Acid Mammoth

Alun’s Top Ten Releases of 2021

Alun’s Top Ten Releases of 2021
By Alun Jones

Alun’s had a very busy year listening to some great albums and donning various disguises, including a Mexican wrestling mask, on Ever Metal Staff video calls. One of these things raised a few titters here at EMHQ. I’ll let you decide which one for yourself. But while you do, here’s Al’s favourite albums of the year! Enjoy…

10. Stoner – “Stoners Rule”

https://www.facebook.com/StonerBandOfficial/

9. Here Lies Man – “Ritual Divination”

https://www.facebook.com/hereliesman/

8. Bloody Hammers – “Songs of Unspeakable Terror”

Songs Of Unspeakable Terror Album Cover Art

https://www.facebook.com/BloodyHammers

7. Melvins – “Working with God”

https://en-gb.facebook.com/melvinsarmy

6. Acid Mammoth – “Caravan”

https://en-gb.facebook.com/acidmammoth

5. Barbarian Hermit – “One”

https://www.facebook.com/barbarianhermit/

4. Red Fang – “Arrows”

https://en-gb.facebook.com/redfangband

3. Son of Boar – “Son of Boar”

https://www.facebook.com/SonOBoar

2. Green Lung – “Black Harvest”

https://www.facebook.com/greenlungband/

1. 1968 – “Salvation, if you need…”

Salvation, If You Need... Album Cover Art

https://www.facebook.com/1968Band

Read the original review for Alun’s choices here:

Here Lies Man – Ritual Divination

Bloody Hammers – Songs Of Unspeakable… Terror

Acid Mammoth – Caravan

Barbarian Hermit – One Remastered

Son Of Boar – Son Of Boar

1968 – Salvation, If You Need…

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Acid Mammoth – Caravan

Acid Mammoth – Caravan
Heavy Psych Sounds
Release Date: 05/03/2021
Running Time: 40:17
Review by Chris Galea
7.5/10

“Caravan” consolidates the music style of Acid Mammoth…a Stoner Doom that’s heavy, dense and fuzzy. However, some changes are immediately noticeable in respect to the band’s previous album “Under Acid Hoof”.

For example, overall, I feel there has been a marked improvement as far as production and mixing is concerned, even though the sound of the snare drum takes some getting used to. The singing of Christos Babalis Jr. sounds less like Ozzy than in previous releases – that wasn’t a bad thing of course, but it’s good to hear Jr. try to assimilate his own personality into the singing.

Maybe it’s just my impression but there also seems to be an effort to infuse more melody into the dark atmosphere of the band’s music. And there are more guitar solos than before. Sometimes all this doesn’t entirely convince (as in ‘Berserker’ or in parts of ‘Ivory Towers’) but when this new approach works, it works marvellously. Case in point is the title-track, an epic 11-minute plus song dense with hypnotic riffs. I also felt a significant improvement in the drumming of Marios Louvaris, more in the sense of feel than technique.

So, although I’m not absolutely won over, “Caravan” is definitely a step up for Acid Mammoth.

Imagine Black Sabbath meeting Hawkwind to serenade the world as it burns…I reckon that ‘serenade’ would sound pretty close to “Caravan”.

‘Caravan’ (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. Berserker
02. Psychedelic Wasteland
03. Ivory Towers
04. Caravan
05. Black Dust

LINE-UP:
Chris Babalis Jr. – Guitar & Vocals
Chris Babalis Sr. – Guitar
Dimosthenis Varikos – Bass
Marios Louvaris – Drums

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Chris Galea and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof

Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof
Heavy Psych Sounds
Re-release Date: 12/03/2021
Running Time: 44:53
Review by Chris Galea
7/10

I do know a few Metal bands that have (or had) father and son within the line-up but it’s safe to say that there aren’t many such cases. One of them, though, is Acid Mammoth. Have I got your attention? Good. Now for the more pertinent matters…

Acid Mammoth is a Stoner Doom band from Greece. “Under Acid Hoof” is the band’s 2nd album, originally released in 2020 but Heavy Psych Sounds have repackaged the album, added two bonus tracks and re-released it in 2021. But was it worth re-releasing? Well, there’s a ton of Stoner Doom bands out there but Acid Mammoth seem to be one of the more interesting of the lot. So that would be a ‘yes’.

Downtuned fuzzy guitars, viscid and filthy riffs and lyrics with a penchant for the occult…that’s “Under Acid Hoof” in a nutshell. I know it’s hard to find a Metal band that isn’t influenced by Black Sabbath, especially a Doom band, but with Acid Mammoth the influence is very direct. The vocals of Chris Babalis Jr (who also plays guitar) in fact, sound like a photocopy of Ozzy. Originality and diversity of ideas are not two of the album’s strongest points. Also, I’m not 100% convinced by the sound – sometimes one instrument drowns out another. But there are other things to enjoy here if Doom’s your thing…

In ‘Tree Of Woe’, for example, the drums and guitar riffs really work great together. ‘Jack The Riffer’ is well-written and contains some scorching riffs (ah, Jack The ‘Riffer’…now I get it!). Apocalyptic scenarios are described in the lyrics of ‘Tusks Of Doom’ and the song’s music certainly strives to illustrate that.

As heavy as a stampede of Mammoths, “Under Acid Hoof” has a charm that reels you closer to the band.

‘Them!’ (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. Them!
02. Tree Of Woe
03. Tusks Of Doom
04. Far Harrad (Bonus Track)
05. Jack The Riffer
06. Under Acid Hoof
07. White Hag (Bonus Track – Live)

LINE-UP:
Chris Babalis Jr. – Vocals, Guitars
Chris Babalis Sr. – Guitars
Dimosthenis Varikos – Bass
Marios Louvaris – Drums

LINKS: