Spawning A New Beast...

Mammoth Salmon - Last Vestige of Humanity (2015)

We've covered Mammoth Salmon here before (check here to see our review of their Call of the Mammoth EP, and here for their Internet EP 2), so it's good to see them putting out their first full LP.  Even better, they've really brought the thunder for this one, with massive riffs powered by thick bass, sizzling guitar, and heavy drums deployed with a great sense of when to kick back and let things ride a bit easier.
Tracks like the excellently-titled (and appropriately distorted) "Acid Casualty" and album closer "Believe Nothing" take the usual methods of stoner doom to almost funky modes of expression, while elsewhere, as in the opener "Ad Nauseam" and the title track, they plow ahead with some savage, sludgy fury.  Traveling between the two energy extremes, they find room for some excellent grooves and crescendos (and it's worth giving special mention to the rolling drum salvo which cracks open "Memoriam").
It's a little sad to see the clustered intricacies of their earlier cover art get toned down a bit for this release, but then again, they may have a better shot at pulling in new listeners if they aren't getting overloaded by all those whorls and tangles at first sight.  And this is an album that really deserves to be heard, not just by old hands of stoner doom, but by those in need of a great album to really draw them in to the genre.  Mammoth Salmon have done themselves proud here, showing strong command of the style's essence while drawing in some extra elements to ensure freshness.  Don't let this one slip by you in the end-of-year confusion.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Dopelord, Gallileous, MotherSloth, Sleep, Wolf Blood

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Mammoth Salmon - Acid Casualty (320 kbps)

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Call of the Mammoth Salmon

Mammoth Salmon ~ Call of the Mammoth (2013)

For those of you who don't know, another one of those heavier than hell Stoner Doom bands from Portland, Oregon is Mammoth Salmon, and they released this gem of a debut full length back on Halloween of last year. This album is an absolute sonic monolith, we're talking bone pulverizing heaviness. With the gravel road vocals, headbanging riffs, and hammering drums, the whole album falls together nicely.
With the opening track "Dark Descent", Mammoth Salmon displays their unique take on Stoner Doom Metal, with lots of Sludge influence and atmosphere. It's an instrumental track, but you don't miss the vocals with the droning bass line and pounding drums to keep you company, not to mention the riff and spaced out sound effects towards the end of the track, it's a bit different than anything that follows, and that's alright. The following track "In Constant Shadows" opens with a low and slow bass line, and after about a minute the guitar and drums come in and crush everything in a thunderous roar. After a bit, it slows back down to just the bass line only to have that cut short by the guitar and drum dropping back in. The back and forth gives the song a sort of unpredictable feel, Mammoth Salmon wants to keep the listening on their toes, and succeed. The third track and probably my favorite of the album is called "Sacred Smoke", it opens with a guitar part that seems like it'd be right at home in the bowels of a Sleep song. In fact, whole song is a textbook example of Stoner Doom Metal done correctly. While the band it's self has their own unique sound this track could almost be a long, lost Sleep recording in certain parts.
While "Call of the Mammoth" is very much a quality album stoned or sober, there is nothing quite like sitting back and sparking up to heaviness incarnate. So, go over to their bandcamp, and start it up, then indulge in some of your favorite mind stimulating substances and you won't look back. It's free too, that means more money to spend on drugs for you.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Sleep, Kylesa, Weedeater

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A Whopper of a Behemoth...

Mammoth Salmon - Internet EP 2 (2013)

Listening to metal most of the time, I come across some rather crazy album artwork, namely albums depicting something akin to the name of the group. When I was introduced this week to Mammoth Salmon I wondered to myself if such a name would lend its services to the album cover. Well, as you can tell from the above image, we have one hell of an album cover on our hands. I mean, that bad ass salmon is coming right for ya! Followed by an even more bad ass Mammoth!

In the history of two-person bands (especially those specializing in stoner metal), I'm not sure I've heard anything as raw, yet coherent, as Mammoth Salmon. Blasting through three sludgy and smokey tracks on their latest EP, the group roll together elements of classic and stoner rock for an overall rough, garage quality sound that continuously hits hard, but also sees instances of twangy guitar shadowed by snare-heavy drums. Early listens of the recordings bring to mind the ever popular riffs and chord-work seen today in bands like The Sword and Acid King, albeit not nearly as progressive or structured. While none of the songs outlast their aural welcomes, the band, at times, have extended periods of noise that never really build back up to a crescendo or crushing segue, but, rather, end abruptly or fade out in feedback. Keeping in mind that the recordings are early versions of what could easily be prolonged into much more concise songs, Mammoth Salmon clearly have the chops to produce a heavy sound that is not to be taken lightly. When the responsibilities fall to two people, I can't help but be impressed at the writing and the way in which each song compliments the prior without re-hashing the same aesthetic over and over.

~Joe

For Fans Of; Big Business, The Melvins, Gypsyhawk, Burst, FiveWillDie

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Internet EP 2 (name your price)

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