Lmst

By Dear Hollow

Howling Giant occupies such an odd place within its scene. The Nashville collective is stoner metal and psych rock to the core in an energetic way that recalls the down-and-dirty acts like High on Fire or Mastodon, but layers of melody and creative chord usage feel progressive a la Intronaut or Baroness and the triple vocal harmonies are catchy yet evasive, not unlike Torche or Helmet. They also don’t take things too seriously, with a solid sense of humor and a relatable relationship with fans to bring their formidable technical skill to earth.1 Now a release removed from the formidable debut full-length The Space Between Stars and even more from the Black Hole Space Wizard suite, Howling Giant proves their worth once more.

To address the elephant in the room, Glass Future saw Howling Giant’s progressive tendencies flying their freak flag too much. While attempting to keep the stoner murk and reconcile it with aptly crystalline melody, the band lost what is so great about them: solid songwriting. It’s completely contrary to what gave them the edge over genre mates Sergeant Thunderhoof in their dueling split – their head-first dabbling in more elusive chord progressions felt like a more stoner-inclined dime-store version of Intronaut’s Habitual Levitations. This is what makes third full-length Crucible & Ruin so refreshing:2 it’s everything you love about the Nashville now-quartet – and more. The template of killer riffs, soaring choruses, searing solos, and stoner haze is amplified by new guitarist/synth player Adrian Zambrano – adding layers and textures to Howling Giant’s already winning formula.

Howling Giant feels reinvigorated with Crucible & Ruin. Songwriting prowess on full display, the kitchen sink of riff, solo, melody, and catchiness has never looked so clean. While some remnants of Glass Future hang around in more evasive chord structures and emphasis on melody (instrumental “Lesser Gods”), the tracks shift from the anthemic to the kickass, rounded out by the understated Helmet-esque triple-vocal attack – a potentially divisive element of Howling Giant’s sound –3 and that warm stoner haze. Chunky riffs dominate and add a jolt of energy (“Hunter’s Mark,” “Beholder I: Downfall”), while anthemic choruses and transcendent chord progressions take listeners to a psychedelic heaven (“Archon,” “Archivist”). Southern fried bluesy vibes a la All Them Witches also grace the vibe with a backwoods atmosphere (“Beholder II: Labyrinth,” “Melchor’s Bones”), paying homage to their home state of Tennessee. All assets culminate in the two parts of “Beholder,” the Phrygian key giving them a more epic and grandiose feel.

With the addition of Zambrano, Howling Giant has never felt so fleshed out. Compared to the flashy vocals and melodies of Sergeant Thunderhoof, Howling Giant has always been a meat-and-potatoes type of band, but Crucible & Ruin finds the band building upon this template using more versatility in its musical arsenal. Layers of melodic overlays grace rhythmic punch a purpose and intensity (“Canyons,” “Scythe and Scepter”), the tasteful balance between the melodic and the skronky add intrigue and madness (“Hunter’s Mark,” “Archon,” “Beholder I: Downfall”), and ethereal atmosphere is built atop and duels with more downtuned riffs and bass (“Lesser Gods,” “Archivist,” “Beholder II: Labyrinth”). The dueling guitars add a much-needed and ridiculously tantalizing dimension that takes Howling Giant’s already solid sound to new heights.

Howling Giant’s vocal approach of hyper harmonies will remain a divisive element, the central riff and spoken word of “Melchor’s Bones” can get a bit repetitive, and instrumental “Lesser Gods” is a bit questionable, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that it’s the band’s best album to date. Crucible & Ruin distills everything that makes Howling Giant great and beefs it up, weaponizing their already formidable songwriting with Zambrano’s melodic and textural synth and fretwork. Featuring riffs upon riffs with complex songwriting that doesn’t fly over listeners’ heads, relatable vocals that don’t lose their punch, and new guitar work that takes the band to new heights, across a forty-eight-minute runtime that zips by, it’s hard not to bob your head. While comparisons to Mastodon, Baroness, and Anciients are fair, Howling Giant is its own beast, an intersection of stoner haze, riffy intensity, and melodic taste. Crucible & Ruin caught me by surprise in the best way, and is sure to appear at year-end.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Websites: howlinggiant.bandcamp.com | howlinggiant.com | facebook.com/howlinggiant
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2025

#2025 #40 #AllThemWitches #AmericanMetal #Anciients #Baroness #CrucibleRuin #CryOfTheAfflicted #Helmet #HighOnFire #HowlingGiant #Intronaut #MagneticEyeRecords #Mastodon #Oct25 #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #SergeantThunderhoof #StonerDoomMetal #StonerMetal #StonerRock #Torche

Wolves – Self-Titled Review

By Dear Hollow

Remember when hardcore was, like, hardcore? Wolves does. The generically named yet tongue-in-cheek UK hardcore gang makes antiestablishment music cool again, but not in the tired way. It’s not the noise-and-noise-only approach of early punk’s darlings Sex Pistols or Black Flag, but it ain’t pop-punk’s catchy anthem either. It’s jerky, jagged, unhinged, and doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings – it’s angular!1 But it’s also melodic, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly sincere. Calling out fascism and nationalism and the assholes who tote them, while getting personal and vulnerable with themes of parenthood and heartbreak, Wolves offers a scathing forty-eight minute romp through both the unfriendliness and melodicism of hardcore’s storied history.

Wolves is hardcore in a traditional way, but that doesn’t forego on experimentation. The quintet at its core recalls the hardcore fury of Gallows or Verse in their punky politically inclined foot on the gas, but they toss in a generous helping of post-hardcore, healthy cup of mathcore, and a drizzle of post-metal into their stew of titles. Furthermore, four out of five members are also vocalists2 and panic chord abuse runs rampant alongside a groovy swagger. It recalls Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Poison the Well without committing to them completely, creating a hardcore album that rides neatly on the borders with intensity when needed and thoughtful melody when the situation calls for it. Both bolstered and hindered by their four vocalists and a gratuitous runtime, Self-Titled is math-curious, -core-furious, and genre-spurious debut LP.

Wolves justifies its lengthy runtime with some tasteful experimentation. While the backbone of tempo-abusing furious hardcore punk, a hefty amount of melody adds a heartfelt ache to the tracks (“All or Something”), while post-metal’s dirge-like hypnotism appears to slow things down in a far more somber and dreary tone (“New Liver, Same Eagle”). These moments can be hit-or-miss, however, as the more Intronaut-inspired expanses that rely on clean vocals fall drearily flat (“A Stolen Horse”), the bluesy riffs can grate after so many reiterations (“A Guide to Accepting One’s Fate”), and the more chaotic mathcore faithful can derail the otherwise interesting grooves (“Nicaea to See You (To See You Nicaea)”). Furthermore, although the melodic nature recalls the yearning moments of Counterparts or The Ghost Inside, the four-vocal attack does not bode well, the fry vocals feeling particularly grating against the layered plucking (“All or Something,” “A Stolen Horse”).

Thankfully then, the bulk of Self-Titled is one hell of a beatdown romp that toes the line between its influences in a relentless blend of mathy and groovy. Wonky panic chords and dissonant technical sweeps courtesy of The Dillinger Escape Plan add a desperate and unhinged dimension (“LEECHES!,” “Emergency Equipment”), while bluesy swagger that recalls the heyday of Every Time I Die makes riffs sound “yuuuuge” against the backdrop of blistering hardcore tempos, resulting in some seriously mosh-worthy content (“Thirteen Crows and One Pigeon,” “The Rich Man and the Sea”). Second track “Reformed (Try Love)” is of special note, that while its groovy riffs are rad, the spoken word callout is the most hardcore thing I’ve heard this year, calling out those who are “one step from Nazi propaganda” and nationalism-flirting politicians, businessmen, and influencers, British and American: “Mate, they don’t give a fuck about you, but you′ve let them whisper in your ear… ’cause it′s easier to hate than to look in a fucking mirror.” In Wolves’ words, “Christ, what a shower of cunts.”

Wolves’ Self-Titled is all about balance, as their unapologetic brashness blends surprisingly well with their tongue-in-cheek vibe and vulnerable melodics. At its core, it’s a math-curious hardcore romp that fits neatly alongside the likes of both Gallows, Botch, and even Stray from the Path, so it’s easy to forgive the overloud vocals, mediocre cleans, periodically gratuitous repetition, and album length. When its experimental edge succeeds, it’s a home run, but that’s not the star of the show – its political edge and weaponized mathcore influence will rip you a new one. Wolves is here to make sure you’re not “duped by absolute scumbags” and have a rip-roaring time doing it.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Ripcord Records
Websites: theycalluswolves.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/theycalluswolves
Releases Worldwide: September 5th, 2025

#2025 #30 #BlackFlag #Botch #BritishMetal #Counterparts #EveryTimeIDie #Gallows #HardcorePunk #Intronaut #Mathcore #PoisonTheWell #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #RipcordRecords #SelfTitled #Sep25 #SexPistols #StrayFromThePath #TheDillingerEscapePlan #TheGhostInside #Verse #Wolves

#TheOcean: Heliocentric

https://album.link/m48jtzzcvpfc9

#PostíMetal #PostRock #ProgressiveMetal

FFO #BetweenTheBuriedAndMe #Intronaut #Psychonaut

#VinylArt #VinylLuv #VinylPorn

The Ocean's "Heliocentric" double gatefold LP, front cover: silver foil on white

The Ocean's "Heliocentric" double gatefold LP, back cover: silver foil on white

The Ocean's "Heliocentric" double gatefold LP, inside cover folded out: silver on white, showing contellations

Anciients – Beyond the Reach of the Sun Review

By Saunders

Canada’s Anciients made an explosive impact on a pair of ambitious albums, courtesy of 2013’s promising Heart of Oak debut, and 2016’s flawed though frequently great sophomore opus Voice of the Void. Displaying a fresh penchant for chunky, intricate progressive metal featuring sludge, stoner and psychedelic elements, Anciients displayed influences like early Mastodon, Intronaut and Opeth as touchstones to a vibrant sound they could call their own. Then shit went dark as a series of personal events and line-up changes halted momentum. News of a long-awaited return filtered through, resulting in the release of their eagerly awaited third album Beyond the Reach of the Sun, featuring striking Adam Burke cover art. Hardships and the passage of time perhaps places question marks on whether Anciients can expand upon their formula to achieve prime career results.

Beyond the Reach of the Sun exhibits trademark songwriting characteristics and fresh ideas, whipped into an ambitious prog opus, carrying familiar traits from its predecessors, while forging its own path. Heart of Oak and Voice of the Void have grown in stature over the years; however, I have been patiently waiting for Anciients to deliver a knockout album to fulfill their enormous potential. Beyond the Reach of the Sun features a gloomy, melancholic undertone contrasting against a vibrant and adventurous songwriting framework that doubles down on the prog without neglecting the other multi-genre hues, including shades of hard rock, sludge, folk, psych, and death. Parting ways with guitarist/co-vocalist Chris Dyck, mastermind Kenny Cook (vocals/guitars) and drummer Mike Hannay are joined by new members Brock MacInnes (guitars) and Rory O’Brien (bass). Cook handles all vocal duties, with his smoother, emotive croons complimented by beefy, Åkerfeldt-esque death growls for extra punch.

Beyond the Reach of the Sun sounds like a blockbuster culmination of the band’s career to date, rejuvenated after the preceding tumultuous years. The exuberant, technical flourishes and proggy indulgences are ever present, while shreddy, groovy guitar work forms a gripping center point. Like many a grand prog album, Beyond the Reach of the Sun operates best in its entirety. The slightly odd single choices (“Melt the Crown,” “Cloak of the Vast and Black,” and “In the Absence of Wisdom”) fit fluidly in full album context, fine examples of their intricate, psych-enhanced prog metal and hooky songcraft. Soaring melodies, gripping musicianship and mellower musings collide with more full-blooded riff and vocal assaults. Longer form cut “Forbidden Sanctuary” is a curious opening selection. Its slow build heightens tension before unfurling into an effectively moody, progressive sludge rocker. Cook’s excellent clean vocal melodies worm their way into your brain as sparkling guitar harmonies and noodling jams give way to an all-guns-blazing climax, where death roars and frantic blasts take hold.

More concise heavier songs color the album’s varied palette and progressive overtones. “Despoiled” boasts serious fucking teeth to match its groovier prog rock swagger, enlivened by beefed-up riffs, irresistible hooks, and an intense, headbangable closing gallop. Meanwhile, “The Torch” is another stellar, memorable example of Anciients digging into their heavier roots, unleashing one of many sizzling guitar solos rippling through the album. Beyond the Reach of the Sun is an epic guitar album, with Cook and MacInnes the stars of the show. Exuding confidence, technicality and style, the duo stuff the album full of gorgeous melodies and harmonies, psychedelic touches, and burly sludge rock meets prog-death riffage. Cook also nails his increased vocal responsibilities. His cleans are constantly gripping, sounding more confident and assured, while expressing the fragile emotional journey that led to the album’s eventual conception. Vocal highlights are aplenty, however, the mournful, yet hopeful turn on doom-laced epic “Is it Your God” hits with particularly wrenching impact. Meanwhile, the regularly deployed death growls land some killer blows, lending a punch of heaviness to proceedings.

Not all is peachy. Although Anciients most concise and consistent album, self-editing could still use improvement. While the album doesn’t lag or stall as such, a few meandering moments suggest careful trimming of the fattier bits may have reaped benefits. The solid production lacks dynamics, and a warmer, breathable master would have done wonders, while the meatier guitar sections could stand to pack more weight and horsepower. Song sequencing could use a subtle tweak as well. Overall, these are relatively minor quibbles in the big scheme of things and fail to significantly hinder a superbly written and performed album, marking a welcome return and striking evolution of the Anciients sound and wondrous progressive metal showcase.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6| Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: anciients.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/ANCIIENTSRIFFS
Releases Worldwide: August 30th, 2024

#2024 #40 #Anciients #BeyondTheReachOfTheSun #CanadianMetal #Intronaut #Mastodon #Opeth #ProgRock #ProgressiveDeath #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #SeasonOfMistRecords #SludgeRock

Distances – Abstruse Review

By Dear Hollow

In 2013, I attended a concert in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with hopes of seeing Intronaut and Scale the Summit, both having released widely lauded albums Habitual Levitations and The Migration, respectively. However, because I’m a good little Hollow, I decided to stop in for the openers. The youth center in which this was played was scrawled with graffiti in the dim lighting, and the stage was a makeshift affair about a foot or less off the ground, and a row of beaten couches comprised the seating. When I was welcomed into the concert area, Albuquerque quartet (at the time) Distances came up, a band whose numbers rivaled the audience members.1 There we stood, bobbing our heads to a post-metal sound whose colossal quality blew the roof off the shady little venue. Contrary to the Neurosis-inspired approach, there was a distinct accessible quality of the waves of sound, and after the concert I hurried home to download Distances’ 2013 album Ages.

Eleven years, two albums, and three EP’s later, we are greeted with the fifth full-length, Abstruse – and it’s business as usual. What Distances does well is forego the obscure post-metal standard set by Isis and tackle it with a Gojira-inspired groove, a honed dichotomy explored vastly in 2024. Mastermind vocalist/guitarist Karl Deubles’ Robin Staps-esque roars clash with a vicious groove that sprawls and weighs heavily, amplified by moments of placidity and post-rock clarity. There’s an urgency aboard Abstruse, and very little actively abstruse about it, rocking you like a wagon wheel with every movement and punchy riff. Distances’ offers a dense and punishing slab of post-metal and, while its front half offers better material and an identity remains a distant thought, Abstruse is worth a listen.

A track that exemplifies Distances’ approach and energy is “Empty Prose,” an atmospheric sprawler that steadily builds and builds. While many acts like Glassing and Wrvth would bask in this pristine atmosphere, the trembling snare begins rolling across the placidity, before crashing in with colossal riffs tinged with a sustaining guitar presence that wavers and shimmers between dissonance and beauty. This dichotomy is perhaps not as placid-leaning as I am making it sound, as tracks like “Terra Infirma” and “Ceaseless Lantern” are uncompromisingly heavy pendulum sways between sprawlingly dense Aeolian-era The Ocean and chuggy and complex Molten Husk-era Abest. Moments in tracks like “Full Circle” and “Pulp and Root” recall Eeli Helin’s chaotic post-metal project Mireplaner, injecting a mathy presence with unhinged beats and fierce panic chords. Bassist Kris Schiffer shines along plucking passages in tracks like “Terra Infirma” and “Empty Prose,” while Deubles’ shimmering guitar and vicious bellows are a force to be reckoned with.

The issue with Abstruse is its ultimately frontloaded affair. While the runtime recalls Abest in its relative brevity (most tracks aside from closer “Poison Dowry” remain in the three-minute to five-minute ballpark), Distances feels uncertain in its reliance on instrumental interludes in the back half, with tracks like “Contralateral” and “Passage” throttling the momentum and energy with subdued plucking passages that lend themselves to no particular sound or riff. Closer “Poison Dowry” is a bit of a letdown and indicator of the back half’s falling short, because of its ultimate lack of payoff. With “Passage” and “Pulp and Root” attempting a crescendo, it falls short with its energy relying on open strums rather than the infectious cutthroat brutality. Furthermore, while Distances’ music is an amalgamation of different post-metal approaches, the only uniqueness present is Deubles’ charismatic death metal-tinged vocals – a departure from the stereotypical Aaron Turner-worshiping barks and yells. Otherwise, channeling The Ocean, Abest, and Mireplaner aboard a prototype of Through Silver in Blood post-metal warrants a fun listen but rarely one that sticks.

I’m torn with Abstruse. The first half finds Distances embracing a sweet spot of post-metal hugeness with urgency and cutthroat intensity, while the second steals away into the night with a meandering instrumental approach and lack of purpose. Furthermore, the sound is largely inspired rather than unique, making Abstruse feel copied and pasted in spite of their formidable strengths. Despite this, Distances remains the band with a mammoth sound and a little audience, and that’s a goddamn shame, because tracks like “Two Thirty” and “Empty Prose” offer weight and contemplative punishment in an addictive and infectious way – deserving of far greater venues than tiny youth centers in Santa Fe.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: distances.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/distancesband
Releases Worldwide: January 19th, 2024

#25 #2024 #Abest #Abstruse #AmericanMetal #DeathMetal #Distances #Glassing #Gojira #GrooveMetal #Intronaut #Isis #Jan24 #Mireplaner #Neurosis #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #ScaleTheSummit #SelfRelease #TheOcean #WRVTH