I love splits and this one is certainly worthy of my
affections. It’s brought to us by Black Bow Records, which is run by one of the
fine gentlemen from the band Conan, so if you like your music loud, heavy,
slow, and crushing, this release has you covered all the way around. This split
is a little unique, in that it is more of a collaboration between the bands.
They worked on the overall themes of the album together and there is a little
more cohesiveness between what the bands have on offer here than there usually
is with splits. In my mind, that’s even more reason why you should check it
out.
I love Mammoth Weed
Wizard Bastard (hereafter known as MWWB), and it puzzles me a bit why they
are not bigger in the heavy music scene. Perhaps some people are put off a bit
by the name, which is taking the piss a little when it comes to other bands in
this genre. They describe themselves as “3 ape descendents and an astral
seraphim combining their powers to generate colossal interstellar arias of
plutonium weight.” It seems a pretty apt description and if it sounds good to
you, don’t read any farther, just go find their music. Oh, and they are from Wales if that
matters to anyone.
MWWB contribute two songs to this split. The first, “The
Master and His Emissary”, starts out with a couple of minutes of synth work
that could have come from a John Carpenter soundtrack. Then the heavy drops and
I promise you that mushroom clouds will come out of your speakers when it
happens. At least it did with mine. Just crushing riffs that repeat paired up with
ethereal vocals, and then they change it up a bit and hammer the listener some
more. The second track is “Eagduru” and delivers more of the same. Of course,
it's not the same track or there wouldn’t be any need to give it a different
name, but you get the idea. Slow, heavy, repetitive, wonderful.
Slomatics hail
from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and it is easy to
see how they were paired with MWWB on this split. To my ears, these guys deal
in more fuzz, and there’s about as much here as on a teenaged sasquatch’s face.
I was not familiar with this band prior to this split, but I am certainly happy
to make their acquaintance. The things they do musically are right up my alley
and I will definitely seek out more of their releases.
These guys mix it up a little bit on their side of the
split. Their songs are shorter, so they get 3 tracks. The first is “Ancient
Architects”, and it fits very well into the theme of slow and heavy music
playing. Their second track, though, is the eye opener for me. “Silver Ships Into
The Future” is a quieter, piano driven piece that shows that riffs can be
played on an acoustic instrument as well. While it doesn’t have enough of a
melody to say that it’s a pretty bit of music, it is a very nice change up.
Which makes their final track, “Master’s Descent”, hit that much harder when it
blows through your speakers like a rhinoceros in heat.
If you dig the slow, heavy type of music, this release is
definitely for you. There is nothing new or groundbreaking here, but it doesn’t
have be a game changer to be a good album. This one will definitely hit your
happy spot.
-ODIN
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