Howdytoons, The Toronto Band With 1.5 Billion YouTube Streams, Releases Ferocious New Single "Smilodon" And Debut Album 'Megafauna Metal'

The World's Most Popular Dinosaur Rock Band Recruits Metal Royalty – Including Marco Minnemann, Billy Sheehan, and Rody Walker – For Its Most Ambitious Record Yet

Spotify I YouTube I Website I Facebook I Instagram I TikTok

TORONTO, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Howdytoons – the Toronto-based band behind the most-streamed dinosaur music on the planet, with over 1.5 billion YouTube streams and more than 50 million Spotify plays – release "Smilodon" today, the lead single from their debut full-length album 'Megafauna Metal,' out now. Written by Mike Whitla and his son Jake, the track is a prowling, snarling portrait of the prehistoric sabre-toothed predator, delivered with the riffing intensity that has earned Howdytoons a place on Spotify's Hard Rock editorial playlist and the respect of some of the biggest names in metal.

The song opens with "My eyes are burning bright / I'm the prowler in the night / Listen and you'll hear my song / Sabertooth tiger, is the Smilodon" before building through a chase sequence of escalating ferocity, each verse tightening the coil until the kill is complete. It's a showcase for Jake Whitla's emergence as a formidable songwriting force. "Smilodon is Jake's fantastic contribution to this album," says Mike. "He's a jazz prodigy now turning his talents to metal, and he relishes this chance to live out his boyhood dream of making rockin' dinosaur music with his dad."

'Megafauna Metal' is the first full-length album from the Prehistorica series, co-written since 2017 with guitar virtuoso James Reid, and it's a genuine all-star achievement. Marco Minnemann, the drummer of choice for Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Nuno Bettencourt, plays on every track from 2020 on. Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big adds his unmistakable authority to "Mastodon." Rody Walker of Protest the Hero, who discovered Howdytoons while listening with his young son, delivers a performance on "Quetzalcoatlus" that Sleeping Village Reviews describes as possessing "a certain pedigree," noting that "the kinetic songwriting itself sucks you in."

The album is also a tribute. "Mastodon" is an explicit homage to the metal band of the same name, and the seriousness runs throughout, from the scientific accuracy woven through every lyric to the animation created with Kolkata-based artist Soujoy Kumar Bhowmick.

The Howdytoons story began in 2011 with Mike Whitla's Dinostory: The Ultimate Dinosaur Rock Opera. What started as a solo project is now a three-person songwriting ensemble with a live debut planned for 2027. 'Megafauna Metal' is their most powerful statement yet.

Contact:
Eric Alper
6479713742
[email protected]

SOURCE Howdytoons