Steadily vigilant and vigilantly steady, Murfreesboro’s solid garage-metal trio Aye Mammoth self-produced and released an original EP for 2021, Living Lightning, pulling the trio’s headbang count up to nine EPs.
Containing six tracks totaling almost 24 minutes, Living Lightning stands as a respect-filled continuation of Mammoth albums past, maintaining the established, midtempo grunge-fuzz-metal base influenced by staples Maiden, Sabbath, Motörhead and Thin Lizzy, but produced Mammoth-style. The trio plays around with various influences from album to album, though (for example, last year’s Strigiformes Gaze supplied us with a darker, blues-ier version of Mammoth). This round, Living Lightning seems to channel some Clutch and Rage Against the Machine (track 3) and some Eagles of Death Metal (track 5), with a solid lyrical and structural swing at Queen’s Flash Gordon, too.
“This album is one of the deepest concept albums we’ve created. It’s very heavy metal-driven, inspired by fantasy elements of magic and science fiction,” said Aye Mammoth frontman Micah Loyed.
Much like fresh influences tapped album to album, Mammoth does the same instrumentally, building in some bells and whistles—in Living Lightning’s case, synths, organs, glass percussion, whip and thunder cracks, and the mighty Moog are utilized.
“Zephyr to Eternity” serves as a good example of that habit, instrumentally.
Opening with the hum of an electric organ warming up, Loyed nonchalantly chimes his guitar’s intonations over the hum, gradually timing them into the song’s rhythm structure. A synth quickly joins in, pinging out a simple melody when, suddenly, the chimes turn into that heavy Aye Mammoth grunge-fuzz. This hypnotizing earworm drone then builds to the metal heavens with rolling, explosive gong crashes and high-register Moog oscillations. Loyed, evoking Zappa metal-riffing a climactic solo, propels a lifting, metal build before the song suddenly dissolves into a Godspeed You Black Emperor-like fading into Loyed quietly and softly beta-testing his new sounds in a practice “Zephyr” session. By itself, climactically, it’s somewhat of a let-down, but the fist pump-littered journey into it is well worth it.
Lyrically, Living Lightning is a tale of our hero’s journey between “Sight Beyond Sight” and the EP’s finale, “Might Above Might,” where our hero victoriously Spark[s] the Living Lightning.
While it may be analogical of simply getting out of bed in the mornings, our hero begins this quest in wondering, figuring out, and then knowing he is the one to vanquish any foe, as he/she has righteousness on his/her side. So, our hero embarks to the high authority for permission to do so. This is contained in the first three tracks.
Then, “Ascendant Wrath” depicts our hero’s struggle, battling the foe out in the universe. Epically high and low over the course of both “Zephyr to Eternity” and “Ascendant Wrath,” it’s realized the foe our hero battles is none other than himself!
Prevailing in the existential crescendo, “Might Above All Might,” our hero is at peace, needing only to use himself for good. Spark the Living Lightning!
Living Lightning, along with the entire Aye, Mammoth catalogue, can be found at ayemammoth.bandcamp.com.
