Sometimes, when I listen to Italian drone metallers Ufomammut‘s fifth album, Eve, I feel a little silly. I mean, what’s the point of anything after a record so unstoppably huge? With just one 45-minute song, the trio have managed to engineer a cannibalistic apocalypse so vivid that it’s impossible for me to come out of hearing the album without feeling like someone’s been gnawing on my leg.

Because, seriously, what is Eve if not the sound of humanity eating itself into oblivion? From the second I heard it, I knew it was going to be one of the best records to come out in 2010, and to be honest, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, come list time at the end of this year, it’s higher than number three. It just feels so much like the culmination of everything Ufomammut have been driving toward. It’s their Dopesmoker.

The drone, the ungodly thickened tones, the immense room of it — it seems like Eve‘s sonic reach is endless and ever-expanding, and it’s one of those records where every time I hear it, I hear something new. And at this point, I’ve heard it plenty. It’s my go-to driving record for late at night when the road is empty and I’m tired and alone on the highway and there’s nothing to do but space out and be hypnotized until I can get back to the valley, roll down the windows and watch the stars die.

I thought 2008’s Idolum was as far as Ufomammut could go stylistically — and had they put out another record in that vein, I probably wouldn’t be complaining about it in the slightest — but with Eve, they’ve propelled themselves to a different realm entirely and are among the upper echelon of doomed innovators the world over. Easily one of the year’s best.

What’s sure to be one of 2010’s year-end highlights, Eve by Italian psych-drone doomers Ufomammut is a rare achievement. The one-song (split into five numbered but unnamed tracks), 44-minute offering apparently has even more layers than previously known, however. As the band eludes in the following PR wire update, there are some secrets that went into the making of the record:

As per the band, the concept of Eve was initially inspired by Pink Floyd‘s Meddle album. “The idea was to work on a long song and some satellites” the band state. “Then we started in playing this song that was growing and developing bigger and bigger. And it was like we were reaching something new; a different knowledge. So I got the feeling we had to move it around something that was about freedom; the idea of rebellion, of fighting to reach something important, and peculiar.”

The deep-rooted meanings in the whole concept of Eve on this record are staggering. The official release date, the number of tracks on the album, the overall timing of the whole album, the number of formats the album will be presented in and just about every other aspect of the release are tied into the story of Eve. The band comments: “The concept of Eve was cool because cause you can read it on both sides, like the Ouroboros; a serpent circle eating itself. When all the other numeric things we came out together it all sounded like it was fate, it had to be done.”

To be released worldwide on CD, DVD and LP the 5th of May via Supernatural Cat Records (now distributed in North America by Relapse Records), Eve is an undeniably infectious and utterly devastating piece of doom metal art. Check out a newly released video preview of the album here:

With 2008’s Idolum, Italian psychedelic drone metallers Ufomammut confirmed their superiority over their individual sound, their genre of residence and, most importantly, our ears. Now unleashing the one-song opus Eve (split into five tracks) through their own Supernatural Cat imprint, Ufomammut surpasses any and all of their past work. I usually try not to let myself get taken up by this kind of excitement in a review, but I’ll be plain: this is the best album Ufomammut have ever done, and there’s a good chance doom might not be the same again.

The trio — Poia on guitars/synth, Urlo on bass/synth/vocals and Vita on drums — are earth-shatteringly heavy, and with Eve, they take the experimental bent that made their earlier offerings like Godlike Snake and Snailking so exciting and blend it with the self-made tonal crush that typified their last release. There’s no way to listen to Eve without understanding you are taking part in an event. The album feels as though it’s standing on an altar of its own making, proclaiming itself immortal and challenging the gods themselves to come and bear witness.

The gods, incidentally, don’t show up. Not that they’re too busy screwing and stabbing each other or just don’t feel like making the trip, but Ufomammut is actually just so fucking heavy they’re too intimidated to leave the house. And who could blame them?

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Now that’s the kind of headline I can get down with. Italian psych-prog-doom maestros Ufomammut have finished recording their new, massive, one-track album, Eve, and have set a May 5, 2010, release date for the CD and deluxe vinyl editions through their own Supernatural Cat label. They’ve also posted the cover for the album and numerous in-studio videos and updates over at their website.

If your eyeballs are within reading range of this page and you’ve never yet experienced Ufomammut, understand that now is the time. Their last album, 2008’s Idolum was as devastatingly heavy a piece of psychedelia as you’ll ever hear, and their work prior to it speaks for itself. Operating under the graphic arts alias Malleus, the band are essentially a DIY doom machine, working in-house to provide some of the most tripped out sounds on the planet. Eve is a sure bet highlight of 2010. Unless they decided to become a ska band or something (they didn’t), it’s a can’t miss.

You have no idea how difficult it was not to put the word “Newfomammut” in the title line above. No idea. Still not sure why I didn’t do it. I was a fool and now the moment has passed. Oh well.

Fortunately, as consolation, I’ve got news about Italian psych doomers Ufomammut‘s new album, Eve. Culled from a couple updates on their website, here’s the latest:

The title of the new album is Eve and we’re planning to have it out after the mid of April 2010 for Supernatural Cat. We’ve worked on a 40 minute long one track.

Eve has born from the listening of some old music Poia and Urlo created with their previous band Judy Corda and has been developed from that passing through the massive atmospheres of Idolum and trying to reach a new step in the search for our own sonic way.

We must say Eve will be a totally different record and it’ll be very intense and evil record. The album is a homage to the first woman on Earth, Eve and the rebellion to her creator for bringing knowledge to man.

Drums have been recorded. Ufomammut are totally happy, Vita has played in a great way and Eve is taking shape on solid roots. Lorenzo Stecconi is doing a great job at the mixer at Locomotore Studio and tomorrow we’ll go on with the recordings. We’ll work on “clean” guitars first and then bass. So, stay tuned and we’ll give you more and more infos in the next days!

Okay, maybe not, but (1:) that would be hilarious and (2:) they’re perfect for the role since they’ve never been here before and we could probably even get Eddie Murphy to do a cameo as the owner of McDowell’s. He’s not busy.

In any case, the PR wire — vigilant as ever — informs that Italian doom/art collective Ufomammut (whose visual side is known as Malleus) are coming to the US to show both their sonic and painterly wares. Too bad it’s not on my side of the country, but I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable for all the left-coastern doomers. Dig the specifics:

The Italian art collective Malleus, known worldwide for their striking poster designs and screen printing magic, will be returning to San Francisco this month alongside Alan Forbes, Firehouse (Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan) and countless more international artists, under the tour banner Dark Nouveau, a return to the roots of poster creation. Dark Nouveau evokes equally the fin de si?cle style of Toulouse-Lautrec and 1960?s San Francisco Psychedelia. It operates as a manifesto of reinvention and revision, aimed at connecting to the poster movement of the Decadent Period to the Belle Epoque and folding it into the Psychedelic Period to the present modern global silkscreen movement. Dozens of other artists will be involved; see the full list of artists and full info on the festival here.

Additionally, Ufomammut — the oppressive, cerebral doom unit which contains several members of the Malleus Collective — will be playing their first American shows in October! Two California shows have been booked in conjunction with the Dark Nouveau art tour, in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Ufomammut – First US appearances!
10/16/2009 Nomad – Los Angeles, CA
10/24/2009 Varnish – San Francisco, CA

Ufomammut will be returning to the US in May 2010 for the annual Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore. Their most recent album Idolum was released in 2008 by Supernatural Cat Records, the label also handled by members of Malleus and Ufomammut. Their next record is also in the works for a 2010 release.

Being a nerd for Ufomammut and all things Malleus in general, I thought this tidbit of relevant news about the band Incoming Cerebral Overdrive and their new album Controverso on the Supernatural Cat label might be of interest. Dig it:

In 2003, the band released a self-produced demo that helped break them quickly into the local show circuit and also in the media, earning the Top Demo from Metal Hammer magazine and more. In August 2006 their debut album CEREBRAL heART (recorded at Fear Studio, mixed by Kurt Ballou) was released on Italian label Myphonic Records, gaining the band quite a bit of attention all over Europe.

Now it’s time for Controverso? the next evolution in ICO?s destructive lineage. Controverso represents a new impulse of uncontrollable nature. Constructed of eight tracks, the album evolves through a conscious musical growing, breathing with the innovative soul of avant-garde music. Originating from the Mastodonic approach to the riff, wholly rooted in a hardcore attitude, and overall developing in something rather unique and multiform, their furious dynamics, searing vocals, 70s Italian prog reminiscence, and psychedelic aesthetic show ICO?s will to experiment on continuously mutating song structures.

Track list:
1. Reflections
2. Oxygen
3. Controversial
4. Science
5. Magic
6. Sound
7. Colours
8. There

Controverso will be released in September in a very limited edition packaging, hand-printed by Malleus, with colored LP and CD.