Review Summary: Riffs hard
Happiness is a rare visitor in our lives, and truly timeless music is an even rarer gem. As we age, finding songs that become lifelong companions feels like discovering buried treasure. We all crave it and search for it; good music that will not just stick with us, but enter our lives and take up permanent residence for the rest of our days. For me, one such example of a godsend gift arrived in early 2014, courtesy of a fellow sputniker’s urgent recommendation:
“Stop what you’re doing and jam Mammoth Storm now!”
Thirty minutes later, I was utterly captivated and never looked back. The EP
Rite of Ascension became an obsessive loop for weeks, its grip only slowly loosening after a month of constant rotation. Now, a full decade later, the core memory remains disarmingly simple: these riffs hit with the force of a tectonic shift.
The Swedish heavy metal scene is a fertile ground for such talent, and Mammoth Storm emerged from it with a fully formed, massive identity. Formed in 2012, this relatively obscure trio followed their demo with this two-track, twenty-four-minute statement in 2014. On paper, it seems like a modest offering. In practice, it’s a colossal monument. The EP doesn’t behave like a cautious debut; it’s a masterclass in how repetition, atmosphere, and sonic weight can construct an entire world from a handful of core ideas.
The production is a thing of dark beauty. Christer Ström’s guitar is drenched in reverb and distortion, yet each riff retains its sharp, brutal outline. Daniel Arvidsson’s bass is a prominent, earth-shaking pulse you feel in your chest as much as you hear, while Emil Ahlman’s drumming provides a patient, colossal scale. Nothing is rushed. Every note is allowed to reverberate and decay before the next thunderous strike. Arvidsson’s hoarse, weathered preaching isn’t a melodic guide but another vital texture woven into the band’s enormous, immersive soundscape.
The title track establishes this approach with immediate authority. Its opening riff moves with the unstoppable certainty of a glacier, and the band wisely understands that embellishment would only dilute its power. They repeat it, deepen it, and let subtle shifts in emphasis do the heavy lifting. Melodic lines eventually pierce through the distortion, but the song never abandons its slow, processional grandeur. While one can hear echoes of Celtic Frost’s primitive severity and Electric Wizard’s massive tones, the result is no mere pastiche. Mammoth Storm synthesizes these influences into a coherent, vision that is entirely their own.
Obscure Horizon, lands a different experience. This second piece, reveals a little bit more of the band’s dynamic range and drone sensibilities. Its rhythm sways before receding into a haze of isolated notes, distant voices, and feedback. The weight never vanishes; it merely transmutes. Where the title track is direct and imposing, this piece is uneasy and tense, building to a mournful, vulnerable climax. This contrast is intentional as it is crucial. Without it, two long tracks might blur into sameness. Instead, they feel like two distinct movements of the same epic saga.
The obvious critique is that Mammoth Storm’s craft tests patience. Their compositions orbit a small number of ideas, offering few escape routes for the uninitiated. Yet this narrow focus is the EP’s greatest strength. This is not background music, nor is it interested in a quick journey. It asks the listener to dwell within a riff, to let repetition transfigure into atmosphere. The concise format prevents this method from becoming exhausting, leaving no room for filler.
While fans of stoner/doom giants like Sleep will recognize the appeal,
Rite of Ascension feels rooted in a more traditional doom metal vocabulary: solemn pacing, imposing riffs, and a pervasive sense of dread. Mammoth Storm’s mission was simple -to play heavy riffs in the name of doom- and this EP fulfills it with absurd, unwavering authority. Twenty-four minutes should have been enough. Somehow, more than a decade on, it still leaves me wanting more.
