Remember when people lost their minds because APRIL WINE had three guitarists in their lineup? Or LYNYRD SKYNRD? Not that old? Okay, well, trust me, people lost their minds. Now you can too. SLEEPING GIANT, stoner/doom metalists from Iceland feature a three-guitarist line up. Rejoice. On February 2, 2026, SLEEPING GIANT released their debut album, The Beauty of Obliteration via Octopus Rising and Argonaunta Records. It's laden with sludgy riffs, fantasy lore, and . . . well, that's it. But what else do you need? Did I mention three guitarists? Some great songwriting too, complex orchestrations, strong vocals, a bass player that's not afraid to get front and center. Why are we still talking about this? This band is legit. Let's move on.   

Just to clarify, this is not the SLEEPING GIANT Christian metalcore band from the US. Nor is it the SLEEPING GIANT stoner metal band from Spain nor the SLEEPING GIANT from Australia. Which begs the question, is it that hard to research a band name before committing to it? Just saying. But band names aside, The Beauty of Obliteration is a killer album. 

With six tracks and 35 minutes of runtime, it just edged its way past an EP, but to be honest if you could trade out heft for duration, this would be a double album.  Every track is of standout quality, but it does seem like it picks up momentum as it progresses, like Sisyphus took the day off and let that proverbial stone just roll on down the hill picking up speed all the way.

My favs are "The Monk," a hefty seven minute track that beats you senseless; "Slay the King of Hell" with riffage that sounds like a literal translation of the title; and "Venom Ripper, Gorgon Blaster" that comes on so fast and hard you might need to get a commercial license to listen to it in the car. I also loved "Abysmal Flame," a bluesy badass track. And, yep, I just listed off tracks four through six all in a row. Like I said, this album picks up speed as it goes along.

The lineup I want to see: SLEEPING GIANT, HOWLING GIANT, THE SWORD. After the show we could all play D&D and then go to a Renaissance Festival. But seriously, that would be a great lineup, and I would be totally up for the rest of it if we could get enough players to commit. Give me a buzz and let me know. But as far as The Beauty of Obliteration, totally killer album. Buy it and partake of the legend.