Ufomammut Announce New Album Fenice Out May 6; “Psychostasia” Video Posted
New Ufommaut! Or as I like to call it as of right this second, newfomammut! While I ponder just how many times I’ve made that joke in the last 13-plus years — how many records have Ufomammut made that time? — you’ll want to note the May 6 release for Fenice through Neurot Recordings and Supernatural Cat for the first Ufomammut studio LP since 2017’s 8 (review here), the first they’ve done since marking their 20th anniversary with the boxed set XX EP (review here) and their first since both going on hiatus following the departure of drummer Vita (now of Sonic Wolves) and coming back together with Levre behind the kit.
In short, it’s a big fucking deal. New song “Psychostasia” has a video streaming below and on first impression it wields the band’s signature cosmic crush ably and sets it against what feels like some more straightforward heavy rock groove. One way or the other, if you’re not already listening to it and looking forward to this album’s arrival, I got nothing for you today.
Fresh from the PR wire:
UFOMAMMUT Announce Their New Album, “Fenice”! Out On May 6, 2022 via Neurot Recordings!
Hear Their Bold New Sound On “Psychostasia”!
On May 6th Italian alchemists and power trio Ufomammut return with their ninth studio album, Fenice via Neurot Recordings and Supernatural Cat. But not as we’ve heard them before, now “more intimate, more free.”
For over 20 years, the band has combined the heaviness and majesty of dynamic riff worship with a nuanced understanding of psychedelic tradition and history in music, creating a cosmic, futuristic, and technicolor sound destined for absolute immersion.
Fenice (meaning Phoenix in Italian) symbolically represents endless rebirth and the ability to start again after everything seems doomed. The album is the first recording with new drummer Levre, and truly marks a new chapter in Ufomammut history.
“I think we lost our spontaneity, album after album,” says Urlo. “We tried to make more complicated songs and albums, but I think at some point we just ended up repeating ourselves. With Fenice, we were ready to start from zero, we had no past anymore – so we just wanted to be reborn and rise from the ashes..”
Whilst the band are well-known for their psychedelic travels into the far reaches of the cosmos, Fenice is a much more introspective listening experience. Fenice was conceived as a single concept track, divided in six facets of this inward-facing focus. Sonic experimentations abound in the exploration of this central theme; synths and experimental vocal effects are featured more prominently than ever before as the band push themselves ever further into the uncharted territory of their very identity.
The towering synths on the opening track “Duat” evoke an almighty machine rising from the depths of primordial ooze. There’s a shift to a frenetic garage-psych pace before mellowing out into a more familiar doomy stomp. “Kepherer” is a respite, albeit a slight one, returning to the pulsing rhythms of the album’s intro before plunging the listener into the menacing build and release of “Psychostasia” next.
The second half of the record brings with it an even greater sense of dynamic exploration. “Metamorphoenix” oozes with curious synth patterns and noises, before descending into sinister chords and an oddly choral chant. An explosion of emotion heralds the beginning of “Pyramind”, all-encompassing in its riff worship and quasi-religious climax of mantra-esque vocals. “Empyros” is groovy yet irregular, with rhythms interplaying and more chanting voices, bringing the records to its end with a sense of dedication and purpose.
Each oscillation of this extraordinary album feels inevitable – Ufomammut are after all, masters of their craft, and when it comes to creating enveloping sonic journeys into the unknown, it’s their uninhibited sense of exploration that breaches new sonic ground.
Fenice is the sound of a band whose very essence has been rejuvenated, and are welcoming the chance to create music in the way they know best; by unfolding carefully and attentively, by melding those extreme dynamics which render Fenice as a living and breathing creature – and by writing gargantuan riffs that herald their very rebirth.
Fenice shall be released on LP and CD formats via Neurot Recordings, with a limited edition LP version of 666 copies on Supernatural Cat.
Fenice Track listing:
1. Duat
2. Kepherer
3. Psychostasia
4. Metamorphoenix
5. Pyramind
6. Empyros
UFOMAMMUT are:
Poia – Guitars and Fxs
Urlo – Bass, Vocals, Fxs and Synths
Levre – Drums & Fxs
Ciccio – Sound lord
LIVE DATES:
07.05.22 – Alessandria (IT), Laboratorio Sociale – Album release party
14.05.22 – Mezzago (IT), Bloom
24.05.22 – Vienna (AT), Arena
25.05.22 – Karlsruhe (DE), Dudefest
26.05.22 – Bremen (DE), Tower
27.05.22 – Ghent (BE), Dunk!festival
28.05.22 – Groningen (NL), Vera
29.05.22 – Berlin (DE), Desertfest
30.05.22 – Dresden (DE), Chemiefabrik
31.05.22 – Salzburg (AT), Rockhouse
10.06.22 – Munich (DE), 17 Years Sound of Liberation Festival
11.06.22 – Piacenza (IT), Desert Fox Festival
24.06.22 – Wiesbaden (DE), 17 Years Sound of Liberation – Official Festival Warmup
26.06.22 – Clisson (FR), Hellfest
18.08.22 – Pescara (IT), Frantic Festival
www.ufomammut.com
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http://www.neurotrecordings.com
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https://neurotrecordings.bandcamp.com
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http://www.supernaturalcat.com
