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Released on February 26, 2015 via Independent
Born in the bowels of Chris Fielding’s (Conan) studio, Nachthexen is the debut offering from Wrexham band Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. Born from a bit of down time for Mother Of Six and a trip to a doom festival in Barcelona, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are more than just a side project though and on this first offering they have submerged themselves in a sludge like torpor, which, over its entire thirty minutes, develops into a sinuous head nodding piece which never lets up on the heaviness.
Maybe it’s the influence of Mr Fielding but the one thing you notice as the riffs start to grind out their never-ending journey is how low the bass rumbles. This is serious shit and there ain’t no time for fooling around. More than this though, it provides the backdrop and grounding for all the wayward turns that the song takes.
Lacking any sense of influence, Sleep comes to mind at times for the long drawn out passages and the ghost of Sabbath and Cathedral raises its head more than once, but they’re by the by and unavoidable in this genre. What is truly refreshing are the tortured vocals from Jessica Ball as she wails against the rolling riff and pummelling rhythm. It’s almost a shame that this doesn’t last the length of the song, but then that would be mistaking the type of music being made.
You can break the track down into three distinct parts with the funereal, haunting open third sinking into a more psychedelic inducing middle bit until the riff suddenly takes a turn for the upbeat and we are brought out of our stupor in some fantastic retreat to an analogue age. It’s a while coming but utterly worth it.
That each of the members of this band are all in other bands who peddle in less than commercial music is recognisable in their intent to develop the song as an artform rather than anything simple. There’s a sense of fun and enjoyment here too and most of all, a satisfaction in their way of playing, which shines through into the actual track. Where they go next is theirs to decide and we can only hope that they stick to this path and continue developing long pieces such as this. There are better bands out there doing this sort of stuff but it wont be long before Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard join them on level pegging. An exciting prospect.
