In my search for that gritty, dirty heavy stuff that I crave oh so much, I find some cool shit. A band that was brought to my attention on IG (@anthonyvongrimm for the tip), and it did not disappoint! THe band in question is called Yanomamo, which is hard to say in a rush, hard to type correctly the first time, every time, and fun to say. THis band has all the necessary ingredients I seek, and a review is forthwith! After yon jump!

This will be a bit different, as I didn’t want to pick out a singular album from these guys, having just discovered them, so I thought I would break down their Individual albums, and give a little info as to them as well. Firstly, the band hails from Sydney, Australia, one of the coolest places on earth. They have a sound akin to The Drip and Stoneburner, without the ingrained bleak hatred toward all that is; still hateful, but not in the absolute nihilism route. They are quite heavy, quite sludgey, and serve up some tasty riffs in 6 minute songs. Mostly they release in singles or 2 song EPs.

Their release timeline is as follows: Maggot EP (longest at 4 songs) (2012), Capitolo Due (2014), Minions single track (2014), and Ativan and Whiskey (2014). THo the output is fairly small, they can do a lot with what they have out. Let’s Get to it, oldest to newest.

(Recorded October 2012
Music: Yanomamo
Lyrics: Anthony Von Grimm
Produced by Frank Attard & Yanomamo
Engineered by Frank Attard at Frank St Studios
Mastered by Dav Byrne at Iridium Audio
Distributed by Von Grimm Records
Released 06 December 2012
Anthony Von Grimm – Lungs
Jason Higson – 6 strings
Paul Attard – 4 strings
Matthew Shriffer – Traps)

Being the longest release, this is something special. THe opener, titular Maggot, opens with a misleading, light, country music style acoustic riff, but that is quickly thrown away over the acidic vocals from Anthony Von Grimm, who just screams as if he is being murdered by his worst nightmare. He music is extremely raw, with a fuzzy guitar that just grates along the ear, and a drummer who values the cymbals as if his life depends on how much crash he can make. The song goes from quick pace, to slow, to agonizingly slow feedback, back into a measured groove that really shows a good deal of talent. I love the guitar riffs on this, low slow and heavy as fuck. Great damn opener, and just continues on from this high point, into just the sludgiest songs this side of SUNN 0))). THe riffs get nastier and more distorted, throughout the other 3 songs: The Age of Water, Yanomamo, and Baphomet. Perfect release to kick a band off!

(Recorded mid-2013
All Music: Yanomamo
All Lyrics: Anthony Von Grimm
Produced by Yanomamo
Engineered by Michael Taverner at The Brain Studios Sydney
Mastered by Dav Byrne at Iridium Audio
Distributed by Von Grimm Records
Released 15 March 2014
Anthony ‘Salami’ Von Grimm – Dulcet Tones
Jason ‘Ludacris’ Higson – Feedback & Gain
Paul ‘The Good Egg’ Attard – Maximum Bottom End
Matthew ‘Lil Matt’ Shriffer – Concussion)

THe next release was dropped on it’s head in 2014, and continues their fine tradition of sludgy goodness with 2 songs: A Bag of Bones & a Machine Gun, The Knights of Malta. These songs are cut from a similar cloth as Maggot, with the low and heavy riffage, trade-offs of time signatures between fast and plodding, and the scorching vocals of “Salami” Von Grimm breaking the icy seas of metal before them. A Bag of Bones… is brutal, but is distinguishable from Maggot easily, as the sound has matured. Where Maggot was intense, raw, and very low on production, Capitolo Due is slick, fuller sound sounding in both guitar and drum, and has a more metal sound, as opposed to the more crusty, punk/hardcore aesthetic. The last 4 or so minutes of Bag of Bones is a huge sounding affair, and is perfect for your biggest, loudest speakers. The second half, Knights of Malta, just kind of carries on that huge sound, letting huge, torn off riffs just hang, then into a fierce groove that just crashes against the listener like sonic bombers. Von Grimm’s vocals have absolutely no drop off either, as he continues to just tear apart the insides of his throat with a prolonged campaign of gravel, alcohol, and pure passion.

(Recorded by Frank Attard @ Frank Street Studios in Sydney, Australia
Mixed by Chris Fielding @ Skyhammer Studios in Chesire, England
Mastered by Dav Byrne @ Iridium Audio in Melbourne, Australia
lyrics
YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A MINION
YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SERVANT
YOU ARE HOPELESS AND YOU KNOW IT
YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A HUMAN
credits
released 21 July 2014
Vocal – Anthony “Antipasto” Von Grimm
Guitar – Jason “Ludacris” Higson
Bass – Paul “The Good Egg” Attard
Drums – Matthew “Thug Life” Shriffer
Organ – Unknown)

The second newest release, Minions is quite simple and to the point: you are nothing but a slave, so stop lying to yourself. Honestly, with every release, Yanomamo just seems to get a little better. This carries on being that low, thunderous metal that they do so well, but then Minions throws in some punk/hardcore tempo and feel right in the middle of the song, really changes the texture for the listener. Minions keeps to the 6 minute length, as they love their length, but it doesn’t wear out any welcomes. It’s well paced, has simple damn lyrics so you can sing along to the car next to you (who should have this on regular rotation), and stellar artwork, Yanomamo have crafted a massive single. From the initial fade in, the solid bedrock foundation of the drums, to some extremely octave-fueled, fuzzed up guitars, Minions would be an excellent starting place for the new Yanomamo listener, to me.

(Recorded January 2014 during the ‘Minions’ session with Frank Attard at Frank Street Studios.
Mixed & mastered by Dav Byrne at Iridium Audio.
Written by Jason Higson, Paul Attard, Matthew Shriffer and Anthony Von Grimm.
BURN SPLIFFS, PLAY RIFFS!
lyrics
Would you place a dagger to your throat and push?
credits
released 21 October 2014
Higson. J – Distortion, Feedback & Cowbell
Attard. P – Maximum Bottom End
Shriffer. M – Thunder
Von Grimm. A – Poetry, Flowers & Violence)

Honestly, Yanomamo has found that simplicity is their theme, and just keep making interesting music. Ativan and Whiskey is a further mutated offspring from Minions, using similar ingredients. You still have the slow plodding of most of their offerings, but they amped up the Octave to give us a dreamy riff sound that rocks my socks. Added into the mix now is beeter mixing, as I can hear all instruments, guitar, bass, drums, demon yelling at me, in one cohesive format, whereas before, no bass was present at all. Or buried enough it blended too well. Here, on Ativan and Whiskey, the bass and guitar play a soulful 70s style melody, sounding like a retro doom band who found an overdrive pedal cursed by an indian shaman. And some off peyote. Its a bulldozer of a song, starting extremely slow and groovy, then switching about 3/4 of the way in, to a faster tempo sludgerock song with that lovely cowbell keeping you up to speed. Their mix of influences is on high display here, and if you didn’t like where they started, you will love the way they’ve finished here.

Now, onto the important stuff. I’ve discussed my personal thoughts on this funky little band from Australia, I’ve waxed my mind’s thighs on their music and style, and I whole heartedly recommend them to any fan of the TRVE METAL or something dark and sludgey; but the real reason you should check these guys out? ITS FREE MUSIC. every bit. Go check out their Bandcamp, IG (@anthonyvongrimm), Record Website (Von Grimm Records), Facebook, Twitter, and anwhere else the Google can take you to find them!