What lurks beneath the deep is known, the possibilities of extremophilic life are inarguably kaleidoscopic in potential response to the vast area pressurized by the weight of water yet no matter how much deranged and uneducated folks strive to be consumed by the “mystery” of an unscientific existence the desert below is as above, inhabited by beasts that are localized by their billion plus year path(s) of adaptation to constant unrelenting pressure. Still, Cthylla may very well be waiting for you amongst the shells and bones of thee crushed-apart “chosen” otherwise, I’ve no doubt many hope and hunger for the fantasy of alien life… as evidenced by the conspiracies of observation and invasion unearthed within the bong-brained patter of stoner sludge/doom metal trio AMAMMOTH who return with sights set on brine and brimstone per this sophomore full-length album. ‘Distant Skies and the Ocean Flies‘ builds its thesis around higher-than-thou concepts, conspiracy theorem and the promise of worlds hidden away from human perception or habitability. While that is good fun to be had the major point of interest here arrives by way of juiced up production values, a solid guitar sound, and a balancing act managed between classic 90’s sludge metal’s aggressive severity and the stoney, noxious edge of psychedelic/stoner doom beyond the early 2000’s. There is no major hook to be found herein yet this second exploration thrives upon its juxtaposition of raw bluntness with finer atmospheric detailing, creating an imaginative enough canvas for their muse upon the unknown.

Amammoth coalesced into a quartet at some point prior to 2016 as they’d digitally released a demo ‘Inhale / Blackwitch‘ (2016) going for a sound inspired by stuff like Electric Wizard as well as classic sludge (Eyehategod, early Melvins, etc.) as they’d choke on bong hits, shouted their throats raw and slung lo-fi doom metal dread. Heading back to those recordings today I’d found drummer Scott Harlingcourtvale was particularly good at working fills around a proper Sabbath groove on those first two songs. Some of that jammed feeling had left by the time they were ready for a pro recording and on their debut EP (‘Blackwitch‘, 2019) Harlingcourtvale performed all instruments beyond the bass guitar work from Alex Mokrov (Mourners) and for my taste in sludge it was only decent stuff, nothing that’d stuck with me beyond the pained shouting of the vocals at that point.

With each recording a new bassist was brought in (Warwick Poulton joins for ‘Distant Skies…‘) and something’d fallen into place for their curious debut full-length album (‘The Fire Above‘, 2021) where the theme of that album was surprisingly developed in its statement and the sound received a notable upgrade. While I’d like to make the argument Amammoth‘s debut album felt like a kick up to a higher standard everything is relative. Much as I appreciate the most classic traditions of sludge metal leaning into stoner-doom metal it ain’t that deep, and the pained bark of the vocals ensured it wasn’t an album I’d readily leave on repeat upon induction. There were memorable pieces on there, such as opener “Heal” where the fellow just shouts “marijuana” for the second half of the song, but for my taste it was only just barely above average beyond lyrics that’d otherwise address religion and its use by the ruling class throughout history to cow populations with great consistency.

Our general location has changed, now musing over the mysteries of the deep ocean trenches, and silly-ass UFO conspiracy theories too, but after the previous LP’s lyrics we can expect some over-arching commentary to glean from all of their fun. With the shift in headspace and landscape alike Amammoth‘ve also worked in more layers, more technique into their gig with a pump of the organ and a choir here and there before all of the shouting starts up. The short piece (“Intro”) that precedes opener “Among Us” kicks things off in this exact order before a couple of animalistic howls and buzzing synth drops us into a tentative riff, caked up with fuzzier distortion and warbling effects leaking about. The nine minute opener isn’t shocking stuff in terms of the sleepier, steadied riffs they crack into but moreso the richer layers they’ve built up their sound with while paying special attention to not only the presence of the drums but additional percussion twinkling and shaking throughout. The engine is just starting, the aliens are undersea, and the real boon this piece brings to the band’s sound is all of those smaller details that’re a bigger trip when revisited.

While you’re not going to find me praising the riff unholy in reference to this album when considering all the nastiest, huge and uglied-up stoner doom piling we’d gotten back in the early 2000’s… there is something sonically satisfying, ear-scratchingly caustic yet slick as shit about Amammoth‘s production values herein, specifically the quasi Electric Wizard-esque wobbling buzz of the guitars on “Chosen” and the more bounding doom-built push that carries through for the majority of the record. It isn’t the biggest amplifier wrenched gig you’ll ever hear but if we stretch back to 2016 and trace a line back to today this feels like a realization of the scope and level of boom they’d had in mind, a solid tone for a style the leans on sustained chords that loom and linger with satisfying heft especially when taking a closer look at the drum fills and finessed moments on songs like “So High So Numb”.

Side B is the tip into more immersive tides as angrier, inadvisably simple pieces (“Sink or Swim”) that might dive back into the Hammond-esque organ (“Satellite”) for a creep or two but generally assume you’re inebriated and transfixed enough to put up with their shouting and swaying doom-step. The peak of this per my own taste is the extra mean swinging groove of “Ashes Remain” as it highlights the level of ‘straight to ten’ aggro where the vocalist is most comfortable. From there the closer is a brief piece that flushes out, filler that neither completes the thought nor leads us back to our starting point; The full listen of ‘Distant Skies and the Ocean Flies‘ reads as somewhat typical per the lack of any dynamic sense applied to the vocal style, which is appropriate for their sludge metal rooted sound and all the 2000’s stoner-doom metal excess applied, and the riffs aren’t reinventing the wheel but it is clear enough what these folks are all about after just a couple of songs and no matter where they’ve been sampled from.

I’m kinda halfway there with Amammoth at this point, I appreciate the aggressive early sludge fueled temperament of their voice and how that fuels their stonier waves of simmering riffcraft and polished render though they’ve taken this sound to a less than distinct place in terms of songcraft. There are some solid riffs here and plenty of smaller atmospheric details included but the big moments that define this album are resigned to plain-enough fuzzed amp worship rather than songs that stick, or, find their tuneful edge on the roll through. This sets their work a step ahead of where they’d been on their debut but I’d ultimately found ‘Distant Skies and Ocean Flies‘ only just above-average as a repeatable experience. A moderate recommendation.

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