Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/09/2016
Label: New Heavy Sounds
“Y
Proffwyd Dwyll” is a celestial voyage of crushing density. “Valmasque” sets the tone for the album,
establishing a towering wall of sound built from huge lumbering riffs, set
against a backdrop of swirling space noise and sci-fi synths that enhance their
attack and swell their sound to a galactic scale. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have struck gold here
with their distinct brand of spaced-out carnage.
‘“Y Proffwyd
Dwyll” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Valmasque
2). Y Proffwyd Dwyll
3). Gallego
4). Testudo
5). Osirian
6). Cithuula
2). Y Proffwyd Dwyll
3). Gallego
4). Testudo
5). Osirian
6). Cithuula
The Review:
Mammoth Weed
Wizard Bastard
is a name that conjures certain preconceptions. New LP “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is a colossal slab of cosmic heaviosity worthy
of such a ludicrous moniker. However, the execution of these six epic tracks is
a million miles from the standard stoner doom you might expect from a band
whose name could’ve been generated by pointing at four random words on an Electric Wizard
lyric sheet.
“Valmasque” sets the tone for the album,
establishing a towering wall of sound built from huge lumbering riffs. The band
more than hold their own in this department, the monstrous intro of “Osirian” being a particularly prime
example. Mammoth
Weed Wizard Bastard have a couple of tricks up their sleeve though
that elevate their sound into another dimension.
The
first is their use of electronics. The whole record is awash with swirling
space noise and sci-fi synths that enhance their attack and swell their sound
to a galactic scale. The instrumental “Gallego”
brings to mind Hawkwind
and the BBC
Radiophonic Workshop after undergoing a sludge conversion.
The
other key element here is the vocals. On first listen Jessica Ball’s vocals
seem too smooth and polished against the mayhem in the background. Subsequent
listens reveal them to be the lynchpin that brings everything together. Coated
in layers of sweet reverb, they increase the hypnotic psychedelia of the music
while adding catchy melodic hooks. The poppy chorus of “Valmasque” is like Grimes
fronting Sleep
doing the soundtrack to 70’s Doctor Who. The climax of “Cithuula” sees her channelling Chino Moreno at his most dramatic
while the band provide a suitably crushing Deftones-indebted backdrop.
“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is a celestial voyage of
crushing density that threatens to draw their home of Wrexham into a black
hole. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have struck gold here with their distinct
brand of spaced-out carnage.
‘“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is available here
RIYL: Conan, Slomatics, Yob, Windhand
