"It's really exciting because we're getting to some places we haven't played as a band yet, so it's definitely our biggest tour and it's good to see it organically growing," drummer Shelton Woolright said this week.
The Auckland raised former drummer of the multiplatinum-selling band Blindspott checked out the British music scene with Kiwi friend and bass player Paul Matthews (Tadpole, Stylus) and they started writing songs together in late 2008.
"We wrote a song called City Limits, which was our first hit single off this record, and we thought, 'We've got to find a vocalist here'. We auditioned 160 people and we found an English vocalist called Ed Martin [Volume] and it was pretty much the start of I Am Giant ... It feels like a continuation of every band we've been in and things are moving fast."
Keen to hit the touring circuit, the trio recruited English guitarist Max O'Donald after hearing 120 guitarists, then recently replaced him with former Auckland guitarist Aja Timu (Blindspott).
"Me and Paul write the majority of the music and Ed comes up with the majority of melodies, then Paul pens probably 90% of the lyrics and Paul and I co-produce the record with Forrester Savell," Woolright said.
Debut album The Horrifying Truth was recorded in Sydney and Melbourne this year with producer Savell (Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, the Butterfly Effect). The LP features the singles City Limits, Neon Sunrise, Living the Crash, plus the new single And We'll Defy, and will be released by Sony Music in New Zealand on August 1.
I Am Giant played during the Queenstown Winter Festival last year, a concert the band specifically requested so band members could go snowboarding, Woolright said.
The quartet found time to tour Australia, play Big Day Out in Auckland and Sydney, perform at Homegrown, and play in Asia three times, including support for Slash and Stone Temple Pilots in Singapore. The band toured the UK with Taking Back Sunday, played in the Viper Room and Mercury Lounge in the United States, headlined at the influential Raw Power Rock Night in London, and sold out at the Camden Barfly.
Asked what Queenstown residents can look forward to at the Revolver gig, Woolright said: "We've got something alternative from your typical rock band. It's quite a powerful sound, but it's by no means overpowering. It's saturated with melodies, very uplifting and it's great to be thrashing down the slopes to in your iPod."
• I Am Giant plays 10 dates on The Horrifying Truth album tour, including Queenstown's Revolver, on Wednesday, August 17, with South Island support from Christchurch metal band Tainted. Tickets cost $25 from Quest. Revolver doors open at 8pm.
