Listen now to the story of a star cross'd tour that fell
apart.
Howling Giant were supposed to hit English shores for a more than a week of dates with Sergeant Thunderhoof earlier this year. The two bands have been friends for years, this would be the pinnacle of their friendship and a massive next step for Howling Giant who have never been to Europe. Then they would go onto touring Europe with Horseburner. Of course... coronavirus hit.
This split, which is the second chapter in the Turned to Stone split 12" series, features the longest tracks ever done by Howling Giant and Sergeant Thunderhoof.It's release was meant to be a celebration of that UK tour. Evidence of one of the coolest tour packages we at Ripple have ever been involved with.
Now of course it's just a reminder of what could have been. That being said - it's an amazing reminder. The bands come together on this split to tell an amazing multi part story of two legendary Japanese sword smiths, Muramasa and Masamune. The bands songs function as interconnected musical movements.
In the two pieces, Muramasa and Masamune have a contest to determine who was the superior swordsmith, each crafting a blade of masterful quality and then facing off at the edge of a river.
Suffice it to say - its pretty epic. Both bands are pushing themselves to the absolute limit and recounting an epic tale from a time forgot.
Our vinyl pre-order sold out almost right away, which tells you this is very much worth downloading. It's only $6, so you get more than enough bang for your buck!
Head over to the Bandcamp and grab yours: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-2-masamune-muramasa
Grab The Split
PS: Because of how long the songs are you can't stream either yet. That being said, you can stream a really cool excerpt of Howling Giant's contribution - check it out: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-2-masamune-muramasa
