Review Summary: Mammoth Grinder whirrs back to life with their most focused and atmospherically dialed in experience to date.
If there's one band I didn't expect to come crawling out of the rubble of the last five years, it's Mammoth Grinder. The band has been eerily quiet since
Cosmic Crypt came out in 2018, and founding member Chris Ulsh has just been
busy with a number of other projects since then—putting out multiple releases with Innumerable Forms and Devil Master, and recently touring with Power Trip again after the loss of Riley Gale in 2020. While
Cosmic Crypt wasn't a terrible record to leave us hanging on, it was certainly a bit formulaic and
dry coming off the heels of 2013's atmospherically dense and theatrical
Underworlds. So while the band never confirmed a break up, they certainly showed all the classic symptoms of having run out of steam.
But the instrument of death is hard to kill. Mammoth Grinder have been one of, if not
the quintessential "death metal for hardcore kids" band since 2009, and
Undying Spectral Resonance is here to reclaim the throne from the usurpers and frauds that have come in their absence. Six years is a long time to wait for a 14-minute EP, but this is as triumphant of a return as I could have ever hoped for. "Corpse Divinant" wastes no time in reassuring us that the band not only still does what they do well, they might even do it
better. I mean, it's not like Ulsh has been allowing his blade to grow dull all these years. Thrashy mid-tempo palm mutes, wailing leads, ignorant single-kick drums, and Ulsh's own putrid roar—all the classic Mammoth Grinder ingredients are back in stock. More importantly, the production is right back in the pocket where it was on
Underworlds—just the perfect amount of reverb to make each crushing riff and growl sound like it’s billowing from the eldritch horrors of deep space. And the solos, oh god the solos, just materializing out of thin air like a spellcaster's mind whip. Ulsh takes the renewed focus on atmosphere even further with the dungeon-synth inspired ambient interlude “Call From The Frozen Styx”, which acts as a hauntingly beautiful passage through the undying realm and straight down into the medium-low boil of bone stomping grooves on "Decrease The Peace", which might be the bands most doom-crust indebted track ever.
Mammoth Grinder might have a revitalized line-up for live shows, but Chris Ulsh wrote and recorded every instrument on this EP by himself, which is possibly why it comes across as the band's most focused and atmospherically dialed in experience to date. Sometimes a singular vision is what a band needs to draw their cart back onto the tracks, and Ulsh has succeeded with a staggering display of dark magic and supermutant strength. If this is the sound of Mammoth Grinder testing the waters after a considerable hiatus, then it’s a good indication that their best material might still be around the corner, and I can't wait for the cannonball.
The Undying Spectral Resonance has awoken to devour once more.
