{"id":489303,"date":"2026-02-21T05:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489303\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T05:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:55:11","slug":"sleeping-giant-the-beauty-of-obliteration-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489303\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleeping Giant – The Beauty of Obliteration Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cSleeping Giant\u201d was always a standout song for me on Mastodon\u2019s Blood Mountain. After two thrashy, pummeling tracks, \u201cSleeping Giant\u201d 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\u2019s Sleeping Giant has finally roused for their first LP after forming in 2006. It\u2019s eminently plausible that this sludgy stoner-doom sextet derives their moniker from the Blood Mountain song, seeing as they cite early Mastodon as a sonic touchstone. Though it would be unfair to expect The Beauty of Obliteration to make as big a first impression as Remission, it\u2019s more than fair to expect a debut with punishing riffs, gnarly vocals, and some curveballs.<\/p>\n

The Beauty of Obliteration demonstrates some mighty fine riff-smithing. This may be because Sleeping Giant\u2014expanding upon the maxim that \u2018two heads are better than one\u2019\u2014is working with three heads. The guitar Cerberus of Finnbogi J\u00f6kull, \u00c1rni Bj\u00f6rn Bj\u00f6rnsson, and Gu\u00f0mundur Eir\u00edksson wield an arsenal of doomy dirges (\u201cConqueror\u201d), stonery shuffles (\u201cAbysmal Flame\u201d), and thrashy assaults (\u201cVenom Ripper, Gorgon Blaster\u201d). Some of these riffs even go straight to the source, boasting a Sabbathy swagger (\u201cThe Monk\u201d). Early Mastodon certainly resonates throughout, but the guitarwork makes it clear that these Icelanders also get High on Fire. Indeed, the recurring shifts between stoner-doom and thrash, coupled with the beefy guitar tones, summon the presence of latter-day Matt Pike. But Sleeping Giant aren\u2019t just their three-headed guitar monster; drummer \u00c1smundur J\u00f3hannsson and bassist Einar Darri Einarsson hold down the low end. Einarsson in particular shines, tastefully filling up negative space with bluesy runs (\u201cConqueror\u201d).<\/p>\n

Mobilizer of Evil by Sleeping Giant<\/a><\/p>\n

Rounding out Sleeping Giant\u2019s lineup is vocalist Oddur Freyr \u00deorsteinsson, who gives The Beauty of Obliteration a death metal edge. Thusly calling the band death-doom, though, wouldn\u2019t be accurate\u2014\u2019necrotic stoner-doom\u2019 is my best attempt at describing the band\u2019s layering of an extreme aesthetic over a mostly traditional riffing style. \u00deorsteinsson possesses a powerful guttural, reminding me of the low registers of Travis Ryan and Randy Blythe. He even dips into some slimy gurgling on \u201cThe Monk\u201d as it shifts into a faster, more melodic gear. Though these gurgles provide contrast, it\u2019s a contrast that doesn\u2019t necessarily add to or accentuate the part. This gurgling is a microcosm of how I feel about the vocals on The Beauty of Obliteration as a whole. They are performed well and don\u2019t overtly clash with the instrumentation, and yet I\u2019m not sure if they are doing anything other than marking Sleeping Giant as \u2018extreme.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As a unit, Sleeping Giant have molded a debut that roves between riff styles, for better or worse. \u201cConqueror\u201d and \u201cMobilizer of Evil\u201d map out the terrain the rest of the album explores, showing a band comfortable with both low and high BPMs. \u201cThe Monk\u201d gets closest to the kind of unhinged glory of early Mastodon, though its shift from doom to thrash feels a bit redundant, even at this early juncture in the album. The biggest curveball on The Beauty of Obliteration is its penultimate track, \u201cVenom Rippers, Gorgon Blaster.\u201d A thrash ripper under three minutes, it\u2019s an enlivening change of pace from tracks that otherwise hover between four and nine minutes. It\u2019s also an effective transition between the orgiastic riff-fest of \u201cSlay the King of Hell\u201d (my favorite track) and the closer. \u201cAbysmal Flame\u201d starts strong with a chunky monkey that morphs into an almost melodeath-style earworm. The sparse, feedbacky ending, however, is an underwhelming sendoff.<\/p>\n

Their namesake may create unrealistic expectations, but Sleeping Giant has delivered the goods with their long-awaited debut. At 6 tracks in 35 minutes, The Beauty of Obliteration is a tight, well-produced package with tons of hummable riffs. Though the songwriting is by no means bad, the riffs themselves feel more noteworthy than the songs they populate. The gutturals give Sleeping Giant a different vibe than typical stoner-doom, but I hope that future outings see the vocals actively serving the songs more. If you dig giant riffs, you won\u2019t want to sleep on these Icelanders.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.0\/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: V4 OR ~316 kb\/s VBR mp3
Label: Octopus Rising (sub-label of Argonauta Records)<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n