The Giants Of Doom Cometh...

Mammoth Storm ~ Fornjot (2015)

Fornjot, the first full-length effort from Swedish power trio Mammoth Storm, firmly entrenches the band as bringers of DOOM!
Released on Napalm Records, the album opener Augurs Echo is an 11-minute-plus epic that builds off a sonic landscape created by guitarist Christer Ström before being joined by the concise, heavy, delivery of Emil Ahlman’s drums, and the powerful vocals of Daniel Arvidsson; also providing brontosaurus bass lines. The track shifts between an epic, doom march to vast horizons of sound, echoing the tragedy of lonely, barren northern lands.
Sumerian Cry is a fuzz-loaded battle march, suitable for combat via helicopter or horse. The trio slowly, builds up the attack mode before firmly switching the pace back to lumbering doom on the title track. According to legend, Fornjot is a giant and ruler of Finland, Kvenland, and Gotland. The power of the giant and the bleak landscape he rules over are well amplified in Fornjot.
Mammoth Storm creates its work in layers, moving the listener through heavy realms while never stopping the story from plowing ahead. Production on Fornjot is tight to say the least. This is professional doom to the max, helping cement Mammoth Storm as major player in the realms of doom and sludge.
Out now on Napalm Records, theres a variety of formats to choose from, including three colours of limited edition wax.
~ Andy

For Fans Of; Cough, Tons, Coliseum, Xasthur, Megasus

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Wrecks And Strays...

AHAB - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig (2015)

The much-anticipated new release from the quartet of AHAB has finally landed, holding five tracks (only one under ten minutes) in its cargo.  From the start (well, after a little calm to build atmosphere), the band shows a thunderous power, shot through with veins of colder menace, and the shifting from one to the other and back again leads to some interesting effects.  As usual with this crew, the setting is nautical, which they emphasize with waves of feedback, curling melodies, and percussion that crests and break against the rest of the strident elements.  The band pulls together an impressively unified front, letting each member get some spot-light, but generally keeping things near-equally divided in the work-load.

The wailing strains of the guitar against harder crunch made for some of the most hair-raising moments in the album's run for me, but the whole thing has a professional standard to which it holds itself.  If you're not already one of the many who've ordered a copy, it makes for a nice entry point to the band's catalog, and for those who've enjoyed AHAB's previous releases, there's little here to make you regret sticking with them.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Attalla, Crowskin, Hooded Menace, Ramesses, Sea Bastard

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