WOOLY MAMMOTH

The Maryland-D.C. doom scene has been revered for years now, so it is not exactly a shock that the first full-length from Washington, D.C.'s WOOLY MAMMOTH is 54 minutes of doom heaviness and trippy stoner rock jamming. With songs that range from the righteously rocking to the mind altering, "The Temporary Nature" falls squarely into the "solid" category for the genre.

The aforementioned mix keeps things interesting throughout the disc and the trio moves like a well-oiled machine from the first note to the last. As I have no doubt alluded to in the past, it is a beautiful thing when a trio is able to squeeze every ounce of emotion out of its instruments and fill up every nook and cranny of audio space. Vocalist/guitarist Zac Eller combines his catchy and soulful singing with fat chords and amplifier-blowing solos, while Phil Adler (drums/percussion) and Kyle Connolly (bass/keys) create an earth-shaking bottom, yet still remain active throughout the disc.

It is the little things that often make the biggest impact, such as Connolly's buzzing bass line to open the rockin' "Liberasaur" or his four-string rumble that supports Eller's acid-soaked solo on the 11-minute "Mammoth Bones", which also features guest guitar from the almighty Wino. Even this lengthy track of plodding doom-crush and KYUSS-esque atmosphere is arranged in a way that makes it far more than an exercise in the art of drone. The chant-like vocals of the pounding title track and the acoustic psychedelia of instrumental "The Middle Way" are just two examples of the album's more sonically mind-expanding material. "Slow Love" is nine minutes of quintessential blues-based doom crawl, while the mid to up tempo "Black Spider, Red Spider" features a little FU MANCHU in the main melody and echoing space vocals (similar to the early work of MONSTER MAGNET's Dave Wyndorf). "Head Full of Collision" and "From Meridian Hill" are classic mid-tempo doom burners. The group does a nice job of shifting tempos for maximum effect as well.

"The Temporary Nature" offers the listener numerous opportunities to rock out and trip out. And WOOLY MAMMOTH rarely leaves melody out the equation, making "The Temporary Nature" more than just an album of huge riffs and chemically altered jams. Almost an 8.