Mammal

In this day and age, evolution comes in many different forms. It can be slow, minute, indeterminable to the naked eye, or it can be swift, in the inhale and exhale of a single breath. Or it can be a change, so subtle in process, but so massive in magnitude, that by the time you have noticed the change, the final product is nothing like what it began as, and probably never will be again. Mammal, the four-piece wunderkind of the Aussie rock-metal scene, have gone through an evolution of sorts, and their change, for the most part, has seen been swift, and brought with it monumental change to the Australian music landscape.

Mammal took the stage of the Annandale Hotel on a chilly, miserable Friday night in Sydney, facing a sell-out, shoulder to shoulder crowd – and for a measly $12, who wouldn’t get off the couch, as cold as it was, to have seen these guys! I doubt shows under the $20 mark for these guys will be a continuing trend so if you missed it, you really missed out. A new album to promote has seen the boys evolve into a sharper, tighter crew, and the music has come a long way from the first, raw offerings we saw the likes of 12 months ago.

Support came before the guys in the form of Kings, Queens and Fairytales, another in the fast-growing long line of shirts-off rock that seems to be emerging, multiplying as we speak. The band were a three piece, with a recorded bass track, which struck as kind of odd in this day and age of dime-a-dozen bass player wannabes. Their music was nothing to write home about – not bad, but not mind-blowing, but, as a support, I don’t think it was meant to be.

That said, keep an eye out for second supports Sydonia. It’s rare that I get excited over a support these days – the exceptions being Mammal themselves and In Fiction, another band to watch out for – but Sydonia, also hailing from Melbourne, were minute for minute impressive. Starting out with a three-way drum track – that is, three people playing the drum kit at once – things only got better. At one stage there were six (count it, six) people playing the drums, which was unbelievable, and the tracks were everything from heavy to slow to driving bass-a-rific. Think early Deftones meets recent Cog, and you’d be in the carpark of the ballpark.

To the matter at hand, though, and Mammal did not disappoint, delivering a fast-paced, hit-packed set, peppered with old staples, and celebrating the imminent debut album ready to jump of shelves in September. New single Smash the Piñata was a crowd favourite, old favourites like Nagasaki In Flames pleased to no ends, and new tracks like Clear Enough were received really well by the crowd. The evolution of one track into Welcome to the Jungle was a very nice treat, and the awesome 80’s licks the Gunners are famous for were by no means ambitious for the lads.

Tracks like Think and Hell Yeah, did as they usually do and whipped the crowd into a frenzy, which, for the most part, was an awesome thing to see. This is where I put on my nanna hat though. For a small minority, Mammal shows seem to have evolved into an alpha-male pageant of bravado. I’m not sure when it became cool to take your shirts off, start a circle pit and punch the crap out of your fellow punters, but I must have missed that memo. Don’t get me wrong, 99% of the crowd respected their fellow fans, going hard and getting into it, proving that it’s possible to enjoy the music without throwing a beer over your neighbour. Mammal crowds have always been a bit rough, but never like this. If this is where evolution is taking them, hopefully we’ll eventually weed out the deadbeats and it’ll be back to survival of the fittest, not the shittest.

That gripe aside, the band were unbelievable. Ezekial Ox delivered another spellbinding stint as the most charismatic frontman on the Australian scene at the moment – inciting more than one gutteral yawp from the crowd, dancing the bar of the Annandale like his own, private catwalk, and singing up a storm. Pete Williamson’s guitar is always something to be marveled at, while Zane Rosanoski cannot be faulted on his exceptional mastery of the two sticks in his hands. Special mention has to go to Nick Adams on bass though, who guides much of the music and is just a wonder to watch.

I have stressed it before, and I will again – if you haven’t seen this band, haven’t heard of them, get out there, witness, listen, and I guarantee you’ll be swept up in the whirlwind of change that they bring with them every time they grace the stage. And do it soon, before evolution brings about change, as it inevitably does.

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