In the wake of YOB‘s unfortunate cancellation, Roadburn has announced that Italian drone metal gods Ufomammut will be appearing at this year’s edition of the festival, playing the whole of last year’s brilliant Eve album. This is, as if I needed to say it, very good news. Eve was chosen by Roadburn-website patrons as the album of 2010 (who could argue?), so it’s all the more appropriate.

Here’s this from the Roadburn site:

Roadburn is thrilled to announce that Italy’s psychedelic drone lords, Ufomammut, will perform their much acclaimed 2010 album, Eve, in its entirety at this year’s Roadburn Festival, Saturday, April 16 at the Midi Theatre in Tilburg, Holland.

Ufomammut commented: “Since our Eve album was voted best of 2010 by Roadburn readers, playing it at the upcoming festival will have a very special meaning for Ufomammut! It’ll be our chance to properly say thanks to all the people who have supported us throughout the years. See you in April!”

We’re getting into serious “don’t leave home without it” territory now. I didn’t realize it at the time I put the list together, but every album in my top 10 is on my person at virtually all times. With the top 20 stuff, some of it I had to take off the shelf at home to write about, but Kylesa, Yawning Man, Asteroid, Clamfight? These are records I haven’t been willing to part with since I got them, and the same goes for the crushing single-song (five-track) opus Eve by Italian über-doomers Ufomammut.

In fact, not only is Eve in the CD wallet that comes with me just about everywhere I go, but it’s in perhaps the most venerated of positions therein, right next to YOB‘s The Unreal Never Lived. Yes, I organize my CD wallet in such a manner, and yes, Eve is that fucking good. Several incarnations of this list had it as number one, and really, it could just as easily be there as here or anywhere in between given my mood that day. Eve demolished my ears unlike anything else in 2010. It was amazing.

The trio, who double as the visual arts collective Malleus and triple as the Supernatural Cat label (home to Lento and now OvO as well as Ufomammut) are without question one of the finest acts in doom the world over. They have mastered the art of hypnosis via riff, and going by Eve, it feels like their creativity is boundless. I heard a lot of albums this year — just look at the reviews category. Know that I mean it when I say Eve was a landmark whose appeal will last longer than 2010. I said at the time I reviewed it that I felt lucky to be alive when music like this is being made, and I absolutely still feel that way every time I listen to Ufomammut. Eve is a masterpiece.

As the label is run by the members of drone overlords Ufomammut, it’s no small honor to have your band be on that label. Following on the heels of Lento, Morkobot and Incoming Cerebral Overdrive is multi-national weirduo (that’s a weird duo, if you’re unwilling to parse the word) OvO, whose album is due in the Spring.

The PR wire has this:

Italian purveyors of all things heavy Supernatural Cat Records are proud to announce the signing of experimental duo OvO to their eclectic and crushing label roster. In a brief statement from the label this week, Supernatural Cat stated: “We’re proud to announce that OvO joined Supernatural Cat. OvO is not noise, not metal, not doom, not punk, not rock and roll, even if there’s a little bit of influence from all of these genres. It’s not free, nor avant, and definitely not improv. For once, yes, we can really say we can’t file a band!”

The duo known as OvO are already well-known throughout the underground noise, doom and experimental scenes, bearing releases being released by such labels as Bar La Muerte, Blossoming Noise and Load Records. Having played somewhere in the vicinity of 600 shows since their inception at the turn of the century, the band’s travels have taken them from Europe to Mexico, from America to Israel, and beyond. OvO have collaborated, recorded and/or played live with countless notable acts including Nadja, KK Null, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke, Rollerball, Thrones, SubArachnoid Space, Zeni Geva, Lightning Bolt, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Estradasphere and more.

OvO‘s upcoming album Cor Cordium is due out in the Spring 2011 via Supernatural Cat, the label who’ve brought incredible releases from Lento, Morkobot, Incoming Cerebral Overdrive, and most notably, doom trio Ufomammut, who are also some of the masterminds behind both Supernatural Cat Records and Malleus Art Rock Lab. Read more on OvO at Supernatural Cat‘s newly redesigned website.

Oh, Europe. Not enough that you have centuries of beautiful art and tumultuous history on my shabby American ass, but do you have to have Ufomammut too? Tomorrow night, the Italian megadrone trio embark on their latest continental jaunt. Dates from the PR wire are below:

Upon the massive success of Italian doom trio Ufomammut‘s recent European touring on the Eve album — which included Germany, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Austria and more — the band are already set to embark on the next assault through the continent this week. Set to kick off this Wednesday, Oct. 6, Ufomammut will this time invade Spain, France, the UK and Holland, and will return to Denmark and Germany as well in support of the material on Eve.

Ufomammut October European tour:
10/06 Ground Zero – Lyon, France
10/07 Le Baloard - Montpellier, France
10/08 Santana 27 – Bilbao, Spain
10/09 Le Barouf – Cholet, France
10/10 Le Ferrailleur – Nantes, France
10/12 The Croft - Bristol, UK
10/13 The Star and Garter - Manchester, UK
10/14 Fighting Cocks - Kingston Upon Thames, UK
10/15 Baroeg – Rotterdam, Holland
10/16 Magazin4 - Bruxelles, Belgium
10/18 Molotow - Hamburg, Germany

Italian trio Ufomammut are the best drone doom band in the world. There, I said it.

Months after the fact, I still hear something new in their latest album, Eve (released through their own Supernatural Cat imprint), every single time I listen to it, and where so much drone feels bent on keeping the listener as far from the action as possible, Ufomammut engulfs your ears, and your mind, in torrents of undulating psychedelia, brutalizing repetition to the point of near-madness. By the time you come around to the conclusion of Eve‘s five tracks, you can’t believe only 45 minutes has passed, the album has had you so hypnotized. It’s like going through a wormhole.

Comprised of singly-named guitarist Poia, bassist/vocalist Urlo (both also handle synth and sundry noises) and drummer Vita, Ufomammut also operates as a graphic arts collective under the moniker Malleus, and their unique visual style has become a lasting part of the stoner/doom aesthetic over the course of the last decade, doing album covers for bands like Nebula, Baby Woodrose and Bongzilla and posters for even higher profile acts like the Melvins, Robert Plant, The Cure and the Roadburn festival, where Ufomammut laid waste to a crowd hungry for more in 2009.

But more than anything, Eve feels like the culmination of where Ufomammut‘s progression over the course of their five albums (plus one collaborative improvisation record with countrymen Lento) has been leading. Its creative expanse accommodates both huge riffs and minimalist noise, sounding like a transmission from whichever planet is about to destroy our own while also remaining memorable and loaded with sonic pummel. It is one of the best albums of 2010 and no one out there does what Ufomammut does better than Ufomammut does it.

After the jump, please find enclosed my email Q&A with Urlo, who explains some of how Eve came together and what inspired his band to take on such an ambitious project in the first place. Enjoy.

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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.