Mammal

Mammal are a relatively new Australian band formed in early 2006 who have become very well known in the global music scene extremely fast, primarily due to their amazing live shows and via the good old successful word of mouth method. Currently unsigned, they have released two EP's, a live album ‘Vol 1: The Aural Underground' and a studio album ‘The Majority', and have recently finished recording a 2nd live album due to be released September 2009.

Their music consists of a mixture between hard rock and funk and have been compared to the likes of Rage Against The Machine, from their music and vocal style and as a political mouthpiece.

Frontman Ezekiel Ox (Zeke) joined up with Pete Williamson, Nick Adams and Zane Rosanoski to complete the official Mammal lineup and began playing as many shows as they could fit into their schedule soon after forming. Last year ended on a high note when they won Best Live Band at the Music Oz awards for independent bands.

To be able to fully describe the band's charisma, we would have to offer an insight on vocalist Ox, as he seems to be the influential driving force behind Mammal's outlook on music and their reaction to the current global political and social climate. Ezekiel Ox is an entertainer as well as a political activist, starting in opera and musical theatre from the age of 10. He's the singer for his other band ‘Ezekiel Ox and the Fury'. He is on the committee for Musicians Against Police Violence (MAPV) in Melbourne. He has produced a series of radical spoken word shows called Rant! where he discusses varied topics from politics to personal realisation, and has already been established as Australia's most energetic and powerful live performer and lyricist. As one observer described "everytime charismatic frontman Ezekiel Ox steps on stage, it's with his heart on his sleeve and his middle finger up". The latter gesture a sign of his anger and frustration at the mass injustice that can be seen everywhere. Speaking of Mammal, he claims "To say I'm keen on music would be an under statement of my life....We put our hearts, lives and souls into this band." "It's the same struggle the world over - the same ruling class isolating the same people so they can use them as part of the war machine to create more money for the rich man. I know it sounds like such a leftwing rant, like I'm some hippie uni student who's just graduated and wants to talk about it, but these are facts." He goes on to comment on the media's lack of broadcasting the ills of capitalism and how the rights of Australians are being stripped from them day by day. He also criticizes the fact they have an oppostion that offers no opposition. " It's just too important to not talk about and I won't stop until......no, actually I just won't stop. As soon as you let your guard down, that's when the fascists move in". But Ox is not the only one to openly comment on their intention to encourage people to speak and their focus on personal politics. Bandmember Pete Williamson also believes everyone has a right to have an opinion, or to go to a rally "If everyone has the ‘it doesn't affect me or my backyard, so I don't care' attitude, then there's a problem. But if everyone's looking after their neighbour, then it does help globally I think."

Its obvious this band is aiming to spread awareness and positivity, and what better medium than music? Their bonus being they are very talented musicians. Their first studio album ‘The Majority' is amazing, track for track, lyric for lyric. If you've been striving for a new band, a band that produces raw, unedited, unmarketed material, a band that sound just as good live, that don't believe in their image but in their music and the messages they deliver with it, you have found Mammal. They do have a RATM edge to them, which is both appealing and welcome. They are currently touring the UK, with most of their venues already sold out.

Gibraltar has a growing community of talented musicians who could use Mammal as an example to spread awareness of our day to day actualities, our current political affairs....food for thought?