Howling Giant – Glass Future
Reviewed by: Jim Harrison
Review score: 8.5
Nashville stoner metal masters Howling Giant are set to release their second full-length album, Glass Future. This anticipated follow up from their impressive debut album, The Space Between Worlds (2019) keeps their vision of storytelling set to a musical soundscape in line.
One of the strengths of this band is that all three members pitch in with vocal duties. Tom Polzine’s memorable guitar licks mixed with Sebastian Baltes stalking bass and Zack Wheeler’s drum groove showcase how musically talented this band is.
The album begins with a short intro ‘Hourglass’ which has a definite sci-fi direction. This leads into ‘Siren Song’ that has a Rush meets Voivod vibe to it. This is a killer track and the guitar work is fantastic. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album and starts things off strong. ‘Aluminum Crown’ is one of the three early releases giving fans some insight on how good this album is. The drums and bass on this track showcase the cool vocal progressive sound. The track slows things down and creates a thick groove.
‘Hank In A Hurricane’ speed things up again with a cool guitar riff that sends this song into motion. This is another one of my favourite tracks and again has a deep progressive sound to it but mixes it up with a traditional vibe. This would be a great live song choice. ‘First Blood Of Melchor’ is one of the heaviest tracks on the album with a massive guitar sound. It is an instrumental track and showcases how tight this band is musically.
‘Glass Future’ is another track that was an early release. This track has a great flow and again the guitar shines on this. ‘Tempest And The Liar’s Gateway’ has an ominous beginning creating a darker-sounding track that has a definite doom sound to it. ‘Sunken City’ which is one of the other three early releases and continues the sci-fi direction with the song speeding up with a cool guitar riff.
‘Juggernaut’ starts with a smoking guitar riff and this song has a cool psychedelic groove and a thumping baseline. It is another highlight song for me. The album finishes off with the longest track ‘There’s Time Now’ at just over six and a half minutes. What an ending to a superb album with a cool bluesy guitar sound that mixes perfectly with the progressive direction and vocals on this song.
In this musical era where there are so many bands releasing albums, Howling Giant have created more of an experience than just an album. It separates them from other releases and is an album you can listen to over and over picking up nuances and surprises that you didn’t hear prior.
This is a lyrically, vocally and musically intelligent project and I recommend this for any metal fan looking to immerse themselves into the music, pushing that progressive, stoner vibe to the max.
Glass Future drops via Magnetic Eye Records on October 27th.