Just two years ago, Italian psychedelic metal trio Ufomammut went on hiatus following their eighth full-length album, simply titled 8. Throughout their twenty-year existence the group had progressed from the fuzzed-out, swirling-synth driven doom of their early material to a more melodic, space-rock driven—albeit still plenty heavy—sound. But, disagreements over the direction of the band led to the brief hiatus and the departure of original drummer Vita, leaving the future of the band uncertain.
Now—with new drummer Levre in place—bassist/vocalist/keyboardist Urlo and guitarist/keyboardist Poia have regrouped to release their ninth full-length, one that finds them exploring new ideas while staying true to the sound they have built up over their lengthy career. Appropriately titled Fenice—“phoenix” in Italian—Ufomammut are rising from the ashes and beginning anew.
Fitting more on the psychedelic rock end of the spectrum, Fenice is one long piece divided into six distinct movements. Their signature wooshing synths and effects are present, but the record takes on a more jammy, groovy type of feel, moving into a hazier stoner rock sound than bleak doom metal.
Fenice traverses through a series of peaks and valleys, building up and pulling back throughout. While the atmospheric “Kepheror” and the post-rock inspired “Metamorphoenix” serve mainly as segues, the meat of the album comes on the third and fifth tracks, “Psychostasia” and “Pyramind” respectively. On the former, Ufomammut embraces their Hawkwind meets Earthless psychedelia, rolling along a driving bass riff. ‘Pyramind” sees the three-piece revisiting slower, heavier riffs and rhythms, touching on their doomy roots while also serving as the records climax.
The full length of Fenice works when consumed as a whole, yet as individual tracks themselves, it leaves a bit to be desired. Only three of the six movements would be worth revisiting on their own, and even then, out of context, seem rather simplistic and dull. The idea of partitioning each section was obviously to the ease the otherwise daunting runtime of a thirty-eight minute song, but with the ebb and flow of the song structure seems to have an almost opposite effect.
But otherwise Fenice is a fine record. There is nothing entirely new about what Ufomammut has brought, but the record serves as an above average example of modern psychedelic space-rock. If Fenice serves as the dawn of a new era for Ufomammut, fans of the style will want to stay tuned to what’s coming next.
Fenice is out May 6, 2022 via Neurot Recordings. Order it here.
