doom / blues / psychedelic
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"Psych, heavy, doom", I read on their facebook page. For me, those words usually cause a bit of a 'fuck yeah' sentiment. I too am psychotic, quite heavy and filled with doomed thoughts about our society. However, just like these guys, I know a little something about good music. I too worship the riff, even though I rarely play the guitar anymore and I love the sound of fuzz. So it shouldn't surprise you that the Mammothwing album comes warmly recommended, right?
Mammothwing hails from England and was formed in 2013 by two brothers, Billy and Marty Fisher. Both sing, one plays bass and the other can't stop jamming. Luckily for them, Kev Richardson Jr (drums) gives the whole a tremendous amount of groove and dynamics. Together, they now come out of their self-built studio to present their crushingly heavy debut, 'Morning Light'. Blues for doom fans and vice versa, loaded with psychedelic guitars, as if Jimi Hendrix suddenly returns to play in Goatsnake.
The songs on this album are slow, dragging themselves along on steady, almost hypnotic drum beats. You can almost hear the songs being born, coming forth from elaborate jamsessions and improvisation. In 'Black Woman', this improvised feel is enormous and very interesting to be honest. With this approach, Mammothwing shows a spontaneous, fresh and immersive sound. It also keeps the songs from becoming too complicated and overproduced, which is a huge plus.
The blues elements are almost continuously present, even when the music turns into pure doom metal. '4'69' even seems to leave the entire doom-thing behind by opening like a full-blown blues song. Most of the album smells a bit like Black Sabbath (resulting in great songs like opener 'Cosmic Vagabond') but this song fiercely nudges towards B.B. King. Closer 'Chump Change' throws a final massive amount of distortion, fuzz and aggression in your face, of course in pure old school doom style.
So if you're into psychedelic doom blues, you should definitely get your hands on a copy of this album. I'm curious about how these guys do this on stage. Quite possibly, their gigs will turn into huge jamsessions with audience members dancing themselves into a state of trance. I hope I can witness that someday but until then, I'll just enjoy 'Morning Light' a few more times.
Serge
Mammothwing hails from England and was formed in 2013 by two brothers, Billy and Marty Fisher. Both sing, one plays bass and the other can't stop jamming. Luckily for them, Kev Richardson Jr (drums) gives the whole a tremendous amount of groove and dynamics. Together, they now come out of their self-built studio to present their crushingly heavy debut, 'Morning Light'. Blues for doom fans and vice versa, loaded with psychedelic guitars, as if Jimi Hendrix suddenly returns to play in Goatsnake.
The songs on this album are slow, dragging themselves along on steady, almost hypnotic drum beats. You can almost hear the songs being born, coming forth from elaborate jamsessions and improvisation. In 'Black Woman', this improvised feel is enormous and very interesting to be honest. With this approach, Mammothwing shows a spontaneous, fresh and immersive sound. It also keeps the songs from becoming too complicated and overproduced, which is a huge plus.
The blues elements are almost continuously present, even when the music turns into pure doom metal. '4'69' even seems to leave the entire doom-thing behind by opening like a full-blown blues song. Most of the album smells a bit like Black Sabbath (resulting in great songs like opener 'Cosmic Vagabond') but this song fiercely nudges towards B.B. King. Closer 'Chump Change' throws a final massive amount of distortion, fuzz and aggression in your face, of course in pure old school doom style.
So if you're into psychedelic doom blues, you should definitely get your hands on a copy of this album. I'm curious about how these guys do this on stage. Quite possibly, their gigs will turn into huge jamsessions with audience members dancing themselves into a state of trance. I hope I can witness that someday but until then, I'll just enjoy 'Morning Light' a few more times.
Serge