Ufomammut - Eve
Supernaturalcat
Atmospheric Doom
5 songs (44:41)
Release year: 2010
Supernaturalcat
Reviewed by Steve

There aren't any breaks in the five tracks (I, II, III, IV, V) on Ufomammut's new album Eve, but the delineations do mark thematic shifts in what otherwise is one long song. The first segment shares much more in common with Hawkwind than Black Sabbath. The spacey oscillating electronic elements are present throughout the record, but they are used most heavily on I. The sounds are captivating to the extent that it's hard to believe seven minutes have gone by when the spare, reverberating riffs and delicate, shimmering cymbals begin to host to some tribal chanting. I ends with a big fat Electric Wizard-ish riff under some squealing guitars. This track in particular is reminiscent of Yakuza's recent release Of Seismic Consequence, but Eve shares more than just sonics in common with Seismic. The two are artistic kin in that they both are contemplative works which bring together a diverse collection of musical elements to manufacture a captivating product. Of Seismic Consequence was reviewed quite favorably on this web site, so if you haven’t figured it out yet: Eve is a really cool record.

Doom is an expansive sub-genre and has even spawned quite a few sub-sub-genres: funeral doom, death/doom, drone, etc. And while the overall aesthetic of Eve is certainly apropos of the doom sub-genre, the music rarely fits in the box. It's not soul-crushingly heavy like YOB or bombastically theatric like Isole and it's certainly not riff-driven like Sinister Realm or Forsaken. It doesn’t make you collapse into the fetal position from despair like 11th Hour either. Hence, "atmospheric doom." It's a quite unsettling atmosphere at that, so no matter how much it stretches the bounds, Eve is definitely still a doom record.

The second segment slowly builds to a tease of a riff at its very end after spending a good bit of time spooking the daylights out of the listener with a Hitchcockian soundtrack and the whispered, unintelligible conversation of women. You'll finally get your riff fix in the third segment which also has some angry shouting; the one time the record does anything that approaches "vocals" as they are usually understood. IV continues this side trip into accessible territory with some deep, plodding playing and V brings us full circle as it pulls into the station with all the spacy-ness, a little riffage, and the vintage horror movie soundtrack aboard.

Eve isn't the kind of thing you'll be playing in your car on the way to work. If you just want to get your mellow groove on or find someone with whom you can musically commiserate about the inarguably fucked up state of the world, you'd better keep moving. If, however, you enjoy experiments in musical creation which tend to the darker side, you'll no doubt be satisfied with and quite likely more than a little impressed by Eve.

Killing Songs :
Not Applicable
Steve quoted 86 / 100
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There are 3 replies to this review. Last one on Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:01 am
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