Mammut (1971)

Mammut to niemiecka grupa powstała na początku lat siedemdzisiątych i najogólniej mówiąc grająca popularnego wówczas krautrocka. Muzyczne fascynacje członków zespołu sięgały od muzyki klasycznej, przez blues do hardrocka. Słychać to zresztą na jedynej płycie, którą członkowie grupy nagrali własnym sumptem w roku 1971 nazywając swoję wytwórnię Mouse Trick Track Music. Mimo, że żadna z poważnych wytwórni nie wyraziła zainteresowania longplayem został on zauważony i dobrze przyjęty przez muzyczną krytykę. Cóż jeszcze mogę dodać? Najlepiej będzie zapoznać się z tą pozycją, a szczególnie z jednym bonusem (zamieszczonym powyżej) wydanym tylko na CD.

Klaus Schnur - guitar
Peter Schnur - guitar, vocal
Rainer Hofgfman - keyboards
Thilo Herrmann - bass, flute, vocal
Gunter Seier - drums

German heavy band Mammut is nowadays a pure and absolute rarity in the lights of rock classic music; their only album is also a record rather impossible to track down, plus it excels as a fantastic jewel of heavy music, scorching composition and optical art. The music is close to the early classic expressions of progressive rock, showing besides that an empathy for strange visions, compact concepts, psychedelic hazes and fuzz-growing emotions.

The ensemble seems to be a fusion between former bands The Rope Set and Those, consisting of Klaus and Peter Schnur on lead guitars and lead vocals, Rainer Hoffmann on piano and organ, Tilo Herrmann as bassist, flutists and backing vocalist, and Günter Seier on drums and percussions. Mammut was, anyhow, raised within the Stuttgart jazz scene, the German rock ideals, the heavy and dark music inspiration conceptuality, plus within the howling feelings that make rock an explosive and exploratory art. Their work scored an unique private print in the Orschwahl label, but was quickly confronted with legal issues, and was re-licensed by Little Wing of Refugees. The same label problems emerged when "Mammut" was re-released, since it was withdrawn quickly, disappearing for good.

References drag this hard rock (of psych smokes) movement into Krautrock, given that it is a German classic scene music print. Sometimes, the references to Embryo or Amon Duul bewilder beyond how the music's strength mainly sounds like. The band had a special likeness for Deep Purple, otherwise their main acid thrill had everything to do with the evolved giant lengths of Hard Rock, Hard Blues and Hard Psych. The particular slight references to Canned Heat, Tomorrow's Gift or Frumpy surface interestingly.

Mammut insightly plays heavy concept rock, with an entire arch sketched from the acoustic and lyrical breadths to the violently onirical and strangely (ec)static drone-like jams. The tangent values - that reflect pure psychedelism and concept composition, hard sounds manipulation or a bit of a symphonic crust - are of no surprise at all, they add up both an unusual complexity and a decisive precision of trembling rock, within the popular intense graphic. This music generally raises above the limits of pushy and grouchy music, even if its dust art is of an underground music satisfaction. The programmatic movement, creating completely different values of music within each piece (not superficial are all the tracks conceptualized under the word of "Mammut"), gives a plus in talented (or wildly erupted) music writing. (progarchives)

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