IL (US) Wake Brewing*
07 May 2023 Kansas City, MO (US) The Record Bar*
09 May 2023 Denver, CO (US) The Bluebird Theater*
10 May 2023 Salt Lake City, UT (US) Urban Lounge*
11 May 2023 Las Vegas, NV (US) The Usual Place*
12 May 2023 Los Angeles, CA (US) Lodge Room*
13 May 2023 Santa Ana, CA (US) The Constellation Room*
14 May 2023 San Diego, CA (US) Brick By Brick*
16 May 2023 San Francisco, CA (US) Great American Music Hall*
17 May 2023 Fresno, CA (US) Strummer’s*
18 May 2023 Sacramento, CA (US) Harlow’s*
20 May 2023 Seattle, WA (US) Substation*
21 May 2023 Vancouver, BC (CA) Modified Ghost Festival*
23 May 2023 Calgary, AB (CA) Palomino*
24 MAY 2023 Edmonton, AB (CA) Starlite Room*
26 MAY 2023 Winnipeg, MB (CA) The Park Theatre
27 MAY 2023 Fargo, ND (US) The Aquarium*
28 MAY 2023 Minneapolis, MN (US) Fine Line*
29 MAY 2023 Milwaukee, WI (US) X-Ray Arcade*
30 MAY 2023 Grand Rapids, MI (US) Pyramid Scheme*
31 MAY 2023 Toronto, ON(CA) Lee’s Palace*
01 JUN 2023 Montréal, QC (CA) Les Foufounes Électriques*
02 JUN 2023 Providence, RI (US) Alchemy*
03 JUN 2023 Hamden, CT (US) Space Ballroom*

Despite Nashville’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. Nashville’s preeminent fuzz-psych power trio HOWLING GIANT live in the pocket of that lineage.

HOWLING GIANT formed nearly ten years ago with the union of guitarist and singer Tom Polzine, drummer and vocalist Zach Wheeler, and bassist and vocalist Roger Marks. From day one, the trio locked into a musical groove of thunderous metal, proggy acrobatics, psychedelic flourishes and soaring melodic vocals, telling stories of fantasy and adventure with such sheer force of will that they seemed capable of opening a window to other dimensions.

Their early years saw a flurry of recorded activity, with an acclaimed self-titled EP in 2015 and an audacious concept piece split across two EPs, “Black Hole Space Wizard Part 1”, released in 2016 and a year later “Black Hole Space Wizard Part 2”.

Soon, HOWLING GIANT set out to bring their arena-sized energy to the people with the hunger of true road dogs. Throughout 2017 and 2018, they crisscrossed the United States, pouring out heart and soul (and sweat) while flying the flag of emotive, intricate heavy rock and roll. This tireless energy eventually brought them to such prominent festival stages as Psycho Las Vegas in 2018 and both SXSW and Psycho Smokeout in 2019. Around this time, Marks left the band and Howling Giant achieved its current form with the addition of bass player and vocalist Sebastian Baltes.

In early 2019, HOWLING GIANT released their debut full-length “The Space Between Worlds”, an album which saw the band channel the bristling electricity of their live sound and push further into both cosmic drift and punishing heaviness.

With activities locked down globally, HOWLING GIANT focused on recording their sophomore full-length, which is scheduled for release in autumn 2023. Ahead of this, though, the band embraced the opportunity to road-test the new tunes and share them with heavy rock fans everywhere as direct support on a far-reaching North American tour with ELDER and labelmates RUBY THE HATCHET, along with confirming a slot on the illustrious Desertfest in Belgium later in the year. As an enticing taste of things to come, HOWLING GIANT release the digital single ‘Sunken City’ from the upcoming album before hitting the road.

Line-up
Tom Polzine – guitar, vocals
Zach Wheeler – drums, vocals
Sebastian Baltes – bass, vocals

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

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

Howling Giant, “Sunken City”