This post was originally published on this site
Just like a feature in the landscape, some bands are so consistent that you might not notice them until they’re gone. Back in 2020 we thought that we had lost one of psychedelic sludge’s greatest progenitors; the mighty UFOMAMMUT. With eight albums released over twenty-one years, and not a joker in the deck, their expansive-yet-introspective sound has proved to be rather influential. Luckily they were soon back on the scene after a short-lived hiatus, ready to rain cosmic grooves upon us once again. We spoke to the band about the album, their artwork, and negotiate a trip to a West Country tearoom.
“We started with the idea of representing the concept of the phoenix; death, rebirth and so on,” begins vocalist and bassist Urlo, as he reaches for a nearby copy of the LP. “On the inside of the gatefold, it looks like an eye: two triangles and a circle in the middle form the shape of an eye. Then there are two more,” he indicates, “one with the silhouette of a phoenix and another of a scarab, both in flames. Typical of our artwork, there is a lot of symbolic imagery here,” he concludes. Together with guitarist Poia and Lu, Urlo is a member of Malleus: an artistic collective, or ‘rock art lab’, which produces all of the visual components of UFOMAMMUT, as well as for other bands. “Together we have taken care of the graphics since the very beginning of the band,” he adds proudly. “We have tried to produce very symbolic cover art from the beginning, for ourselves as well as other bands.”
You can find Malleus artwork on the covers of albums from BONGZILLA, PENTAGRAM and 1000MODS, and their symbolic imagery has become firmly embedded in the visual language of doom metal through artworks, gig posters, and more. “When we were young we liked looking for these symbols and other hidden things on record sleeves,” continues Urlo. “The first cover I remember being really attracted to was Meddle by PINK FLOYD. I was with my mother in the record shop, and I saw this big nose on a record sleeve! So I swapped around the price sticker in the shop, because it was quite expensive,” he grins cheekily, “and I asked my mother to buy it for me. When I got home and opened it I discovered that it was actually an ear, which was incredible!”
Fenice, or ‘phoenix’ in Italian, was a poignant choice of imagery to have chosen for UFOMAMMUT after their short-lived hiatus, as Urlo explains. “We needed to do this record because, as you know, the last few years were a little bit complicated. For us they were even more complicated, because our drummer Vita left in early 2020. We wanted to rise again after this period, and those difficult times. So we got in touch with Levre, a friend of ours,” he gestures across the table. “We knew that he was a great drummer.” [So what was it like joining UFOMAMMUT?] “It was truly an honour after all these years being involved with various other activities around the band. As a fan I was really upset about Vita leaving; I’m a fan of UFOMAMMUT first and foremost.” “So you’re now a fan of yourself?” beams Urlo. “Yes!” he grins.
“Once Levre joined we decided to compose a short song, which was intended to be an EP,” Urlo continues. “In the end, it became much longer than we expected! We started with what is now Metamorphoenix, and began adding longer and longer intros and outros to it, which eventually became songs in their own right, and by the time it had reached forty minutes we decided that we should do a proper record.” Musically Fenice sees UFOMAMMUT revitalised by reinvigorated, but still recognisably the same band producing introspective psychedelic sludge since 1999. “We struggled a lot with the title,” admits Urlo. “In the end we settled on Fenice as a name, because it fits so perfectly with the idea of rebirth and so on.” “Yes,” agrees Poia. “It’s not death but a transformation: something of the past remains, but it has become something new. In nature the atoms are still there, they just take on a new form. A plant can grow on a grave. So Fenice is very symbolic and very obvious as a name, but very natural all the same.”
So will we be getting a UFOMAMMUT show in the UK anytime soon? “It’s become quite difficult to come and play the UK,” explains Urlo. “We wanted to do a festival, so we checked the visa situation, and of course there is still the covid checks to complete as well. It’s a pain in the ass, like the US.” “We’ll try our best to get to the UK,” reassures Poia. “We love to be there. Especially when you find one of those little old shops with the old ladies serving sweet things. That was one of the best mornings of my life. [A tearoom?] “Yes!” joins Urlo. “On the road to Stonehenge, we stopped at this place called The Stag. It was a tearoom: a couple of old ladies in their long dresses served us cake and biscuits and tea, it was amazing.” [That’s quite an image! Four Italian rockers enjoying afternoon tea.] “So we’ll come to the UK if you give us one day at The Stag,” Urlo bargains. I’m sure we can figure something out.
Fenice is out now via Neurot Recordings.
Like UFOMAMMUT on Facebook.
The post Ufomammut: From The Ashes appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
