Evading the perpetual solipsism of the introspective-by-nature mind and returning presence to the consciousness of the individual Italian psychedelic doom/sludge metal trio UFOMAMMUT encourage the self-directed revelation of the Kantian inner self on this brilliantly representative tenth full-length album. Arriving upon another milestone of endurance and parsing decades of development in the midst of a personal rebirth ‘Hidden‘ is equal parts stabilized surety of self and exploration of what potential lies beneath the surface of their collective entity at present. In this sense these six pieces, presented in two equal bouts of intensifying waves, create the sensation of self-revelation as illumination wherein the confidence of exposition is placed behind exploratory venture as they build each bout of momentum into an approachable yet surrealistic listening experience.

Ufomammut formed back in 1999 though their origins can be traced back to two demo tapes from sludge metal band Judy Corda who’d disbanded at some point beyond 1996 with two key members starting this group soon after. I believe the first time I’d encountered their work was actually via their Malleus graphic design firm while collecting Paul Chain records (see: ‘Sign From Space‘), as this type of distinct artwork has always accompanied their own music. While I considered doing a deeper dive through their discography here I think it would be easier to encourage your own exploration of their work which developed from a starting point of uniquely horrified ‘evil’ stoner doom metal buzz n’ groove which was almost too weird as a contemporary of Electric Wizard and later 90’s Grief at the time. Among their signatures developed in their first decade or so was a prominent distorted bass guitar tone driving their heavier grooves, heavy use of sound effects and synths in building a psychedelic doom metal inspired sensation, and depending on the album a stoner metal whip or two might cut through their often ritualistic or menacing rhythms. The most reasonable contemporaries today one might consider are Yob and I suppose Dark Buddha Rising depending how close of a lens you turn upon their rhythmic sensibilities and various atmospheric accoutrement. From my point of view it was always the lack of focus that’d kept this bands music interesting on record, their jammed loose work always manages some level of conviction or textural interest to keep things entertaining.

Today the best possible context we could afford the band is considering the changes that’d occurred within the scope of their last two records wherein their heaviest record to date, their twentieth anniversary, a yearlong hiatus, and a return with a new drummer in 2021 was a lot to consider at once. The trip from 2018-2021 eventually resulted in a stellarly ninth album (‘Fenice‘, 2022) which wasn’t necessarily something drastically new for Ufomammut in terms of its broader undertaking, they’d done the psychedelic droning jam session deal before, but rather it was exciting as an exaggeration of what’d already been thought to have been stretched to its limit on earlier releases (see: the lauded ‘Eve‘, 2010) as the level of indulgence was nigh joyful in its exploration. Emphasizing the psychedelia-tinged side of the band per heavy use of sound effects and atmospheric synth/keyboards was a step away from the more aggressive ‘8‘ (2017) which left plenty more room for them to stretch into unexpected realms of tangential ambiance. What is the suggested path forward beyond that point? This time around feels like they’ve aimed for both extremes at once for album number ten, seeking new pockets of adventurously droning psych without losing the reactive energy of their heavier rhythms. On paper this might sound like an additive compromise but for those who’ve been following the band all along ‘Hidden‘ should read as a moderate conjunction of realms that’d always coexisted and/or clashed depending on the album. In simpler terms, we get an easier-going but heavier version of their gig on this album.

Though we find some signature choices of texture and rhythmic tic which are inherent to most all Ufomammut releases herein my interest in the experience of an album like ‘Hidden‘ as a listener is less about where these folks have been and more about where they’ll go next on a moment to moment level. Following along with this particular trip in two equal-sized chunks and witnessing the different places each goes is the main entertainment value available. The emerging of waves of hypnotic menace arrive with surety, a clear directive provided by “Crookhead” which has been extended in its introduction by a minute or two compared to the ‘Crookhead‘ (2023) EP version from last year. The odd-stepped rhythm and world class sludged up unison of the guitar and bass exchange feels like the first and most key point of directive tonality for the album where exasperation, dread and exploration of that main riff give ‘Hidden‘ one of its most clear point of exposition. The part that interests me most comes around ~7:21 minutes into the piece where the Sleep-like hypnose of the riff transitions with an extreme metallic rush for less than a minute (a la more recent Conan) lending a darker turn taken in the final few minutes of the opener. This feels like a step back to the basic appeal of their psychedelic doom/sludge metal brainwaves circa 2005 which leaves the synth/sound effects and such to deeper layers you’ll have to crank the album up to identify outright ’til “Kismet” works ’em in to its main grooves.

The first impression made by Side A is that of classic Ufomammut but given to surprisingly straight forward and heavier sludge/doom metal movement with an on the verge impatient tempo applied, given to switch things up just as any given groove finds its peaking use of the pocket. Per my own experience, following certain types of stoner music since the late 90’s, this just kinda feels good as a listening experience as repetitive and surreal-yet-serious as a song like “Kismet” is up front. Again, I’m not concerned with how well this work supports their signature and rather how well this ride will hold up when given some direct attention time after time, to be fair it would all have droned on too long without enough action without the inclusion of the condensed efficacy of “Spidher” to wrap up the jam. That is probably the only key point to make in terms of larger structures here, that the whole of Side A‘s three songs flow together as one complete thought which arrives at its peak in intensifying waves.

At this point we might as well assign Side A with “Side Sludge” and Side B with “Side Psychedelic Doom” as loosely applied tags as each completes their greater sojourn with its own generalized effect. My favorite song on the album per my first few passes through, “Mausoleum“, steps away from the quasi-dramatic tone of the first half of the album and brings the eerie haunt one kinda expects (but never gets the exact same version of) on each Ufomammut record wherein atmosphere is emphasized and the line between intoxication and a vague sense of the ominous characterizes the song in a memorable way for my own taste. The far more straight forward bustle n’ riff of “Leeched” provides some steady footing for their walk up to the album’s climax otherwise and brings some parity of energy as that of “Spidher” with a more lumbering, stoney chug through its thought. So, at this point we aren’t getting the full mystic wash of atmosphere that ‘Fenice‘ had provided the the darkness of space outside of time which arrives within the jammed-out finale (“Soulost”) and its late 90’s/early 2000’s stoner sludge-doomed waft does well to complete the thought without taxing the ‘ready settled in ear with more than a big fuzzed over riff as its endpoint.

The concept of what is lost in translation, what can be communicated within reason, and what stays inside the mind of a human being per their own limitations is echoed within ‘Hidden‘ in the sense that they’ve done their best to distill what they’re all about here yet there is so much more in their oeuvre that could be worked into the fabric of a ~45 minute album after twenty-five years of artistry. In this sense I’d read this latest Ufomammut record as the choice to aim for simple efficacy and the pleasure of a listening experience which carries a few different moods that best represent their gig. While I do think fans of the heavier bounding of ‘8‘ will particularly enjoy this record it doesn’t feel like an unflinching continuation of ‘Fenice‘ as often, they’re on a specifically carved schedule for each side of this record and in this sense it all hits very clean without indulging too hard into more than the allotted space for tangential, headier reach.

With so much history to consider per a band that’ve been around for so long Ufomammut have made this experience easy for long-standing purview and new fandom alike in presenting an album with simple, classic appeal and all of their own personae applied throughout. If we can zoom out to the bigger picture for the less indoctrinated: As a fan of the classic era of sludge prior to post-metal’s rise this album generally touches upon ye olde blunt-rhythmic feeling as often as it does the contemporary sensation of psychedelic/stoner doom metal, an admixture of forms wherein these folks have always had the upper hand. They’re on a thread here with ‘Hidden‘ which is easy to ride along with, a pleasure to sit through as its looming horrors and blissful stretches weave together for a refreshingly uncomplicated but well-considered roll through. A moderately high recommendation.

---