I’ve read descriptions of this band as “psychedelic stoner metal”, “psychedelic doom”, “psychedelic (insert genre here)” and I must say, it’s too easy to throw that tag onto a genre if someone doesn’t understand the actually influences regarding a sound being conveyed. With Ufomammut I find that descriptor appropriate but moreso in the vein of the space rock sound (Oresund Space Collective, Hawkwind, a little bit of USX). Eschewing the bluesy styles of most traditional psychedelic music for those spending time in space, Ufomammut creates layers of sound and never lets up. It’s quite relentless in presentation but it’s never overwhelming and one can certainly find something hiding in their sound that was unheard on previous listens. With Ecate, Ufomammut has continued to further their identity in the musical world without sidestepping their established sound: hypnotic riff monsters invading the swamplands of Italian goblins made into a phenomenal b-horror movie.

The music here almost seems to be in almost modal form. Definitely repetitive and hypnotic with minor changes and variation of tone.You can definitely hear the influence of Neurosis in that there seems to be some hints of almost industrial type noise on this record that sounds a little more prevalent than previous releases. They’ve always had the keyboards/synths to accent the murky heft that spews forth from demonic amplifiers but in songs like “Chaosecret” and “Daemons”, it seems as if they rediscovered their love for Godflesh and Ministry and in my older years, I don’t find that a bad thing. I never really got into industrial type stuff but the further along in age I get, the more I am becoming ok with it. The cohesion between that and the Hawkwind-like spaced out keyboards really makes for an interesting listen. The vocals seem to be a little less harsh than on earlier stuff too. Almost similar to how I described Jus’ vocals on the newest Electric Wizard, there seems to be a progression with age that aptly fits their style. I also love that the bass is very much there. You don’t have to search for it within the thickness of the music because it is very pronounced.

There doesn’t seem to be a song on this album that really stands out above the rest (then again, when has any Ufomammut album had a “single”?) but the album as a whole certainly plays out from start to finish in a satisfying fashion. Ear candy galore for those that have a good set of headphones. I imagine it’d sound amazing on vinyl too. The production is spot on which seems to be an underlying theme in the realm of Ufomammut. Thick, murky, and spacey; nothing is mixed higher than what their station entails. The vocals are not really front and center which is ok because it’s all about the spacey, noisy, doomy tempo more than anything.It’s almost cinematic in presentation. They’ll probably perform the whole thing at Roadburn some year while a sweet movie is played in unison. It’s not a very long album either; with 6 tracks and one of those being a segue of sorts between songs, it’s short and to the point.

If you dig spacey, horror-y, gloomy stoner doom and haven’t given this band a proper listen yet, you can’t go wrong with this album. It’s everything that is good about Ufomammut with just a few minor tweaks on the original recipe. It’s certainly a solid release in a line of solid releases from a band that, from my point of view, doesn’t get enough recognition.

Also, they are finally touring the States this summer! So go check them out if they are playing a show near you. I am going to see them in Denver with Usnea and In The Company of Serpents. It shouldn’t disappoint!

[Visit the band's website]

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