Formed in 2006 in Austin, TX, and consisting of current and former members of POWER TRIP, IRON REAGAN, and DARKETS HOUR, MAMMOTH GRINDER play a primitive brand of Punk-inflected Death Metal. The band has released three blistering full-lengths and numerous splits and EPs since forming over a decade ago. After a brief hiatus in 2014, MAMMOTH GRINDER have returned and signed to Relapse Records to wreak havoc once again on the underground.  Now in 2018, MAMMOTH GRINDER return after five long years with their fourth full-length "Cosmic Crypt," which contains eleven new tracks.

Calling the album "punk-fused" is accurate, as many of the tracks clock in at under three minutes. The filthy and rotten "Grimmenstein" leads off the album. It moves quickly from a drop-tuned guitar riff, and Ulsh's vocals are guttural utterances from his diaphragm. The vocals don't overpower the song; indeed, it's the guitars that drive the sound for the most part. "Blazing Burst" is s short two minutes of driving guitar riffs and pounding bass and drums. Open up the pit because the chaos of the sound will drive you to commit unspeakable acts upon your fellow man. "Divine Loss" barely gets over the one-and-a-half minute mark. It opens with a slow grind and then runs fast to completion.

"Superior Firepower" opens with some feedback that sound like laser strikes. The sound shifts a bit from a few different riffs and chord changes. It's still fuzzy and very heavy, resting on that open chord at times from the lower guitar strings. "Human is Obsolete" is the longest on the album, coming in at close to four minutes. It opens with a slow grind, and vocals thick with reverb, seeming to come from the depths of the Underworld. It picks up stream at one point, complete with a rambling guitar solo with whammy bar dives. "Locust's Nest" is a faster song that uses quick-picked guitar notes and a steady thud of bass and drums. Another Kerry King-esqe guitar solo moves in like a rocket and is then gone as fast as it came. "Rotting Robes" registers a little higher on the scale, with a plethora of cymbal crashes and raging vocals. The title track closes the album, a two-minute burner that opens with feedback leading to a fuzzy low guitar riff and prolific doses of horror.

The production on the album is muffled, but done in a way that the album needs. The sound is organic, raw and reeks of decay; the perfect sound for a Death Metal album. They aren't going to bowl you over with diversity from track to track, but have honed their sound into a product that reflects their individual style. Like a blister ready to pop, they are poised to spill their puss all over the listener.