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BLUE MAMMOTH

Neo-Prog • Brazil


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Blue Mammoth biography
Brazilian act BLUE MAMMOTH was formally formed in 2009. At that point long time friends Julien Quilodran (bass) and Andre Micheli (keyboards) had already been developing Blue Mammoth as a studio project, initially perhaps mostly driven by Quilodran's need and desire to be involved in a creative and fruitful musical cooperation following the demise of his former band The Octohpera in 2002, slowly developing to become a studio based creative outlet and then finally a true to life band when Thiego mayer (drums) and Andre Lupac (guitars) joined on a permanent basis.

Following the release of some initial singles, Blue Mammoth was approached by indie label Masque Records. Work subsequently started on the creation of a debut album. At this stage Lupac unfortunately had to leave the band, but thankfully Cesar Aires (guitars), who had been involved in the earlier project stage of the band, had both possibility and interest to join. Ensuring that the work with their forthcoming debut could go on more or less as planned.

After two years of work a full album's worth of material was ready for launch, and in 2011 Blue Mammoth, the band and the album, was made available courtesy of Masque Records.

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3.43 | 70 ratings
Blue Mammoth
2011
3.73 | 26 ratings
Stories of a King
2016

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BLUE MAMMOTH Reviews


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 Blue Mammoth by BLUE MAMMOTH album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.43 | 70 ratings

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Blue Mammoth
Blue Mammoth Neo-Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

3 stars One of the rare examples of Brazilian neo-prog, BLUE MAMMOTH got its start in 2009 as a chance chemistry ignited between bassist Julian Quildran and keyboardist Andrew Micheli who both envisioned playing in a progressive rock band looking more towards jolly old England than anything remotely homegrown in the land of samba, bossa nova or tropicalia. After forging a collective passion for the heavier style of neo-prog that had been gestating in the naughties from the likes of Arena and Pendragon, the duo attracted the talent of guitarist Andre Lupac and drummer Thiago Meyer and thus BLUE MAMMOTH was born. While technically still in action at the current date, the band has so far only released this 2011 self-titled debut and "Stories Of A King" in 2016.

This debut features 14 separate tracks which are in reality for the most part suites in larger connective companions. Three suites and three separate tracks make up this debut of nearly 64 minutes and showcases the band's mix of old school symphonic prog and keyboard driven neo-prog along with the heavier world of hard rock. Eschewing any Brazilian sounds or connections, the band's lyrics are completely in English and the music really does sound as if it was constructed by a band from an English speaking nation. Laced with intricate piano runs and layers of atmospheric keyboard heft, BLUE MAMMOTH very much retains the sounds of classic neo-prog but also delivers it all in a unique fashion with especially in the vocal department of Andre Micheli who sounds rather distinct in the world of neo-prog.

BLUE MAMMOTH delivers the standard affair of melodic prog runs that mix the world of Floydian space rock with the tried and truth established neo-prog format established by the British royalty of the genre. Lots of piano, heavy synth action, melodic motifs that run their course and then shift into longer variations along with extra rockin' guitar heft, bass grooves and percussive drive. Like any suite styled compositions there are lots of excursions into keyboard soloing and extended playtime that allows certain ideas to spiral off into myriad directions. The occasional use of cello and flute offers a few extra touches and the dynamics are well proportioned to allow build ups of tension to climax in heavier moments of resolution. The album is very symphonic with loads of contrapuntal keyboard effects layered upon the other and the band definitely will remind you of classic Genesis in its compositional approach as well as the vocals somewhat reminiscent of Peter Gabriel.

Overall BLUE MAMMOTH delivered a competent debut although a bit neo-by-the-numbers type of prog for my liking. It's a pleasant album that even excels slightly above average but also lacks enough palatable ideas to make an hour's run of the music compelling enough to sit through. The album begins to feel recycled about halfway through as the piano runs, cadences and motifs all start to sound as if they are set to auto-pilot. While the creativity isn't firing on full pistons on this debut, the musicianship certainly is and all the members perform the tasks at hand very proficiently not to mention that the album features an exquisite production and mixing job for such a heavily layered project of sound. In the end it's not a bad effort at all but it's also the kind of neo-prog that just doesn't deliver enough grit and unexpected twists and turns to get me really excited. Add to that the melodies and hooks aren't are addictive as i'd like given that is the feature that most sets neo-prog apart from many other prog genres. A noble effort but not a classic by any means.

 Blue Mammoth by BLUE MAMMOTH album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.43 | 70 ratings

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Blue Mammoth
Blue Mammoth Neo-Prog

Review by ProgShine
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Blue Mammoth was initially a project by the Brazilian bass player Julian Quilodran (ex Octohpera). Later it became a real band and after a couple of years come to release this first self-titled album on the label Masque Records.

The band was betting on the Symphonic orchestral sound of 70's Prog but with a modern sound. The album was also composed as a 3 parts Suite, unfortunatelly, in the original album everything was divided into 14 tracks, which makes the tracklist a bit confusing.

In this album you can hear a bit of Yes influence and Andre Micheli (vocals and keyboards) has a voice that is a bit simillar to Blaze Bayley, especially on Iron Maiden's album The X- Factor (1995). Of course you would have to imagine Bayley singing Prog and not metal (hehehe).

The debut album of Blue Mammoth is an incredible piece of work and it shows us that you still can have Prog acts with originality even if drinking in the classic waters.

In time, the band is right now finishing their new album that'll have 10 tracks and two suites among them. For now you can listen and buy their first album through their Bandcamp: bluemammoth- progressiverock.bandcamp.com/album/blue-mammoth-2

Recommended!

 Blue Mammoth by BLUE MAMMOTH album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.43 | 70 ratings

BUY
Blue Mammoth
Blue Mammoth Neo-Prog

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 3.5 really

Blue Mammoth is a young band from Brazil with one album released so far selftitled. I like what I've hered on this debute is , they melt very well the symphonic prog passages with more rockier sections, the resoult even is not spectacular or original is very enjoyble in the end. I like the voice of Andre Micheli he doesn't have that accet of forign language speakers, he has a very good voice for this kind of music and fits perfectly here, aswell he is responsable for the keyboards arrangements who are very good here. The album is balanced overall, going from slow and mellow parts to more up tempo with plenty of memorable passages, complex ones like on Metamorphosis, Growin or on the opening track. Pleasent from start to finish this guys knew to make a fairly pleasent album, maybe the brazilian prog scene is not so in front now , but from time to time there are bands that needs attention, even as I said before this is not a spectacular album, is decent with good pieces. The symphonic prog parts are present here on almost every piece, giving a more symphonic prog oriantation to their songs even are melted with more hrder edge and some neo passages in places. So, good, the cover art is ok, the rest of the booklet aswell, the music too, so 3 stars rounded to 3.5.

 Blue Mammoth by BLUE MAMMOTH album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.43 | 70 ratings

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Blue Mammoth
Blue Mammoth Neo-Prog

Review by Conor Fynes
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 'Blue Mammoth' - Blue Mammoth (6/10)

To paraphrase a quote Frank Zappa once made about jazz: prog isn't dead, it just smells funny. That is something of the impression that I get with Blue Mammoth, a promising new hard rock band from Brazil. Although many of the traditional school in prog tend to go for that 'symphonic' sound that Yes and Genesis made popular, these dudes instead go for a harder rocking, guitar-driven sound. Although they do not go around sporting the sort of virtuosic pomp that prog has become somewhat notorious for, they earn a firm place in Brazil's progressive music scene. Blue Mammoth's self-titled debut does not possess the sort of standout quality that would have warranted an unquestioning recommendation, but the band's tasteful approach to progressive rock is well worth keeping an eye on in the future.

Blue Mammoth's sound first reminded me of the popular Swedish group Beardfish; an ironic statement considering that Beardfish released an album titled 'Mammoth' the very same year this debut came out. The music takes a few pages from the classic 70's hard rock scene, but also from the highly melodic AOR brand of rock. Blue Mammoth are never technical, instead focusing in on melodies, only focusing on the arrangements when it suits the songwriting. Blue Mammoth execute and perform the album with a very professional sound and production. Where I am less impressed is that there aren't any 'highlights', or moments in the album where I was caught by surprise. Blue Mammoth sound like many bands in their league, and while they write some effective material, I never felt like the band was covering any new ground with it. The musicianship is fairly tame by today's prog standards, but as I said, it fits the sort of anthemic songwriting that the band feels drawn towards.

'Blue Mammoth' is a good debut album, but I cannot quite say that it's anything more than that. Blue Mammoth do not yet have the unique voice to boldly stake their claim within the progressive rock universe, but in regards to the evident artistic sincerity I am hearing here, I would not close the doors to the possibility that Blue Mammoth could have great things in store for them in the future.

 Blue Mammoth by BLUE MAMMOTH album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.43 | 70 ratings

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Blue Mammoth
Blue Mammoth Neo-Prog

Review by toroddfuglesteg

3 stars The debut album from this new and very promising Brazilian band.

Listed as a neo-prog band, this band is much more in the AOR vein of the neo-prog spectrum than a traditional neo-prog band. The band rocks it out with a vintage 1970s hard prog sound too. But there are also some more pastoral, reflective pieces of music here too. The song titles gives associations to concept albums and the symphonic prog genre. A very true association it is too. There are a lot of Yes inspirations throughout this album. In short; the sound is vintage 1970s with today's rich and crystal clear sound. A blue mammoth, this album most certainly is.

The vocals is superb, the musicians knows what they are doing. The flutes are a good addition to the usual keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. I wish there had been some more Hammond organs here because that would had enhanced the songs a lot more. There is no doubts this is a very good album. I am missing that dot over the i which would had elevated this album to a higher level. The missing thing here is a couple of killer tracks. But as a debut album, the band should be really proud of themselves. They have landed themselves into an over populated scene and they will find it hard to get a foothold here. But this band has a lot of good things going for them and I will keep an eagle eye on them and watch their every move.

For fans of the 1970s hard prog scene, this album is a sure winner.

3.5 stars

Thanks to windhawk for the artist addition.

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