Time for something heavy. Here we have the American sludge heavy metallers MAMMOTH BLACK. Together with Stonerkill Records they released "DEATH IS NOT ASHAMED". This is their debut album, and was released on 9th of December. So what these Virginian folks served us? Rare mammoth steak with groove and doom sauce. Don't worry; it's easy to digest thanks to punk/stoner influence. But as I said, they represent sludge. The dinginess will be the main theme. This mix gives us a strong, dirty grunge feeling. I found here some BLACK SABBATH and ACID BATH.

Brett Lloyds' vocals beat right inside our ears. Hard, hoarse voice which fits perfectly into a heavy background. Low, doom guitars accompany the knocking bass and slow drum beating. Together they build tension and atmosphere of anticipation. Anger rises. Tension grows on, to be finally released with a hard accent. Mammoths play on our emotions.

There's nothing especially complex. Music flows at leisure, but I caught myself on a small rhythmic headbang on "Self Pity and & Self Deception". Composition is bonny and pretty enjoyable. Riffs are catchy and the instruments fulfill each other. Not everyone will like the album overall, but there are some parts that might be appreciated. It's a steady, mid-tempo album. They don't splurge. Might feel a bit lengthy, but it's only 25 minutes long. Non-stop low beating will bore the casual listener, but I think it is a charm of this scene. In one of the interviews they mentioned that it's a raw recording. They just went to studio and recorded. This is the whole story, so the sound is pretty much like on stage.

MAMMOTH BLACK's work is heavy like mammoths march. Band strongly stands out from their local scene. Definitely not standard sludge. Still have this characteristic of hard pounding. Dark, dirty, heavy, catchy. Sludgers, it's worth checking out.
 <