Greenleaf, Howling Giant, High Desert Queen at The EARL

From the venue:

Greenleaf

Greenleaf became a proper band after more than a decade as a loose collective of friends making

70s-inspired hard rock and proto-metal. Led by guitarist Tommi Holappa, co-founder of European desert

rock originators Dozer, various configurations of Greenleaf with personnel from Lowrider, Truckfighters,

Demon Cleaner and Dozer came and went during those early years. But after five records and twice as

many cast members rotating in and out, Tommi began to feel Greenleaf could be something more.

Its evolution from side project to focused band began when Tommi reached out to the classically-trained

Arvid Hällagård in 2013 to sing on a new track. Arvid’s early stoner rock band Giant Space Cruiser had

played with Dozer some years before, and Tommi had kept tabs on the charismatic singer. Along with

drummer Sebastian Olsson, who began as a fill-in but would become the second-longest tenured

Greenleaf member behind Tommi, they worked on one song and then another, Arvid taking things in a

different direction vocally than any previous version of the project had seen. The sense was immediate

that things had changed, and what they were making was a true album.

Playing a few shows, they found an immediate onstage chemistry, and it was undeniable that this was no

longer just a way to fill time between their other bands. This was the foundation for what Greenleaf

would be from then on: a locked-in, stage-destroying, anthem-blasting force, led by Tommi's

unparalleled riff sorcery, Arvid's enrapturing, soul-heavy vocals, Sebastian’s frenetic rhythms and bassist

Hans Fröhlich’s deep, driving attack.

Today Greenleaf are widely recognized as a dominating live act and one of the most prolific and

obsessively listenable outfits to emerge from the European heavy underground. With four albums of

driving, soaring riff-rock power to their credit since transforming into an actual band, they continue

pushing the boundaries of desert-influenced rock further with each record and burning down

increasingly massive stages year after year.

Now, ten years since the release of the landmark Trails & Passes album, Greenleaf return with The Head

& The Habit, a record energized by awareness of their past triumphs and crafted with the maturity of a

band who knows how to rock stronger, harder and better than ever before.