Over the next couple months, ethereal Welsh doomers Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard will take part in a slew of festivals across the UK and Europe, from Desertfest London in April to Germany’s Stoned from the Underground in July to Portugal’s SonicBlast Moledo in August. All the while, the now-fivesome from Wrexham continue to rightly reap acclaim for their 2016 New Heavy Sounds full-length, Y Proffwyd Dwyll (review here). From their attention-grabbing moniker to their floatingly melodic and keyboard-infused semi-cosmic doom, the band would seem to have struck a chord amid the crowded UK underground, and as one checks out the video for Y Proffwyd Dwyll‘s title-track below, the reasons why should be that much clearer.

Where much of the UK scene at this point is given to straight-ahead heavy rock riffing and booze-laden post-Orange Goblin riffing, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard manage to find a niche in doom that’s neither that, nor playing at Electric Wizard-style cultistry, nor Uncle Acid‘s garage psychedelia. Yet they bask in heavy riffs, a ritualized sensibility and psychedelic overtones — they’re just taking all of them and putting them to use in their own direction. Doesn’t seem like something that should be a novelty, but in the context of Y Proffwyd Dwyll, it’s an engagement made all the more striking by the memorable nature of cuts like “Valmasque” and “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” itself, and Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard set a deceptive balance between hypnosis-via-atmospherics and songwriting that even if it wasn’t so outwardly grooving would still likely earn nods.

Particularly coming from their already-impressive 2015 debut, Noeth Ac Anoeth (review here), Y Proffwyd Dwyll is a significant forward step for the band, and given that they’re beginning to expand beyond their own borders and explore wider touring, one can only hope that progression will hold strong leading to whatever comes next from them. We’ve probably got a while to go before we get there — at least another year, I’d think — but in the meantime, they keep their momentum rolling with the video for “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” and the potential for more tour and festival dates still to be announced.

I’m not exactly sure what’s happening narrative-wise in the clip, but you can see it for yourself below, courtesy of the Vevo stream, followed by the credits and copious links for further digging.

Please enjoy:

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” official video

Last year filmaker Dimitris Kotselis decided to make a piece featuring Y Proffwyd Dwyll starring actress Penelope Tsillika and Mwwb’s own Jessica Ball. Here it is.

Artists: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard
Directed By: Dimitris Kotselis
Composers: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard
Producers: Maria Repousi
New Heavy Sounds

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard on Thee Facebooks

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard on Bandcamp

New Heavy Sounds on Thee Facebooks

New Heavy Sounds on Bandcamp

New Heavy Sounds website

Tags: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard Y Proffwyd Dwyll, New Heavy Sounds, UK, Wrexham, Y Proffwyd Dwyll

This entry was posted on Monday, March 27th, 2017 at 9:24 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.