Sweden’s Mammoth Volume release their new album, The Cursed Who Perform the Larvagod Rites, on Aug. 19 through Blues Funeral Recordings.

Once upon about 20 years ago, there was a band in Sweden who were weird. They were called Mammoth Volume, and amid the surge of heavy rock and roll coming out of their home country at the time (see also: always), the Lysekil natives took a more pastoral turn. They weren’t going for retroism like others at that particular moment, but their brand of heavy rock fore sure was indebted to the classics. 21 years after releasing their landmark second LP, 2001’s A Single Book of Songs By…, the weirdos are back and, well, they’re still weird.

That is to say, their approach, whatever familiarity it might have to desert-minded this or classically bluesy that, is still their own. Fact of the matter is Mammoth Volume were never as big as some of the others of their cohort because they didn’t fit as easy into a single idea. Their songs could go different places, add different vibes to a record, and that’s still the case on the cumbersomely titled The Cursed Who Perform the Larvagod Rites. Just because it’s been two decades you think they can’t outweird you? I promise you they beg to differ.

“A Lullaby of Doom” is the first audio to come from The Cursed Who Perform the Larvagod Rites, which will be out Aug. 19 through Blues Funeral Recordings, and you’ll find it premiering in the video below. Please also note that this release is included in Postwax Year II, for which I write the liner notes.

Video and details from the PR wire follow:

 

Mammoth Volume, “A Lullaby of Doom” video premiere

Mammoth Volume on “A Lullaby of Doom”:

“”A Lullaby of Doom” is the first single from The Cursed who Perform the Larvagod Rites. The song is about a possible future with rampant wars and destruction, but also about hope, love and reconciliation. Now is a good time to reflect on – and appreciate – the fact that we do not live in a warzone. So, sit back, pour yourself a cold beer, smoke ’em if you got ’em, crank up the volume, listen and enjoy!”

Mammoth Volume was founded in the small Swedish town of Lysekil in 1996, during a recording session where Daniel Gustafsson was the artist and Nicklas Andersson was the sound engineer. Also at the session was Nicklas’ brother Jörgen (known then as THE metal singer in Lysekil). A friend of the three, Kalle Berlin, was invited to complete the lineup of the new band on bass, an instrument he hadn’t played before. A truly humble beginning. At the time, stoner rock was new, cool, and catching fire in Sweden, and Mammoth Volume immediately sought to differentiate themselves. Proggy sections, unusual melodic phrasings, jazzy breaks, shady tempo changes and wistful ballads became hallmarks of their sound.

A band who never thought anyone but friends and family would listen to their music signed with American record company The Music Cartel in 1998, and released their debut album the following year. Emails and phone calls began to flow in. The visitor counter on their official website increased noticeably, and Stonerrock.com – the place to be if you followed the genre – praised the record.

Noara Dance was released in 2000, a seven-song EP on CD and vinyl. Another positive response followed, and the band embarked on small tours in Germany and Holland with Dozer and Terra Firma, among others. In 2001, A Single Book of Songs was released and hit like a bomb in the scene. The album won the year’s best album on Stonerrock.com, even though the record made it clearer than ever that Mammoth Volume was as influenced by Yes and Mike Oldfield as by Kyuss. The band took to the road for the biggest tour of their career across Europe, playing in some places to packed houses, while other venues were almost comically empty.

The first phase of Mammoth Volume came to a close with the release of the 17-song “DEMO” album The Early Years. With that, the band took a long break. They recorded a few demos in the mid-2000’s, had a couple of rehearsals, gigs and recording sessions in the early 2010’s, but all in a fairly underground way. But Nicklas always had the vision to re-start the band properly, convinced that, with Daniel at his side, Mammoth Volume had more to give.

At last, the band officially reactivated in 2019, stronger than ever, and ready to present their comeback album of genre-bending stoner-prog fusion to an unsuspecting world.

New album “The Cursed Who Perform The Larvagod Rites”
Available on August 19th, 2022 through Blues Funeral Recordings.

Stronger and weirder than ever, Mammoth Volume return with their comeback album of genre-bending stoner-prog fusion. Ready to blindside the scene with massive riffs, unexpected instrumentation, and angular yet irresistible hooks, their approach remains utterly unique, going back to when this innovative foursome reigned over the early, wild west days of the online heavy rock landscape.

The band says: “The Cursed who Perform the Larvagod Rites is our first official release in over twenty years. A little bit of butterflies in the stomach, and a metallic taste in the mouth actually. How will our old fans react to our music in 2022? Well, we can promise them it is like nothing they could even imagine. It’s not metal, it’s not Nordic folk music, it’s not retro prog; but a bit of everything in between these styles. The Cursed who Perform the Larvagod Rites is a fictional (and sometimes not so fictional) journey through fire-ravaged wastelands, medieval castles, long abandoned ruins, post-apocalyptic cities and the modern city. So strap in, because you will be encountering demons, fortune tellers, literary figures, and of course the occasional cryptic gobbledygook lyrics for good measure. »

Tracklist:
1 The Kuleshov Effect
2 Diablo IV
3 Medieval Torture Device
4 Want to Join Us? Come Back Later!
5 Osteoporos
6 The Lightwedge 60’s Race, Zombie Piccolos and the German
7 A King and a Tyrant
8 A Lullaby of Doom
9 Diablo V: Lanternsong

Album credits:
Jörgen “Aston” Andersson – Vocals
Daniel Gustafsson – Guitars, Keyboards
Kalle Berlin – Bass
Nicklas Andersson – Drums, Vocals, Percussions

Guest Performances:
Richard Maisa – Bass on ‘Medieval Torture Device’ and ‘A King and a Tyrant’
Iza Elfström – Backup Vocals on ‘The Kuleshov Effect’

Mammoth Volume on Facebook

Mammoth Volume on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings on Facebook

Blues Funeral Recordings on Instagram

Blues Funeral Recordings on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings website

Tags: Blues Funeral Recordings, Lysekil, Mammoth Volume, Mammoth Volume The Cursed Who Perform the Larvagod Rites, PostWax, Sweden, The Cursed Who Perform the Larvagod Rites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 8:57 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.