Ufomammut – Ecate

Italian psych-sludgemeisters Ufomammut titled their seventh album after an ancient Greek goddess who mediates between both mortal and divine realms; a theme borne out by their crushingly powerful music, which constantly moves between slow-burning brutality and moments of ethereal otherness. Occasionally this all builds to something of truly Olympus-like proportions, particularly when epic closer Daemons bursts into a melodious climax as it hits the six-minute mark – the closest thing to beauty on a record that’s dominated by portentous heaviness and desolate rumbles. 

In fact, as ludicrous genre tags go, ‘doom’ sounds about right. Ecate is never actively fun to listen to, and never opts to conjure a grin when it could simply leave you dizzied by sheer force of volume (Plouton), or pull the rug out from under you with unexpected flutters of tripped-out electronic burbling (Revelation). Here, Ufomammut offer something solemnly forceful – an album that grinds you into the earth, even as its arms stretch out to the heavens. [Will Fitzpatrick]