Giant return with what’s been described as “a powerful new chapter” in their storied career, featuring a fresh lineup that propels the band’s signature sound to new heights. Due out on 16th May is new album Stand And Deliver, via Frontiers Music Srl and to coincide with the announcement, the band’s first single and accompanying lyric video, ‘Hold The Night’, has just been released.
Stand And Deliver once more features co-founder David Huff on drums, Mike Brignardello on bass, Kent Hilli (of Perfect Plan) as lead vocalist, with the addition of Jimmy Westerlund (One Desire) on guitars. Westerlund also takes on mixing duties alongside Alessandro Del Vecchio, who adds his touch on keyboards as a featured guest.
The album also includes some gems penned by the original guitarist and singer Dann Huff including ‘Time To Call It Love’ (a collaboration with the late Mark Spiro), ‘Holdin’ On For Dear Life’ and ‘Paradise Found’, coming both from his sessions with Van Stephenson, that strongly link the new album especially with the sound of the classic album Time To Burn.
However, with this new album, Giant deliver the hard-hitting rock and melodic hooks that fans have come to expect, while pushing the boundaries of the genre with a state-of-the-art production.
David Huff expressed his excitement for the new album thus:“Making Giant records has always been our passion! Thanks to everyone at Frontiers we can make our dreams happen. I know it’s a bit of a different lineup but whoever is in the lineup the legacy of Giant lives on”.
Originally formed in the late ’80s by brothers Dann and David Huff, together with the experienced jazz and rock keyboardist Alan Pasqua and Nashville session bass player Mike Brignardello, Giant became one of the most respected bands of the melodic hard rock scene, with the release of their debut album Last Of The Runaways (A&M Records, 1989).
Following countless live performances in support of their debut, the band released the follow-up Time To Burn (Epic, 1991), an album still regarded as a main source of influence for many melodic and hard rock bands who came after. With the sudden change of musical climate in the early ’90s, Giant disbanded with their members becoming involved in different projects, both Huff brothers becoming well respected producers.
In 2001, Frontiers prompted Giant to release III, an album that would prove to be a landmark in the growth of the new era melodic rock scene, particularly in Europe. Unfortunately, Dann Huff’s busy schedule along with the other members’ commitments made the reunion impossible to carry on as had originally been planned; albeit, the vision of bringing Giant back as a band with a recording and touring line-up was something that the band was still open to exploring, even if Dann had to step away.
Thus, original members, drummer David Huff and bassist Mike Brignardello, with the blessing of Dann started endless research for the right musicians that could be part of a renewed Giant line-up. In the end, the choice fell on vocalist Terry Brock (ex-Strangeways) and guitarist John Roth (Winger, Starship). The resulting album, Promise Land, soon became a fan favourite, showcasing top quality songwriting and performances. Giant, however, went into hibernation again, with the exception of a one-off show in 2017, where the original band members reunited on a Nashville club stage for a charity event.
That event piqued fan interest and Frontiers and David Huff started talking again to see if they could manage to find the right formula for a new album from Giant. When the Swedish band Perfect Plan released a cover version of the Giant’s original hit ‘Stay’ in 2019, then all pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. Huff and Brignardello were keen on the idea of Kent Hilli handling lead vocals for the next Giant release. Dann Huff gave his seal of approval, appearing on lead guitar on the single ‘Never Die Young’, anticipating the successful release in 2022 of the Shifting Time album.
Stand And Deliver features the tracks:‘It’s Not Right’, ‘A Night To Remember’, ‘Hold The Night’, ‘I Will Believe’, ‘Beggars Can’t Be Choosers’, ‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’, ‘Stand And Deliver’, ‘Time To Call It Love’, ‘Holdin’ On For Dear Life’, ‘Paradise Found’ and ‘Pleasure Dome’ It can be ordered here.
