Review: Howling Giant ‘Crucible & Ruin’
The passage of time has fared very strangely this year. Whilst the news has been an exhausting deluge of relentless, daily bombardment that seems to shine a light on the worst of humanity, personally, there have been large drifts of time that have seemed to have morphed into one. Maybe I should try and ace an MoCA… tiger, elephant, giraffe…
Anyway, the point is that having reviewed the reissue of Nashville residents Howling Giant’s debut EP for their 10th anniversary back in March, it felt like a long time ago, whereas I am still trying to absorb all the nuances of their last full-length release Glass Future, which came out back in 2023.
Time dilation aside, the past is of little concern to the former three-piece from Tennessee. I say former because their latest release sees the band swell with the addition of guitarist and synth player Adrian Lee Zambrano. He might have only arrived towards the end of the writing process for the band’s third full-length, Crucible & Ruin, but his impact was quickly felt in the sessions. The additional textures and fuller sound can be heard immediately as Howling Giantlook to take dramatic strides onwards from the high bar they set with Glass Future.
One thing that has always stood out from the former fuzz-psych power trio is their ability to bait and switch the listener. I say this with a degree of awe at their skills as musicians, as even from their early days, they manage to walk a tightrope between sounding majestic, almost light and somehow serene whilst simultaneously delivering anvil-heavy slabs of molten rock. Adding Zambrano has only served to dial up this aspect of their already rich sound. Crucible & Ruin feels like the effect of sharpening a photograph where more definition comes into play as intricate melodies ping off one another, yet does nothing to dull the brute force the band are capable of wielding.
This is immediately noticeable from the opening of Canyons, the catchy preview track that surfaced over the summer. The speed rush of the opening bullish, scything riff and bombastic power slide fires the starting gun, and we’re off. One thing the band have always had in spades is the delicious tone of the guitars. As Tom Polzine and Zambrano trade deceptive heavy riffs that groove and thunder, the clean and dreamy vocals glide with effortless harmonies over the pounding chug and high-octane drumming courtesy of Zach Wheeler. It all builds to a blistering solo before closing on a sombre acoustic ending.
Unlike the previous album where all the tracks told an individual story, on Crucible & Ruin, Howling Giant explores the story of a young deity clashing against the forces of primordial chaos, a theme which loosely connects all the songs. This contributes to making this feel like a fully complete release infused with a sense of unity. From the artwork painted by guitarist and vocalist Polzine’s mother, down to the fact that this is the first time the band have left the comfort of their home bunker and gone into a ‘proper’ studio, it all helps capture the raw live sound they produce.
Howling Giant look to take dramatic strides onwards from the high bar they set with Glass Future…
This comes through more cohesively in the lyrics; the opening line is literally the puzzle: ‘Older than time, each step that it takes splits the earth and shakes the sky’. It denotes a sense of change and/or chaos which fits the narrative that unfolds, not to mention the behind-the-scenes changes in the band.
This sense of togetherness is also apparent as Hunter’s Mask delivers another crashing wall of riffing. The slower pace allows the extra layers of instrumentalisation to shine through; the synth work adds delicate layers as Wheeler keeps up his constant, shifting drumming. The cymbals rattle, and there is a deceptive balance in between the almost ethereal moments of blissed-out psych, whilst the hammering lead pyrotechnics make the tracks soar in an uplifting manner.
The band keeps up much of this momentum with the album’s up-tempo majesty. Lesser Gods and The Observatory may be shorter, instrumental pieces – the latter featuring Kim Wheeler on additional synths and EWI to fatten the already dense sound – that form bridges in the story, but overall, Crucible & Ruin rides high with an aggressive attack. This is most noticeable on Beholder I: Downfall where Adam Nohe joins the frenetic percussion and the faster, but catchy Scepter And Scythe has impressive double patterns to complement the cycling guitars and rumbling bass work of Sebastian Baltes.
The heavy-as-hell Melchor’s Bones is a more methodical workout. It benefits greatly from the increased guitar attack, making the band feel rawer and vibrant than on some of their more cerebral previous outings. Samples help tie the narrative together, while the huge, swinging, pendulum-like groove anchors the band’s loftier tendencies. It also builds space for them to create those heady, fuzzy dynamics that fans of space-rock dalliances will lap up.
The monstrous heft of Beholder II: Labyrinth is a suitably epic conclusion to the story. Haunting, emotional and triumphant, Howling Giant take a well-deserved victory lap as they pull back from bristling muscle to sharp harmonics, heroic soloing and a level of emotion they have kept restrained. As the bright burn of the lead work teases over the intense drumming, there is a controlled, yet chaotic feel of release that is beautifully conveyed without words.
If Glass Future saw the band grow to a stature that gave them the platform to push on from, Crucible & Ruin is a rocket ship that should launch them into the stratosphere. If their transatlantic brethren Sergeant Thunderhoof laid down the gauntlet for raising the benchmark on tight, conceptual storytelling, then Howling Giantstand shoulder to shoulder and throw down a gauntlet of their own.
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
