Nashville might be best known for its conveyor belt of pop-country junk food (I’m looking at you Morgan Wallen), but it has always harbored stranger spirits. Enter Howling Giant, the city’s reigning fuzz-psych warlords.
What began as a power trio has since grown into a quartet, and on Crucible & Ruin, they sound larger than ever.
The band’s early EPs built a reputation for cosmic storytelling and mammoth riffcraft. Their 2019 debut, The Space Between Worlds, proved they could stretch into a full album without losing momentum. 2023’s Glass Future, their first with bassist Sebastian Baltes (son of Accept’s Peter Baltes), showcased their triple-vocal harmonies and progressive muscle.
Crucible & Ruin raises the stakes again. New guitarist/synth player Adrian Lee Zambrano joined late in the writing process, but his presence is certainly felt. The added guitar beefs up the low-end thunder while giving the record a more aggressive edge compared to Glass Future. The band also leaned on raw live takes to bottle the room-shaking energy of their stage show.
Tracks like “Hunter’s Mark” underline Howling Giant’s progressive streak, with guitar lines that wouldn’t feel out of place on an Elder record. The band’s vocal approach sets them apart from many of their stoner rock peers—brighter, cleaner, and surprisingly accessible—without softening the impact of the riffs.
“Lesser Gods” serves as a brief but striking instrumental interlude, showcasing the group’s knack for weaving beauty into the weight of their sound. The mood darkens with “Beholder I: Downfall,” a track that digs deeper into the heavy groove, before the closer “Beholder II: Labyrinth” stretches into a Sabbathian finale. It’s a good sendoff that ties together the band’s melodic ambition with their love for old-school heaviness.
By now, most stoner rock/heavy psych fans have at least crossed paths with Howling Giant. Crucible & Ruin is their third full-length, arriving after years of near-constant touring that’s earned them a road-tested reputation not unlike King Buffalo. Sonically, there’s a kinship with King Buffalo, too. The new record often recalls King Buffalo’s Regenerator (2022), pairing brightness and heaviness in equal measure.
I usually gravitate toward the grimier side of the genre, but Howling Giant’s strength is undeniable. These guys write great songs with big hooks, strong melodies, and riffs that stick.
They’re still one of Nashville’s best-kept secrets, but this album feels like one that may expand their fanbase even further. Fans of Elder’s expansive prog, The Sword’s riff worship, Ghost’s melodic flair, and Baroness’s balance of heaviness and harmony will find plenty to love here.
Crucible & Ruin will be released via Magnetic Eye Records on Halloween.
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