In their nearly two-and-a-half decades together, Ufomammut’s creative palette has progressively evolved to combine distorted, sludgy riffs, and droning, psychedelic synth textures across a series of albums and collaborative projects. Bassist/vocalist Urlo and guitarist Poia have carried the band since their inception, with Levre as their most recent drummer since 2021. On their latest album, Hidden, Ufomammut utilize their signature sound through various existential scenarios using both tongue-in-cheek and profound song titles.
The opening track, “Crookhead,” bases its lyrics around the album’s artwork, which depicts a person’s neural pathways as part of a dark, haunting forest inhabited by, per the lyrics, ‘strange and crooked beasts’. As such, the main riff plods along before joining the drums, in a combination reminiscent of chopping through dense forestry. Urlo’s vocals are raspy, yet distant and airy, harmonizing the last word of every line as if getting lost in the shrub but then subsequently regaining his footing. During the song’s breakdown, I’d imagine the creatures in the subject’s mind gradually breaking down his sanity in a similar way, and the subsequent clean chord sequence that follows resembling the aftermath of bloodshed. “Kismet,” the next track, continues in the same key with subtle synth textures offsetting the denseness of the riffs. Its lyrics convey interesting context within their imagery, where the person takes the form of a waterfall. While a waterfall flows downward and is normally associated with peace and healing, the band considers a reverse scenario where the waterfall shoots upward and endures various stages of pain, swallowing everything in its surroundings. The instrumentation similarly shifts, with its slower tempo bolstering darker riffs, alongside wailing leads and dissonant synths. By the third track, “Spidher,” its context is more concrete, a factor that works alongside the song’s shorter length. This song plays on the trope of a seductive spider who entraps her prey in situations of physical and psychological harm, yet also toys with them in a sensual way. I appreciate how the instrumental involvement works alongside the lyrics, representing the cyclical patterns of constant pain and momentary bliss.
On the album’s latter half is “Mausoleum,” the name of a large building that houses tombs. Throughout the song, there are allusions to the notion that the more time passes, the less visible someone becomes in society. This time, the implementation of guitars and synths is such that they each shine separately as much as they blend. The vocals also shift, starting as the typically strained screams but eventually mutating into faint somber singing, almost as if accepting a grim fate. “Leeched,” the penultimate track, echoes the direction of the previous track, but with a broader context, alluding to human lives being created and destroyed, all the while the world continues to move forward without much notice. The riffs are especially murky, creating a rumble with the bass and the drums that adds a secondary thunder-like effect around the instrumentation. By the closing track, “Soulost,” the vocals that screamed and strained for most of this album are now clean and melodic. and the guitars are clean for a large portion before becoming overdriven. At the same time, the lyrics emphasize a person’s outlook having turned especially cold and indifferent, so much that as they’ve gotten accustomed to causing destruction, even their tears are weaponized. It’s refreshing that the song isn’t as vocally driven, and instead a spacious, reverberating solo then permeates its latter half, with a lone synth pad stretching through the remainder of the track.
Overall, Hidden sustains Ufomammut’s penchant for creativity, with each song representing not only its own universe, but poignant, brutally honest depictions of internal struggle. The band’s heaviness is intact both instrumentally and vocally, and they’ve managed to stay in a space entirely their own, sounding as raw, earthy, and unique as possible. Even as the band’s 11th album, it shows that their energy, as well as their kinship, is alive and thriving.
