Band:	Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard
Album:	Yn Ol I Annwn
Style:	Sludge metal, Stoner metal
Release date:	March 01, 2019
A review by:	musclassia

01. Tralfamadore
02. The Spaceships Of Ezekiel
03. Fata Morgana
04. Du Bist Jetzt Nicht In Der Zukunft
05. Yn Ol I Annwn
06. Katyusha
07. The Majestic Clockwork
08. Five Days In The Abyss

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard? With a name that emphatic, you probably think you have a good idea of what they're going to sound like. And you know what? If you're like me, you'd probably be wrong.

Words like Mammoth and Bastard (and Weed) had me anticipating something big, dirty and rambunctious along the lines of Herder or High On Fire. Instead, whilst there is a clear stoner rock/metal element to this, the sound is far more based in doom, and also quite heavily in psychedelic/space rock. From the gnarly stomping riffs to the eclectic array of electronic sounds put to various uses throughout, this is less a frantic brawler, and more of a twisted, at times relentless but also somewhat delicate astral voyage. All of this is topped by the vocals, which are something of a conundrum - a dreamy, ethereal, dainty singing style is regularly combined with somewhat eerie and unsettling vocal lines, transforming something that should be quite gentle and soothing into a more sinister force.

With the combination of heavy stoner doom riffs and female vocals, the band that I've seen compared to MWWB the most is Windhand; however, the one comparison that came to me at several occasions whilst listening to this was Ufomammut. I felt this was most notable on "Katyusha", the longest and heaviest (and only instrumental) track on the album that is a relentless 10+ minute stoner doom odyssey of thick, churning riffs with space rock elements infused in (there's some type of cool percussion instrument being used here, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say what); however, I also got the Ufomammut vibe on a few other songs.

The prominence of the heavy doom side of the band comes and goes throughout the album, and there are times when it feels quite low down in the mix compared with the electronic soundscapes and vocals, particularly on some of the earlier songs on the record. As for how the vocals mesh with this sound, I think they add a really interesting dynamic, but I feel they really come into their own as the album progresses. In the earlier songs, whilst the psychedelic space dream doom sound is intriguing, it does have something of a lack of hooks to rise beyond the novelty of the sound, particularly on "The Spaceships Of Ezekiel", at which point I feared I would find myself admiring the concept more than the execution. That said, after the neat electronic-driven "Du Bist?", the sound really comes together on the title track and beyond, delivering some memorable riffs and choruses amongst the compelling and diverse musical ideas, culminating in the sonic collapse at the end of my personal favourite, the closer "Five Days In The Abyss".

With a mix of heavy, gnarly doom riffs, varied space rock electronic approaches and a soft-yet-strange vocal style, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard display a distinctive sound that they are eager to explore and develop. Whilst I feel like there are some creases that might need ironing out in future, they've already demonstrated they're a band worth listening to now, so go check it out.