By: Peter Man
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 04/12/2015
Label: New Heavy Sounds
The wall of guitar, at times, sounds as though it is ten instruments deep, crushing your brain with the weight of a 150 ton hydraulic press. All of this contrasts elegantly with lead singer Jessica Ball's siren aria floating above the driving rhythm.
‘'Noeth Ac Anoeth'’ CD//DD// LP track listing:
1. Les Paradis Artificiels
2. Slave Moon
3. Nachthexen
2. Slave Moon
3. Nachthexen
The Review:
Although their name may poke a bit of fun at the doom stereotype, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are seriously kick-ass. The Welsh quartet offers unto the space lords their instrumental-heavy brand of druid doom on their first full length release 'Noeth Ac Anoeth'. The record contains only three tracks, but comes in at over 50 minutes of total run time. When you sidle up next to this album and press play, make sure you're in it for the long haul. The guitars, loaded by Paul Davies and Wes Leon, fire a relentless attack of riffage as James Carrington drums crack with the crispness of Indiana Jones’ whip. The wall of guitar, at times, sounds as though it is ten instruments deep, crushing your brain with the weight of a 150 ton hydraulic press. All of this contrasts elegantly with lead singer Jessica Ball's siren aria floating above the driving rhythm.
'Les Paradise Artificiels' is the shortest song at 9:58 and the album's first track. This one starts fast with the main riff pounding away at your ears. At 3:43 it could almost make a cut and become two songs, as there is a minute-long interlude into a completely new, low-growling riff. The band spends the remainder of the track pounding away space-time, letting the synthesizer join in the fun at the outro. The second track, “Slave Moon”, is another ten minute monster, highlighted by a section that uses Ball's dreamy vocals as a sort of harmonic drone that sounds almost like a second synthesizer. The track 'Nachthexen' tops out at a, ahem, mammoth 30 minutes in length; it was released early in 2015 as an EP. It begins with a dreamy guitar riff that is cleansed of any fuzz. After a short interlude, the second act starts at 2:45 with the crash of power chords allowing the riffs to continue forth. The third act comes in at 17:00 and is powered by two consecutive guitar solos. After 21:00, the song runs off the rails amid a garble of synthesizer noise, only to regain consciousness at 23:15 with a sound that seems to belong on the soundtrack of Edward Scissorhands. To finish,' Nachthexen' again morphs into a brutal, distorted groove that beckons you to head bang till the end.
'Noeth Ac Anoeth' is a protracted foray into the primal depths of the doom genre. The album has every element a doom fan craves, from ferocious power chord processions to Jessica Ball's ethereal cries to the strange musings of FX and synthesizer, presented at the band's whim. My favorite song? I took the band's advice and decided not to choose. MWWB says: "you may have difficulty focusing." I agree, and suggest giving up on your presumptions of MWWB and simply let their music wash over you in waves of metal awesomeness.
'Les Paradise Artificiels' is the shortest song at 9:58 and the album's first track. This one starts fast with the main riff pounding away at your ears. At 3:43 it could almost make a cut and become two songs, as there is a minute-long interlude into a completely new, low-growling riff. The band spends the remainder of the track pounding away space-time, letting the synthesizer join in the fun at the outro. The second track, “Slave Moon”, is another ten minute monster, highlighted by a section that uses Ball's dreamy vocals as a sort of harmonic drone that sounds almost like a second synthesizer. The track 'Nachthexen' tops out at a, ahem, mammoth 30 minutes in length; it was released early in 2015 as an EP. It begins with a dreamy guitar riff that is cleansed of any fuzz. After a short interlude, the second act starts at 2:45 with the crash of power chords allowing the riffs to continue forth. The third act comes in at 17:00 and is powered by two consecutive guitar solos. After 21:00, the song runs off the rails amid a garble of synthesizer noise, only to regain consciousness at 23:15 with a sound that seems to belong on the soundtrack of Edward Scissorhands. To finish,' Nachthexen' again morphs into a brutal, distorted groove that beckons you to head bang till the end.
'Noeth Ac Anoeth' is a protracted foray into the primal depths of the doom genre. The album has every element a doom fan craves, from ferocious power chord processions to Jessica Ball's ethereal cries to the strange musings of FX and synthesizer, presented at the band's whim. My favorite song? I took the band's advice and decided not to choose. MWWB says: "you may have difficulty focusing." I agree, and suggest giving up on your presumptions of MWWB and simply let their music wash over you in waves of metal awesomeness.
