The Electric Mud – Ashes And Bone

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · December 17, 2024

Florida-based heavy riff rockers, The Electric Mud released their latest album on October 4th, 2024. Titled Ashes And Bone, the album’s theme is based on mankind’s obsession with its own destruction. The band’s prior recordings include 2018’s Bull Gator, 2020’s Burn The Ships, and 2021’s Black Wool EP. Ashes And Bone is The Electric Mud’s third release on Small Stone Records. The band members involved are: Constantine Grim on guitar, Pierson Whicker on drums and percussion, Peter Kolter on vocals and guitar, and Tommy Scott on bass. Ashes And Bone features ten tracks and is about forty three minutes long.

“Silent Gods” opens the album with a solid riffer that gets things going. The guitar starts the song and the rest of the band joins in shortly afterwards. The music has a nice organic flow to it and Pierson Whicker’s drumming is really impressive, with his intricate fills and solid groove. Peter Kolter’s low and sultry vocals remind me of Wino at times throughout the record and the band also display good backing vocal harmonies on many of the tracks. “Top Of The Tree” is a more direct rocker that boosts up the groove a bit more. It’s a great song with a heavy rock solid foundation incorporating excellent guitar leads from Constantine Grim. The third track, “The Crown That Eats The Head “ starts with bluesy solo guitar leading with some cool accents. The song then busts into a nice rocking groove that varies with lead melodies and rhythm. Kolter’s vocals work well with the song and The Electric Mud introduces a progressive sound into their musical repertoire. “Gone Are The Days” heralds a metal riffing barrage ignited with bluesy leads and invoking rhythms. The song goes right into “Wrath Of The Mighty” with a prog rocking arrangement with keyboard layers and all. It masterfully flows into a slow blues rhythm with great accomplished singing. The song stays slow and soulful and really displays the band’s musical talents with accuracy and diversity.

The title track “Ashes And Bone” comes next and it’s another good number. It has a cool swaggered rhythm and vocal delivery coupled with flavored guitar and keyboard dynamics. “The Old Ways” kicks in next and brings more good sounds and well structured music. The guitar leads and bass and drum rhythm section really work in direct unity with one another. “Manmade Weather” keeps the groove going and has some great backing vocals on the chorus. The lyrical themes are pretty significant on Ashes And Bone which correlates with the human race’s quest for advancement through all means necessary including nature’s destruction. “Pillars” has a very nice bass and drum break in the song that is enhanced by excellent guitar leads. Bassist Tommy Scott is excellent throughout the recording too. The prog rhythms really shine on certain parts throughout the album and the infectious blues rhythms are spiced in there nicely also. The Electric Mud also has a speckle of southern rock within their sound.

The final song on Ashes And Bone is called “Ace”. The nine minute closer is a monster of a song and integrates a nice smooth flow from the very beginning. The hard rock and heavy metal components are perfectly meshed together on this one. The start of the song has a controlled rock groove and then as the song gains momentum, it transforms into a more metallic sound. The track utilizes the elegant backing vocals and soulful guitar leads also. The song doesn’t feel like it’s that long because of everything that’s going on within the music.

The Electric Mud have truly crafted a fantastic album which really requires many listens to fully appreciate. There is so much going on within these songs that could easily be missed. Don’t make that mistake and let this album pass on by because there’s a lot of great music happening within. The band has set the bar high with Ashes And Bone and this was my introduction to the their work. I am thoroughly impressed with their sound and would love to hear these songs in a live setting one day.