mamuthones/evil blizzard: collisions vol 4

The fourth volume in Rocket Recordings' Collisions series features another pair of boundary-breaking iconoclasts: Mamuthones on side A and Evil Blizzard on side B. Mamuthones, noted for their position in the burgeoning Italian occult psychedelic movement, build their sound on circular, repetitive motifs and take their name from ancient death-masked figures known for joining ritualistic processions and haunting the imaginations of the Sardinian locals. In keeping with the darkly celebratory origins of their moniker, this band, formed by ex-Jennifer Gentle member Alessio Gastaldello, deliver an upbeat and effervescent sound equally damaged by the dark alchemy of early Can, the sci-fi swagger of Chrome, and the magpie spirit of Eno and Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Evil Blizzard, the mysterious and ghoulish masked voyagers from a land of nightmare (via Preston, Lancashire), possess a markedly similar psychological makeup, and have been raising eyebrows in the live arena since 2011 with their queasy, grand, Guignol-tinged style of repetitive and intense dementia, existing on a psychic wavelength informed by the howling dread of Metal Box era PiL, the sonic overload of Hawkwind, and a taste for a very British type of disquieting absurdity. Their contribution to this disc comprises two versions of "Sacrifice," the previously unreleased powerhouse that remains at the center of their live set. Alongside the sinister riff-monolith itself, a remix by fellow Rocket artists Teeth of the Sea beams the track through a prism of electronic horrorcore tension and adds chanted vocal mantras and demented ululations to suitably unsettling and portentous effect.