GREENLEAF,HOWLING GIANT, HIGH DESERT QUEEN

Greenleaf became a proper band after more than a decade as a loose collective of friends making70s-inspired hard rock and proto-metal. Led by guitarist Tommi Holappa, co-founder of European desertrock originators Dozer, various configurations of Greenleaf with personnel from Lowrider, Truckfighters,Demon Cleaner and Dozer came and went during those early years. But after five records and twice asmany cast members rotating in and out, Tommi began to feel Greenleaf could be something more.Its evolution from side project to focused band began when Tommi reached out to the classically-trainedArvid Hällagård in 2013 to sing on a new track. Arvid’s early stoner rock band Giant Space Cruiser hadplayed with Dozer some years before, and Tommi had kept tabs on the charismatic singer. Along withdrummer Sebastian Olsson, who began as a fill-in but would become the second-longest tenuredGreenleaf member behind Tommi, they worked on one song and then another, Arvid taking things in adifferent… [read more]

Despite Nashville’s reputation for assembly-line pop country, the town called Music City is a place of deep history, where brilliant songwriters and virtuoso session players keep dozens of musical legacies burning bright. Nashville’s preeminent fuzz-psych power trio Howling Giant live in the pocket of that lineage, and on their eagerly awaited second full-length, Glass Future, they kick out the righteous jams with furrowed determination and wild abandon.

Howling Giant formed in Nashville nearly ten years ago with the union of guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine, drummer/vocalist Zach Wheeler, and bassist/vocalist Roger Marks. From day one, the trio locked into a musical groove of thunderous metal, proggy acrobatics, psychedelic flourishes and soaring melodic vocals, telling stories of fantasy and adventure with such sheer force of will that they seemed capable of opening a window to other dimensions. Their early years saw a flurry of recorded activity, with an acclaimed self-titled EP in 20… [read more]