(Pal Bellis Photography)
Here at WABY, we love our stoner and doom metal. On October 10th, Joint Jam hits Saratoga Springs, showcasing the excellent local talent in the 518 - led by Gozer and Black Tongue Reverend - and teaming up with Nashville’s Howling Giant on their Swords of Fortune tour. This show is going to be an all-day blast of sludgy, dirty, in-your-face trippy Rock ‘N Roll.
Festivities kick off at 3pm and run well into the night. Joint Jam is built around wellness, community, and putting the Capital Region on the map for the stoner/doom scene -forging a much-needed stop between NYC and New Hampshire.
Howling Giant’s albums are an aural adventure, pullinglisteners into a world of cosmic riffs and fantastical storytelling. I can’t wait to see their live show translate to the stage at Putnam Place.
Who is the best band or artist you’ve seen live?
There are so many to choose from, some that come to mind are Elder, Pallbearer and Anciients. All of those bands put on exciting live shows and have great music. On your 10-year anniversary release of your 2015 EP, there is a spoken-word track “WZRDLF origins”. How did the band meet and form?
Tom and Zach met in Boston and started the band as a side project and ended up moving to Nashville after college. The band started to play shows in and around Nashville, and then Sebastian stepped in when our old bass player Roger left the group in 2018. We’ve been making records and touring quite a bit since then!
Howling Giant is based in Nashville, but you certainly aren’t the stereotypical “Nashville sound”. Your music lines up greatly with the other bands on the lineup for Joint Jam. What helped you shape the sound you have today?
While we’re based in Nashville, we each come from different parts of the country and bring our own influences and inspirations to our music. Nashville is a great city with lots of different styles of music (not just country) so it’s nice to be surrounded by a variety of different styles and absorb them into our own music.
(photo TINNITUS PHITOGRAPHY)
You’ve recently added a fourth member, and the added layers are immediately noticeable on “Crucible & Ruin”. What led to bringing Adrian Lee Zambrano into the band?
At the time our friend and collaborator James Sanderson had to step back from touring. We knew Adrian from his Columbus days in Brujas del Sol and staying with him in North Carolina a few times, and knew his style and creativity would be a perfect fit for us.
You spent late spring touring overseas in Europe - what was that experience like? Had you toured there previously, and how did the crowds compare?
We toured there previously in 2023, and it felt great to be back. This time we went to a few countries that we haven’t been to before. We’re building our fanbase there and it gets better and better each time we go.
Your stop at Joint Jam in Saratoga Springs falls in the middle of your Swords of Fortune tour joining forces with Faerie Ring. As a touring band, do you bring physical copies of your music on the road, and are fans buying those or mostly shirts and other merch?
We definitely bring physical copies on the road. It’s a pretty even mix between fans buying records and shirts.After Crucible & Ruin and the current tour cycle, what’s next on the horizon for Howling Giant? We have some plans for tours in 2027, but after this current tour we’ll be switching our mindset into writing for our next record.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with WABY. Where is the best place for listeners to follow Howling Giant?
You can find us on all streaming services and social media platforms. You can purchase our music and merch on our Bandcamp page, and we occasionally livestream our rehearsals on Twitch.
