Many great things come Sweden. Nordic Track, for example. And Swedish Fish. Who doesn't love Swedish Fish? Continuing in the tradition, the country of fjords brings us Mammuth (of the rock band variety, not the frozen wooly) a hardcore band whose second album Die To Rise In Spring plunges into territory previously only touched upon by bands like Skillet and Pillar.

They stick to a format of jerky, sludgy, stop-go riffage in this departure from their nu-metal roots. The title track may even confuse you with Rage Against the Machine's Bulls On Parade at first. However, Mammuth is not a rap-metal band. They have a strong frontman who sings way more than he screams, which is nice, and a guitarist who doesn't try too hard.

Mammuth manages to keep it simple, while keeping it interesting and if I may use street-euphemisms- krunky. The main problem on the 11-track album is that there isn't enough variety, vocally or musically. To recap: the main strength and weakness of this album is its strict adherence to its format.

The title track is great, as is the song "Whatevermay," a soulful rocker followed by another groovy track, "When My Days Are Over." If you get a chance to sample a track or two of Die To Rise In Spring, you'll have an excellent feel for the entire album, which has many great headknockers. The difficulty is that the tracks seem interchangeable and their order on the record feels arbitrary. Whereas a truly awesome rock album is assembled in such a way that it has motion, leading the listener somewhere, this record has the feeling of tracks-from-a-hat, not having any specific motion from start to finish.

All in all, a potent sophomore effort that could have benefited from a little variety, some faster songs, and a better arrangement. It is definitely worth a listen, and I have heard that the boys from Mammuth put on an awesome live show. Hopefully they'll have some future tour dates stateside.

- Review date: 5/31/06, written by Sean Lex