Mammoth Grinder
A lot of screaming underground metal has come and gone since the last album from Austin-based trio Mammoth Grinder dropped five years ago, with countless similar acts from all over the world currently padding their schedules everywhere from nightclubs to arenas. Their fourth full-length since forming in 2005, Cosmic Crypt, is set for release a couple of weeks before they hit Space on February 15, sporting an all-star mix of contribs including Arthur Rizk (Sepultura), Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust), and Mark Bronzino and Ryan Parrish from Iron Reagan, all of them vets of bands whose names form a perfect RIYL list for the Grinders.
The album’s lead single, “Superior Firepower,” is streaming online, demonstrating little change in the punky death metal sound of previous releases, other than perhaps a bit more attention paid to making sure the lyrics are both intelligible and engaging (not always a given in their chosen field of screams). The other songs I previewed, “Human is Obsolete” and the title track “Cosmic Crypt,” reminded me of San Diego’s own Cattle Decapitation, both in the cheeky humor and the aggressive cadence of a band always guided by one clear, consistent “voice,” no matter the song and whatever the year. It’s a timeless approach to songcraft that carries over to their sleeve graphics, which look akin to most other bands of a similar bent while still featuring elements in each that unite all their releases as a cohesive and consistent (if not particularly unique) body of work.