Song of the Day: “Scepter and Scythe” by Howling Giant

Nov 11, 2025

For the last 10 years or so, Nashville, TN’s Howling Giant have been furiously honing their indie-psych-stoner-prog sound and their latest, Crucible & Ruin, is a massive step forward for them, solidifying their place in the not-pop musical landscape.

Crucible & Ruin, represents their heaviest, most ambitious, and most cohesive work to date. Having grown into a quartet with the addition of guitarist/synth player Adrian Lee Zambrano, the Nashville outfit utilizes their expanded sonic palette to create a concept album exploring a novice deity, primordial chaos, and a celestial archivist. This expansion translates their “music to play D&D by” into a thicker, more aggressive sound than 2023’s Glass Future.

Tracks like the opener “Canyons” and the Mastodon-esque heft of “Beholder I: Downfall” showcase this raw, studio-captured power, yet they never sacrifice the band’s signature strength: the vocal harmonies. The result is a dynamic album that moves effortlessly from psychedelic, prog-rock complexity to immediate, riff-driven metal, all grounded by Zach Wheeler’s intricate, powerhouse drumming and Tom Polzine’s confident lead vocal delivery.

The album’s strongest moment is “Scepter and Scythe.” This track stands out because it perfectly captures the frenetic, aggressive energy of the expanded lineup while retaining the band’s sharp melodic sense. With the propulsive energy of the dual-guitar approach, the song attacks immediately with a tightly wound, galloping rhythm that provides relentless momentum. Its accessibility, however, lies in the underlying groove that runs counter to the main riff (especially in the halftime bits), creating a sense of controlled chaos. This relentless technical interplay, combined with the anthemic, soaring vocal hook, makes it a satisfying rush of sound. “Scepter and Scythe” embodies the heavier, more focused direction of Crucible & Ruin, proving Howling Giant can deliver peak intensity while maintaining a complex progressive architecture.