King Giant-Dismal Hollow

Graveyard Hill
2012


Northern Virgina-based quintet King Giant return with their second album. I remember hearing and enjoying their debut just a little over a year ago. So they have been busy in getting sophomore releases out so quickly. Really "Dismal Hollow" follows up a similar sound to the debut. This is groove inspired fuzz rock that blends 70's influences, stoner rock and even acts like the Cult and Danzig to some extent. The major strength here are the huge hooks that dominate tracks like "Tale of Mathias", "O' Drifter" and "The Fog". They know how to use and manipulate simple riffs and beats and squeeze all they can out of them. The only problem here is a number of the songs are quite similar. Since they are mostly basic to begin with this means a few songs lose some of their momentum before the running time is over. Not an album I could listen to all of the time, but certainly an album that's worth a listen.