Ufomammut
Idolum

THE REVIEW

"Idolum", colon: from Latin "specter" or "idea", in other words an ectoplasmic gimmick, or a phantasmagoric stroke of genius or a spectral idea, essentially their best CD. "Idolum" is not drone, it is not stoner, it is not heavy, and it is not ambient but it is all this with added psychedelia and tarry feedback swoons, feminine cries for help, heartbeat thumps, and smoke in the lungs.

You start off and immediately you feel uneasy: "What is it? A plagiarism of Massive Attack?", no, it's Poia's three notes, the same ones that will continue to be dissected for the next seven minutes. Vita will rise and then Urlo and you will think that a psychedelic stoner record that makes you think of Massive Attack is really cool. But the monolithic bricks of the specter are seven, and so five rhythmic punches welcome you in "stardog", the second track with Urlo's voice rising together with the vertigo of the abyss. But the beating heart of the record is in the middle: "Helletric", "Nero", and the surprising "Ammonia" with the perfect female guest are vertical descents into cathartic darkness like never before, even more luciferian than in the previous record and at the same time purer and more focused than in "Snailking".

We don't actually want substantial novelties, this Piedmontese trio had already found their style in the second record and now they have even more to sell; this was rather what we needed, further sonic exploration in these mental abysses. The sounds have become even more layered and now new lands are born where more landscapes, whistles, throat clearings, and coughs can be inserted. Valve vibrations at full blast, compact and visceral sounds that bump into take-offs, pauses, and dizzying builds.

In "Destroyer" the specter of "Hopscotch" from Snailking re-emerges, another absolute masterpiece of theirs, and we could stop here. But no, we go safely with the 27 minutes of "Void/Elephantom" and we'll see if there's still anyone gasping out there.