Italian psych-metal masters UFOMAMMUT‘s new LP Ecate, out now on Neurot Recordings/Supernatural Cat, is a wicked slab of doom not to be missed by fans of extreme metal! Recorded in collaboration with engineer Lorenzo Stecconi, in the cavernous hall of an old theater in the hillside village of Sarezzano, the trio takes full advantage of this recording space’s monstrous reverb to craft an unbelievably titanic sound. While the building has long housed their rehearsal studio, as well as being the location where they recorded previous albums like 2012’s ORO: Opus Primum, on Ecate they tap this site’s fullest potential thru expert use of it’s unique sonic dimensions.
In a series of short documentaries about the making of the record, which you can watch below, UFOMAMMUT provide some interesting behind-the-scenes insights to their approach, but what really becomes evident is the importance of their surroundings and this building. More than providing near perfect sonic conditions for the recording of a doom metal album, the band refers to Sarezzano, the hillside town where it was recorded, as “the center of the world and the beginning of the universe”. The force of this statement becomes an aural reality throughout the record, but it’s most immediate impact can be felt on the black metal sludge of “Plouton“, the downwardly-turned doom of “Temple“, as well as on “Daemons“‘ bong-ripping thrash. But, by balancing this heavy visceral attack with cosmically inclined ambiance, as on the album’s griping space war opener “Somnium“, the monkish and alien “Chaossecret“, or the space launch of “Revelation“, UFOMAMMUT’s heaviness seems that much more brutal and totaling!
