Howling Giant
Black Hole Space Wizard II
(Independent)
Howling Giant may be passed over to you as a stoner rock band or something of the ilk, but they’re far too experimental and avant garde in nature to be narrowed into a small definitive genre. Their first album in the Black Hole Space Wizard chronology was some of the heaviest and most enchanting music I heard last year. Well they’re back for Part II.
Fuzz. Acid. Rock. Space. Doom. Stoner. Post-Post-Post Hawkwind. I don't care what you call it, this album is so mood lifting. Props to them for following up on the first chapter with an awesome force of astral boogie.
‘Henry Tate’ is a fitting first strike. It prepares the listener for what is on the horizon without overindulging. Within its first minute, the album begins to sound like a sojourn into the stars. Beginning an album with an instrumental is a pretty risky move, but Howling Giant did well to make sure that this track lays the foundation for Black Hole Space Wizard II. Whatever inspired this tune, it’s a real jammer and my face may have been melted off in the aftermath.
‘The Pioneer’ is a track that I kept coming back to. It has a really cool vibe, and it’s definitely here where one can start to see some of the Hawkwind influences sinking in. This is definitely a genuine rock band. They are out there in space conceptually, but in a literal sense, they remain solid rockers doing rock & roll things.
‘Visions’ would leave one wondering just what exactly these guys are on over in the studio. This isn’t necessarily a suggestion toward drug use, but esoterically in mind and spirit, they’re really on a special wavelength that delivers something incredible when combined into a creative force. Some parallels may be drawn to Explosions In The Sky, for their ability to work within multiple octaves and design melodies that reach incredibly ambient heights. Just as this song reaches its zenith, it tumbles back down into an eclectic rush of melody and awe inspiring brilliance that will level you. Unbelievably, the song drifts into “Forest Speaks’ in such a way that one might not even notice that they’re on the next track until the second instrumental is almost finished.
The crescendo lands at ‘Circle of Druids.’
A warped sample of someone speaking echoes into the air as the song starts. “Take this firefly, traveler, and let it guide you. But be warned, do not stray from its light,” the astral voices warns. The lyrics are seeping into the spirit smoothly, elevated by the titanic riffs of this Nashville group sequestered between sweeping vistas of mountains, hills, and small communities dotting the countryside along Tennessee. Surely, somewhere in that terrestrial wonderland that is Tennessee’s earthly panorama, Howling Giant emerged with their firefly burning brightly in the void.
If you are not ready to land, then you will play this album back again. Black Hole Space Wizard II is available now, and you can check out the album or order it on bandcamp!
