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.

King Giant-Southern Darkness

2010

So if a band calls themselves King Giant then their sound better be massive because of the Giant part and you better be impressive due to the King part. Indeed this band hits on both of those counts. This is southern fried, extremely twangy stoner-sludge metal from a band who spares nothing and delivers almost everything. Think Clutch colliding with Ozzy-era Sabbath only with even more grooves in their arsenal. King Giant hail from the Northern Virginia/DC area which has been a hotbed for doom/stoner acts for year. What I enjoyed most about this album was King Giant's ability to mix melodies with thundering rhythms to create a soulful yet frequently ominous atmosphere. This band has been around since 2006 and they have obviously been around long enough to really get a strong handle on their sound. They bring various components including southern rock, doom/stoner and classic metal, but they manage to pull all of these styles into their own gritty sound. The final result is quite impressive and instantly likable. "Southern Darkness" was one of those albums where I heard it once and it soaked in right away. Each additional play was just icing on the cake and now the songs are firmly embedded in my memory. This is an album I expect to be spinning for the rest of the year and beyond.


www.myspace.com/kinggiant