Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof

Acid Mammoth

Under Acid Hoof

by Dave Nowels at 01 February 2020, 8:57 AM

ACID MAMMOTH is a quartet that distributes Doomy riffs from Athens, Greece, and here's the deal…..if you dig SABBATH, and by that, I mean classic early SABBATH, you're gonna love ACID MAMMOTH's “Under Acid Hoof”. But don't think this is just some band ripping on Iommi riffs. There's a freshness and liveliness to this 5-song release, that promises the future while honoring the past. The album released in January on Heavy Psych Sounds, and should be a must have for any Doom aficionado .

“Under ACID HOOF” is ACID MAMMOTH's second full length album, though it may seem more EP-ish as it's only 36 minutes in it's 5-songs. But don't let that deter you. This is a release centered on quality rather than quantity, and it's substance more than overcomes it's brevity. The band itself has quite an intriguing dynamic in that it contains two guys named Chris Babalis. To clarify, one Senior and the other Junior. Chris Sr. holds down the crushing Iommi riffage while son, Chris Jr. nails the layered Ozzy style vocals and rhythm guitar. The band was formed back in 2015 by high school chums, Chris Jr. and bassist Dimosthenis Varikos. Chris Sr. and drummer Marios Louvaris completed the quintet, and together ACID MAMMOTH is more family than just a band.

Doom bands try everything to conjure up a smidgen of SABBATH's vibe, and here ACID MAMMOTH come and make it sound easy. I dove back and checked out their self-titled debut, and it was really interesting to see the amount of maturity and growth that's evolved in their sound. The whole album is outstanding and highly recommended. Stand out tracks for me were: “Them!”, “Jack the Riffer” and the title track, “Under Acid Hoof”. It would not surprise me to see ACID MAMMOTH in a lot of best of 2020 lists at year's end. Deservedly so. Don't miss a chance to check them out. These boys deserve our support.

Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 8
Production: 8