Okay, let's clear a few things up before we get started. THE MAMMUTHUS is a five-member Swedish Psych Rock group. They're quite good. Go find them if you like Fuzzy Rock. Then there is MAMMUTHUS, the Thrash Metal band out of Paraguay. They had an album in 2016 and are still active. If you like Thrash-and who doesn't really?-a quick search on bandcamp under "Mammuthus Volumen 1" will lead you to them.

And then finally there is MAMMUTHUS the Stoner Metal trio out of New Zealand. They're beyond good and are verging on fucking fantastic. They emerged in 2019 and released a self-titled EP during 2020, the year of our plague. And let me just say, that EP is not a demo in disguise. It kills. Well worth the time and investment. Fourteen minutes and four tracks with only two of tracks resurrected on their recent LP-so if you're thinking you're going to be a true fan who was there from the beginning, you're going to need to get it. Which isn't a bad thing because, like I said, it's great. Anyway, on July 7, MAMMUTHUS the Stoner Metal trio from Wellington, New Zealand released their debut full-length, "Imperator." No label as of yet, but I am sure the folks at Viral Propaganda PR are on it.

Since their 2020 EP they did have one lineup change. Jay Rodeo joins MAMMUTHUS on drums. A massive calling in a trio, and he fills it quite well. Other changes? The band has switched from Anime-ish cover art to what is already becoming an icon-a purple mammoth, or technically a Mammuthus Imperator. The cover art actually just depicts the skeletal remains of said beast, but one glance through the reviews and various write-ups and a fuzzy, raging, purple mammoth is resonating quite well in the metalscape. Artwork, btw, is by Mikey Hurman.

The album does pick up two tracks from their previous EP-the mainstream sounding "Backdoor" and the sludgy "Bloodworm"-but the remaining five are all new. E.J Thorpe from END BOSS joins as guest vocalist on two tracks, most notably the final and best track, "Formless."

There is a lot of good Stoner Metal out there, both old and new. It's an infectious style that's hard to dislike. But even with that halo effect going on, I can't help but go on about this band. Stylistically they exhibit a fair amount of range in the Stoner space from contemplative and melodic to Doom-inflected sludge to outright brutal assault. I should note that although Josh Micallef takes the clean vocal approach, he still comes across visceral and urgent. The addition of female soprano also adds reach.

My favorite tracks are the more musing ones like "Monolith" and "Formless." Both lull you into a fuzzy, psych realm but, of course, unleash a stampede before the close. For all out heavy, "Holy Goat" and "Long Drive" are exemplars. The dbs swell to oversaturation on these. Still heavy but more refined is "Backdoor." The riffage is nasty and mean. A true crowd-pleaser this one. For down-tuned phrasing and darkly intoned lyrics, the band wades into the mire with "King of the Dead" and the resurrected "Bloodworm."

It's a cliché, but there isn't a bad track on this album. And New Zealand! Everyone knows metal can be found in virtually every country on the globe, but I think New Zealand tends to get overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Australia. I'll be checking out more of the scene starting with END BOSS and I'm sure that will lead me deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole known as The Land of the Long White Cloud. Join me.