Ufomammut - Eve - guest review
Ufomammut - Eve - guest review
Tracklist
01. Eve1 - Part I
2 - Part II
3 - Part III
4 - Part IV
5 - Part V
Guest review by
Blackcrowe February 11, 2025
One of the challenges Ufomammut faced while creating Eve was their relatively new experience in crafting ambient music and blending it with the heavy, sludge sound they had already mastered. After recording Idolum two years before, the band wanted to explore atmospheric territories they perhaps weren’t ready to reach at that time.
Ufomammut, the Italian psychedelic sludge/doom metal band formed in 1999 in Tortona, consists of founding members Urlo (bass, vocals, synths), Poia (guitars, synths), and Vita (drums). Their name, a fusion of “UFO” and “mammoth,” perfectly encapsulates their sound—massive, monolithic riffs combined with spacey, mind-expanding textures.
Eve is conceptually centered around the first woman, Eve, the biblical figure often blamed for mankind’s fall from paradise. But rather than portraying her as a mere sinner, the album reimagines her as a symbol of knowledge, transformation, and rebellion. The music reflects this journey, emerging from darkness, formless depths before building into towering, punishing climaxes, as if creation itself is unfolding in sound.
Structured as a single, continuous composition of 44 minutes divided into five movements, Eve is the centerpiece of Ufomammut’s discography. It’s cinematic and hypnotic. It was widely praised in the doom, sludge, and experimental progressive scenes. This isn’t a conventional doom metal album; it’s something far more ritualistic and immersive. The weight of anticipation is almost suffocating before the first crushing riff finally lands.
The album opens with a mantric chant and primitive sound, featuring droning soundscapes, guitar feedback, synths, and percussion, setting a tone of unease. It’s very similar to an experimental Pink Floyd record like Ummagumma. When the guitars hit, they hit hard. Thick, slow-moving sludge riffs drag forward like tectonic shifts, underpinned by pulsing basslines and cavernous drumming. The vocals, drenched in reverb, function less as lyrics and more as incantations—distant, ghostly, almost lost in the haze.
The final movement gradually dissolves into a more ethereal, spacey resolution. The crushing weight lifts, giving way to something vast and expansive, as if drifting into the infinite void.
Ufomammut is closely associated with Malleus Rock Art Lab, a graphic design collective that creates the band’s artwork, contributing to their amazing visual identity.
With its five movements, Eve is a true musical odyssey an honoring countless genres, yet entirely unique in its own right. For me, this album is a singular artistic statement, but for Ufomammut, it marks a defining moment of maturity. With Eve, they’ve broken new ground, stepping through a massive, heavy gateway. Like the biblical genesis, the band made their greatest creation; what can be bigger than this? The band can do whatever they want. Ufomammut broke the rules, so the big question is: what comes next?
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Blackcrowe | February 11, 2025
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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