Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Yn Ol I Annwn: Album review!

So, here is the first in a growing list of requested bands for me to review! I'd never heard of them before Chris Stewart asked me to check them out, so I did a little bit of research into them beforehand. From what I could find they are a Welsh doom metal band formed back in 2014. All sounds promising so far! Their latest album, Yn Ol I Annwn, was released at the beginning of last year and felt like as good an introduction as any to the band so that is the one I've chosen to do!

Right out of the gate with their intro track, Tralfamadore, they build so much atmosphere. A repeating electro sound fades in and out again. It's simple yet so very effective. You understand the theme of the whole album, everything extra-terrestrial, almost immediately as it really does sound like some futuristic, spaceship-esque soundscape. My only slight issue with this intro track is that it feels like it builds and builds and is going to drop into something great, but it doesn’t, it just fades back out again. I imagine that subversion of expectations is exactly what they were going for, but personally I've not liked it when any band do it, even some of the greats like Slipknot.

More electro sounds open the first proper song, Spaceships of Ezekiel, but they quickly give way to a HUGE guitar riff. The rest of the band soon join in with it and it somehow sounds even heavier, a really great sludgy doomy riff that sounds incredible. However, here's where I find the true highlight of the band is... its vocalist is a woman. It feels so refreshing to have a female vocalist in the doom scene as, please correct me if I'm wrong because it's not a genre I frequent often, it does usually seem to be men. The calm, clean vocals sound hauntingly beautiful when contrasted against the heavy distorted guitars and it all fits together surprisingly well. I found myself gushing over every part of this song, the transition between riffs was seamless, the electronics work well over the top of the other instruments and everyone is playing their parts exceptionally well. Everything combines together to give it a real epic feel to it.

Onto Fata Morgana, we open with an awesome picked guitar riff, clean and quiet. The vocals again sound so great over this, as do the faint electro parts, and if you're a fan of slow builds, this is the song for you. That is one of the great advantages of having longer songs, too, it really gives each riff time to breath and build up into the next one, getting everything they can out of it. However, 5 minutes into the 13-minute song when the distorted guitar and the rest of the band do kick in, they come in hard with another great riff. I also feel like here's a great time to commend them for using both English AND Welsh, again it's just another example of mixing stuff up and doing great stuff away from the norm. But yeah, this song is another awesome one, more great riffs and vocals.

Du Bist Jetzt Nicht In Der Zukunft is up next. This is a slower, more relaxed song than the previous two, relying on the electronic sounds again and some clean guitar, with vocals over the top. This was really beautiful and you really got a feel for the well written lyrics, the vocals being the center of it all again. My only slight issue with it is that it felt like it was a little too long for something as basic and stripped back as it was, but again that's just personal preference more than anything.

The album's title track, Yn Ol I Annwn, is up next. It blasts straight in with a huge riff, nice after a few slower intro songs. It's also one of the shorter songs on the album, clocking in at 6 and a half minutes, and follows a more standard structure than a lot of the others too. This definitely feels like the most radio friendly song on here. That's not an issue at all, though, this sounds really great. It also contains the first guitar solo on the album, sounding almost Adam Jones-esque in execution, which adds to the song even more. And that riff at the end, damn that was nice!

Katysha is up next. It immediately starts with maybe the best riff on the album, and when it begins with just the guitar and counted by the cymbals it sounds sick. In fact, there are some amazing riffs throughout this song. However, at 13 and a half minutes in length, this is when I finally started to feel just how long this album is. I imagine there are a lot of people who feel the exact opposite to me, but an hour and five minutes for 7 songs and an intro track just feels too long for me. It feels bloated and while I said earlier it's great when riffs get time to breath, that can also be taken a little too far when they go on for minutes at a time without any vocals. And that's the other issue for me, it's a 13-minute INSTRUMENTAL. They are all clearly good at their instruments and are great songwriters, but this dragged a lot for me.

The Majestic Clockwork pulled me back in a little, though. A slow riff to start with lots of electo-warbling gives way to another huge sound from the band before they surprise me, dropping out and leaving it as just a basic drum beat and strings. This sounded awesome and completely caught me off guard, being a highlight of the album. Unfortunately, before I can give it too much praise, the strings are drowned out by the guitar as the true verse starts. It's a great verse, but part of me wanted it to stay with just the strings, giving us more variety. The chorus is great, though, being for me the catchiest on the album. This one at least didn’t feel like it outstayed it's welcome, though!

Finally, we reach Five Days in the Abyss. Starting out with a string and percussion intro was great, it sounded so beautiful and intriguing. Another great riff in this too when it kicks in. However also after not too long it's back to the strings again. The vocals sound utterly fantastic over the strings, like something from the dramatic moments of an epic action movie, another highlight of the album. However, this again goes on just a little too long for my liking, given how simple and repetitive it is. Another sick riff when it comes back in, though, a real heavy one to close things back out on a high.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album. I feel like it was a good first introduction to a band I shall definitely be keeping up to date with in the future. While some of it was a little long for me, I loved every song and each band member did amazingly well, especially the vocalist. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what they have in store in the future!

Overall: 7/10