THE COAST EXPLODES

Even from California it's a surprise to hear a band that still makes music like this. Defying time and any sense of fashion, the Santa Cruz foursome churn out the heavy cannabis-rock with distant space voyages in the shadows. Perfect riffs are built upon with roomy bridges, grinding trance, Aaron Emmert's flailing drums and the lock-in-step bass of Chris Freels creating a huge progressive sea, supple and unwieldy but never quite out of control. Though Sabbatic on the surface, Mammatus shares as much with early Floyd, Hawkwind and many of the European spacerockers but tightened with a direct, more American sensibility and prog complexity. All these elements are heard on the 12-minute 'Dragon of the Deep Part Three', showing great harmonic interplay between the guitars of Mike Donofrio and Nicholas Emmert as they make mountains out of molehills, and the album is almost worth it for this track alone. A touch of jazz opens 'Pierce the Darkness' but it soon grows dark with Nick Emmert's witching wail and dives deep into the plasma pool, reaching stoner heaven about halfway through. Haunted folk tale 'The Changing Wind' is strange and entrancing with tortured souls, majik circles, spirit dances and incantations, and the title cut has them back to their anchor-heavy earth rock. Absolutely hits the spot if you're in the mood for it, and no one is doing this kind of vintage stuff better at the moment.