King Giant’s previous album, Dismal Hollow, was more of a grower than a shower for me, but by the time I saw ’em live in Milwaukee last summer, I was fully a fan. Though they hail from the D.C. area, you couldn’t call ’em a band of Pentagram worshippers. File under doom, perhaps, but if there’s an outfit for whom the “southern metal” tag fits, it’s gotta be these guys.
Hell, “The One That God Forgot To Save” sounds like it could be an outlaw country song, albeit with some heavy-stoner rock breakdowns that would blow Eric Church away and a few riffs that recall “Appomattox” (the tune from their last album, that is). Likewise, “Requiem for a Drunkard” has a gritty, bluesy feel not unlike Gideon Smith, but with extra fuzz ‘n distortion thrown in for good measure.
“Trail of Thorns” is pretty straightforward stoner-rock fare, albeit with an extra pinch of southern grit. And “The Gentleman Carny” is true doom metal, with a chorus riff as heavy as any you’ll hear, and a couple tempo changes to mix it up. I gotta give ’em credit—no two tunes sound the same, and that’s definitely a good thing.
That said, this one might be more of a grower, too. It’s not blowing me away right off the bat.
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