If you’re looking to take a chemical vacation, there’s no better band than Italy’s UFOMAMMUT to provide a soundtrack for your trip. Some might consider that statement frivolous, but I stand by it. These guys have a groove so heavy that even GOD would be spacing out to it. 2024 marks 25 years for this mega-heavy band and Hidden is a fitting landmark.
Holy Timothy Leary, but this thing is THICK! I’ve heard dirty bass sounds in my time, but this takes the ever-lovin’ cake. Even in comparison with UFOMAMMUT’s prior work, this is totally abyssal. It almost doesn’t need guitar, but when that joins in, it is also massively heavy and as filthy as a pigsty. This supersonic sludge is pressed into the service of massive rubbery grooves. It’s like Hidden is the heaviest kraut-rock album of all time.
There are two colossal ten minute plus monsters for you to really trip to, the opening ‘Crookhead’ and ‘Mausoleum’. The first just pounds you into the dirt with delicious repetition, while the second adds more of a soundtrack feel, with electronic space sounds adding to the fray. The multi-tracked vocals of Urlo are actually pretty clean, but have a chanting aspect that sometimes reminds me of ‘late 60s psych. The shorter tracks like ‘Spidher’ and ‘Leeched’ are a bit darker and noisier but still hypnotic. The album ends with ‘Soulost’, the most experimental track with more electronics and almost poppy vocals.
UFOMAMMUT is always great to just shut the lights off, light the incense and drift away to another world. Pharmaceuticals are optional. After 25 years, Hidden shows these guys haven’t lost a single thing when it comes to mega-heavy psych.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
UFOMAMMUT
Hidden
Neurot Recordings