“”Sleeping Giant” was always a standout song for me on Mastodon’s Blood Mountain. After two thrashy, pummeling tracks, “Sleeping Giant” slows the pace and ups the atmosphere, doling out chunky riffs and creepy leads. Its name aptly captures its role on Blood Mountain, feeling like the stirrings of an album (and a band) with gigantic aspirations. Speaking of slow risers, Iceland’s Sleeping Giant has finally roused for their first LP after forming in 2006.” Giant-sized shoes to fill.
They say 75% of a Finnish park ranger’s job is finding black metal bands lost in the woods shooting album covers. If Germany’s park rangers had a similar issue, they’d likely struggle most with newcomers Liljevars Brann, given how musically deep into the woods they venture in their debut, Helja Kor. Written in a fictional blend of German and Norwegian, and dubbed “mystical black metal with a folkloric edge,” does Helja Kor conjure roots that drag you into the forest’s heart, or are these woods still too close to the parking lot?
