EP REVIEW: Crookhead – Ufomammut

Italian doom heavyweights and riff worshippers UFOMAMMUT have been crafting deliciously heavy, distorted and trippy metal since 1999. Known for their excursions into the outer reaches of the cosmos, their astute knowledge of heavy music and their nuanced dynamism, UFOMAMMUT aren’t afraid to go where no doom band has gone before. Now, ahead of their 25th anniversary as a band in 2024, they offer a foretaste of what is to come with their crushing new EP Crookhead. 

Across three dingy and grimy tracks, UFOMAMMUT dispense their bludgeoning riffs with frightful efficiency as granulated synthesisers swirl around underneath the heaviness. With distortion and fuzz pummelling you into the ground, the three tracks Crookhead, Supernova and Vibrhate offer up a tantalising glimpse of a new sludgier direction that the Italian trio may be taking. 

Crookhead moves away from the spacious psychedelia of the band’s previous album Fenice and injects an ELECTRIC WIZARD-esque barrage of groove, distortion and chaos. Adorned with a Cthulhu head on its cover, there is a prevalent eldritch vibe to this EP that sounds inspired by H. P.  Lovecraft’s darkest horrors. The omnipresent sense of doom is intimidating, as the songs enclose you in their dark and dingy atmosphere. This darker sound has always been present in various ways throughout UFOMAMMUT’s discography, and now they’re truly giving into the chaos, unshackling it from its chains and unleashing it with devastating effect. 

This heavier and darker EP is foreboding yet incredibly alluring; you are left wanting more whilst also cowering in fear at the immensity and heaviness of just these three tracks. Crookhead feels dangerous. Whatever the band follow this up with will no doubt be a cataclysmically heavy album. As Crookhead shows, UFOMAMMUT aren’t afraid to rip up their rule book and venture further into the dark abyss. 

Rating: 8/10

Crookhead is set for release on October 31st via Supernatural Cat Records.

Like UFOMAMMUT on Facebook.