Release
date: January
24th
2020.
Label: Heavy
Psych Sounds.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Under
Acid Hoof – Tracklisting
Them!
Tree
Of Woe
Tusks
Of Doom
Jack
The Riffer
Under
Acid Hoof
Members
Chris
Babalis Jr. – Vocals, Guitars
Chris
Babalis Sr. – Guitars
Dimosthenis
Varikos – Bass
Marios
Louvaris – Drums
Review
Acid
Mammoth come roaring back with their epic sounding second album Under
Acid Hoof and it’s a groovy slice of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Rock
with influences diverse as Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath and Uncle
Acid. Newly signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, the band waste no time in
playing a vintage and classic style of Psychedelic Doom and Stoner
Rock whilst offering a modern heavy groove as well.
Opening
song – Them! – is a deliciously heavy opener with the band
settling on an addictive slice of Psychedelic and Trippy Stoner Rock
with a groovy Doom atmosphere that paves the way for the rest of the
album to follow. The guitars have quite an epic quality to them. The
vocals are inspired by the “Ozzy Osbourne” and “Uncle Acid”
style of Classic Doom Rock with the lyrics adding an extra gloomy
feel to the tone of the album.
Second
song – Tree Of Woe – is where the band show their true talent for
creating epic sounding classic Doom/Stoner Rock grooves. As this song
runs past the nine-minute mark and Acid Mammoth play a more
hard-hitting and heavier style of music with flashes of Prog Rock and
Psych Rock taking their time to appear. This is quite a clever song
with the vocals and lyrics playing a major part allowing the band to
focus more on the “Doom Metal” part of their overall sound.
Though the band still play a fine amount of Stoner Rock/Metal riffs
along the way.
Third
song – Tusks Of Doom – carries on the heavy distorted Psychedelic
Doom sounds but with a more laid-back aggression that takes time to
fully get going but the sound is still wildly addictive. This is
perhaps the song where the band impressed me the most. Mostly with
their overall vision of the whole album. The lyrics and vocals are
first-rate on this song. Sure they’re over the top but it matches
the context of the actual song. The heavy pounding rhythms feel quite
original in places and never feel forced or out of place.
The
final two songs Jack The Riffer and Under Acid Hoof offer almost
sixteen minutes of intense and massive sounding Doom/Stoner Metal
riffs that has a more Progressive feel and perhaps the heaviest riffs
on the album. Acid Mammoth play some of the best riffs on these two
songs with Under Acid Hoof being the main highlight of the entire
album.
The
whole album is a wonderful sounding Doom/Stoner Metal experience that
gets the new year off to a fantastic start. I know this is one of the
first albums I’ve reviewed for the new year but I feel that we’ve
found a genuine Album Of The Year contender right here. This is a
powerful and addictive experience that demands your full undivided
attention.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Claire at Purple Sage PR and Mona at All Noir PR for the promo. Under The Hoof will be
available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from January
24th 2020.
Links:
