Mammoth Grinder, Underworlds

So, Mammoth Grinder have been through a few rounds of “what kind of music do we want to play this time?” since their inception in 2006. From the punk/hardcore driven Rage and Ruin to the Swedish death metal of Extinction of Humanity — and an array fo EPs and splits — the band has kept its fans on their toes with each studio effort. Underworlds is no different, and we hear a whole new sound within its ten tracks.

The one and half minute title track gets us started with flying guitars and rumbling low-end and viciously screamed vocals. It’s a rabid track that feels all over the place with squealing leads and unrelenting drum work. The song sort of serves as an intro, or rather, a warning of the change of pace to come with the remaining songs. “Wraparound Eyes” is a rager of a song that reminds of recent Black Breath as it pummels its way through crushing riffage, furious drumming and snarling growls/screams. Once the group settles after the opening salvo, there’s a decent bit of groove flowing beneath the searing solos and aggression — your neck will hurt a good while after banging along with this song.

There’s a good amount of crusty texture attached to the music on Underworlds as evident in the chugging “Revenge.” The vocal presentation honestly took a bit for me to become accustomed to, but once the recording-in-a-cavern feel grew on me, it just seems natural for it to fit with the buzzing, Swede-death influence on the guitars. “Paragon Pusher” scrapes along with more of that raw, unfiltered sound that enshrouds the entire album. It’s an infectious song that has some seriously solid head-banging mayhem fueling its fury. “Barricades” (a standout for me) is a bruiser of a song as it builds to a massive groove with malevolent riffing and “Roperide” brings some sludge to the crust party. The song has even more addictive groove to the table as well.

“Breeding” is a furious, d-beat driving song while “Born in a Bag” is some more aggressive goodness in a similar vein. It’s album closer, “Moral Crux,” that sees another shift on the part of Mammoth Grinder. There’s a doomy influence here that we haven’t encountered on the album so far. It’s an interesting way to wrap a pretty damn solid offering — one that flies by at a quick thirty minute clip. I haven’t really had the opportunity to fully check out the groups past material, but I certainly look forward to what style of metal they decide to play next. So far they seem to have mastered all that they have attempted.