Thursday 10 May 2012

Mammut - Homunkulus EP


The first thing that struck me about the EP was the striking image on the cover. I don't know whether this is Mammut's way of setting the scene, but it does a damn good job nonetheless. As you may have already guessed, this is the debut EP by Swedish Doom/Sludge band Mammut. They are a five piece based in Stockholm.

Tracklist:-

1. Homunkulus
2. Grottan
3. Syndaflod
4. Vulkan

Homunkulus is the title track of this EP and starts with a sampled, Swedish language spoken word passage. Once this has faded out, Mammut start to kick out the jams. These riffs are pure old-school rock n roll and the lyrics are in Swedish, to give the record an authentic twist.

Mammut focus on the more melodic side of Stoner Rock, but do incorporate some heavier, Mastodon-esque riffs into their sound. The band has an incredible ability to create dreamy, yet rocking songs and keep an eye firmly aimed at traditional heavy metal values. The production also does a great job of adding warmth to the EP, which is missing from some other traditional heavy metal records. It allows both vocals and instruments to breathe. The end to Homunkulus is a surprise, as much like Black Sabbath used to do, Mammut change the pace, speed things up and get heavier towards the end of the song. It's a great thrash close to an assured song.

Grottan is a slower paced song, but with the melodic vocals of singer Johan Eliasson, it's very listenable. Again, part way through, they switch their attention to a more upbeat tempo and bring in some nice mean riffs and even some growled vocals.
Mammut's music never sound cheesy or contrived, which I think has a lot to do with them keeping things traditional and singing in their native tongue. Listen to Syndaflod to get a sense of the kind of awesome melody that they put into their songs.

The solo and twin guitar melodies during Syndaflod are also real quality and when they slow things down, the Doom/Sludge influences really start to shine through and give the music a real heft. Vulkan rounds out this EP, with one last thrilling blast of Swedish Heavy Metal. It has it's own character, as do the other songs here, with it's brilliant vocal melodies and Stoner inspired riffs.

The whole of this EP is original and inventive. It's never sounds like Mammut are trying to merely emulate their influences, but are actually weaving them into their own sound. They are all really skilled musicians, which really shouldn't come as a big surprise, as they are from Sweden. I really hope that we see more from these guys and that a label snaps them up very soon, as they are too good to be left in the cold!

You can stream and download the whole of Homunkulus for free via Mammut's Soundcloud page at http://soundcloud.com/mammutmusik.


You can also keep up to date with what's happening in their world via their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/bandetmammut.

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