The Electric Mud – Ashes and Bone
Reviewed by: Denis Bridger
Review Score: 9
Back in 2021, The Electric Mud released their Ep ‘ Black Wool. ‘ I’m not exactly sure what happened at a that time but the band was encouraged to continue making music by friends, family and those in the know at Small Stone recordings, so maybe life had thrown a curve ball at the band, but now in 2024 with the belief that their ideas and philosophies were not in vein, The Electric Mud have released a massive release, which I’m pretty sure is going to get them a load of attention in the press, as it already is getting at The Metal Pit.
Ashes and Bones will take you on humanity’s innate desire to self destruct without grace. On this record you will hear many different genres, a very obvious influence from Seattle giants like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots, but if you are into bands like Electric Wizard, 1000 Mods, Green Lung and a more stoner, doom sound then, you will not be lacking. Generally, if you like anything slightly rock n roll with a bit of Metal, grunge, prog and even some soul music, then you need to listen to this record. If you are in doubt of what this album can be then just know that it was mixed by All them Witches’ Guitarist Ben Mcleoud. Artwork by Alexander Von Wieding, for those who still appreciate an album cover.
We dive straight in with Silent Gods. An immediate stoner, doom feel. A lovely guitar tone, great bass and drums, with instantly likeable vocals with an added feel of grunge, but with a much more modern, heavy feel. Already for an opener, we can feel that this album is going to be very diverse and played often. The track is solid, melodic, catchy and I have not heard a much better opening track this year.
Top of the Tree is next and the guitar tone is the thing that stands out, really heavy, fuzzy. This track reminds me a little of Clutch, dirty and greasy. The kind of song that’s playing over a bunch of bikers rolling down an open road looking to have some fun and cause some mild danger. Hehe
The Crown that Eats the Head – has it all. You gotta love this guitar and bass tone on this record.. You can really hear the mix in play and the feel is warm and has a really intimate feel, that grabs your attention. Great work from Ben Mcleoud. The feel is vibrant, exciting but dark and although, without reading lyrics, I couldn’t specify a theme of the lyrics, you get the sense that it’s about society feeding on itself from the top, down, which seems to be the case as society envelopes into it’s own ass. Reality aside, This album just gets better with every next tune.
Gone are the days– Starts off with that ripplingly fuzzy bass and kick, a groggy, jazz hi-hat and the title seems to fit with the current state of the world and as it predicts “ we may see the end of days “ The track is pretty dark until the bridge which seems sad but uplifting and then goes into a very nice guitar solo, you will hear real nice solos on this album, which is always good, as some bands refrain from solos these days. The end of the track veers into an almost death metal type climax and then STOP!
After some listens in my car and on walks with my dogs. This next track is has become one of my fav songs of this year so far. It starts of with a very progressive feel, some really nice hi-hat work and some complex bass and guitar licks, it almost feels like it is going to be an instrumental but then suddenly…….
We are transformed to a modern Alternative Motorcity thing and I’m not talking KISS or Mr. Alice Cooper, both from Detroit. I’m talking Motown. Wrath of The Mighty is just a fine soul rock masterpiece, with some very fitting organ, gotta have organ for Motown, eh? This is a massively, bluesy, rough edged emotional track and the vocals of Peter Kolter really kicks the jams and the epic guitar solo that would make the likes of Gilmore or Page sit up and listen. This track got a lot of soul, Killer song writing on this one.
The title track Ashes and Bones is back to the solid rock n roll, classic metal, doom sound. Again reminding me of Clutch. Mastodon and Sabbath have been compared also by others and sometimes I get a feeling of Monster Magnet on this one, so lots to think about. A Good solid track but from a personal view, I might have chosen Wrath of the Mighty to be the title track.
The Old ways – I see a theme with the past and it being gone and the future being pretty uncertain. This is a very uptempo track, a little less doomier but still holding it’s own with lovely bass and continuing great guitar tones. The mix on this record is really very good, Ben should be very proud, as should the band. A fast moving tune, everything you need from a rock n roll band.
Manmade Weather– is back to a kind Seattle grunge feel again, lots of minor chords going on giving it that Stone Temple Pilots feel but maybe a little heavier, Definitely some influences from many places on this record. The thought of manmade weather is a little scary but we know with climate the way it is, that there are some mad scientists somewhere are trying to make rain in a lab, so why not sing about, eh?
Pillars – is the penultimate track and is maybe more a classic rock sound, still with those fuzzy tones and heavy bass and even a very nice bass riff and guitar solo in unison. This album is never dull, now we have some jazz drumming and some, what sounds like a freestyle improv section and then into the big heavy ending.
And so on to the last track- Ace. A mellower vibe to end on, after being blasted by all tunes before… sorry, but no. It’s gonna get real heavy first and then settle down into a thoughtful reflection verse with a big chorus. Between the heaviness is some downtime to just listen and take in the music and words. The epic chorus talks about being older and no doubt grumpier and the following bridge about remembering being young. These are just facts of life. Getting older, looking back and trying to take it all in. Of course with all that tension, you have gotta have an epic thought provoking guitar solo, and to end an epic grunge massive exit, oh and then a little surprise just to finish things off. The end.
Conclusion – A fine piece of work and I’m happy that they got it together to put this record out. It isn’t one I would liked to have missed. You have lots of different stuff from Classic Metal and Rock to Grunge to Stoner Doom, but also as I have mentioned some deep soul music, still rock in sense but a true soul vibe on Wrath of the Mighty. Which could be high on my top 10 list of song for the year. Excellent playing from all the musicians and as said before, great mix.
Just a good old heart warming heavy rock record that draws you in and surprises you at various junctions.
Excellent work.
THE ELECTRIC MUD:
Constantine Grim – guitar
Pierson Whicker – drums and percussion
Peter Kolter – vocals and guitar
Tommy Scott – bass
Special Guests:
Joe Reppert – organ and keys on “Wrath Of The Mighty”
Jon Meek – synths on “Wrath Of The Mighty” and “Ace”
Track listing
1. Silent Gods
2. Top of the Tree
3. The Crown That Eats the Head
4. Gone are the Days
5. Wrath of the Mighty
6. Ashes to Bones
7. The Old ways
8. Manmade Weather
9. Pillars
10. Ace
Ashes and Bones is released on October 4th on Small Stone Recordings.