Review by Szymon on November 3, 2017.

Pissed off mammoth is a dangerous mammoth. Pissed off Ufomammut is 8.

Eternally looped number eight expresses infinity. It is one of those numbers, which has been attributed variety of meanings for hundreds of years. It’s the symbol of eternal cosmic equilibrium, perfection, rebirth and finally - in some cultures - happiness. It was this symbolism that Ufomammut referred to with their eighth album, which brings, as it were, eight new songs. The expressive figure eighth on the cover of the disc is more akin to the alchemical symbol than the actual number, and promises something unique. An album that is worthwhile to get ‘looped in’ and give it a lot of precious time that is constantly limited by the abundance of other music premieres pouring out the vastness of the proverbial sleeve.

This time the band went on to record in a slightly different way, putting their money on the infrequently used nowadays naturalness. During the three days spent in the studio, the Italian trio recorded all material live, playing simultaneously in one room without any overdubs. Vocals and synths were added later. It's all clearly heard on 8. The sound is raw and decidedly less smoothed than it was presented previously.

What's more, 8 is a surprisingly aggressive album, vocally clamorous and downright brutal percussion-wise, which perfectly matches the dirtier sound. Ufomammut has not been playing so hard and straightforward probably since Idolum, and it is a deliberate attempt. A few days before the release of the album, I had the opportunity to exchange a few words with vocalist and bassist Urlo, who told me that this is a specific response to the recent activities of bands which soften musically with each subsequent release. Contrary to this trend, the Italians added more fuel to the fire, without forgetting about all characteristic to their art elements, especially the heaviness and the already mentioned, omnipresent electronics, which adds the essential cosmic aura to this album. In the end, there is no Ufomammut without cosmos.

It is this combination of aggression, dirt, trance and the electronic background that underlies the new material that decides that 8 is an album that is so successful. Having reached maturity this year, Ufomammut does not get short of breath and is still in great form, as is evidenced by the very beginning of the album. Italians didn’t show such vehement opening of the album as the combined "Babel", "Warsheep" and "Zodiac" (a feature of all the tracks on the album) in a long time. After all, the band does not  reveal all the cards immediately, holding the aces in their sleeve until the last minute of inviting to a interstellar  voyage "Psyrcle". Let's just say that furious "Core" could serve as an example. Whoever got the mammoth so pissed off must’ve regretted it very quickly. It's hard to talk about new quality, since the band does not even think about breaking up with long-established style, but it is a style in which the trio has achieved unquestionable championship in which they’re still able to develop creatively.

8 is not aggression only, but also quite a bit of space. Rather stifling and disturbing, but still space, variables and fading, which in turn determine the proper level of material dynamics and effectively protect against boredom. This also favors the varying length of compositions that fluctuate between three and eight minutes. At the end, the eight is a cosmic equilibrium, is not it? The album does not ‘open up’ to you right away, in which production prevents it slightly, but when it finally ‘clicks’ you really want to keep coming back to it and catch all the little touches and simply just ride the sound waves. The looped 8 in the title, when rotated to the side changes into infinity sign, which turns out to be very adequate to the contents of the disc. In the end, however, I have to disrupt this octal harmony, using an assessment that is not number eighth.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Szymon on November 3, 2017.

Pissed off mammoth is a dangerous mammoth. Pissed off Ufomammut is 8.

Eternally looped number eight expresses infinity. It is one of those numbers, which has been attributed variety of meanings for hundreds of years. It’s the symbol of eternal cosmic equilibrium, perfection, rebirth and finally - in some cultures - happiness. It was this symbolism that Ufomammut referred to with their eighth album, which brings, as it were, eight new songs. The expressive figure eighth on the cover of the disc is more akin to the alchemical symbol than the actual number, and promises something unique. An album that is worthwhile to get ‘looped in’ and give it a lot of precious time that is constantly limited by the abundance of other music premieres pouring out the vastness of the proverbial sleeve.

This time the band went on to record in a slightly different way, putting their money on the infrequently used nowadays naturalness. During the three days spent in the studio, the Italian trio recorded all material live, playing simultaneously in one room without any overdubs. Vocals and synths were added later. It's all clearly heard on 8. The sound is raw and decidedly less smoothed than it was presented previously.

What's more, 8 is a surprisingly aggressive album, vocally clamorous and downright brutal percussion-wise, which perfectly matches the dirtier sound. Ufomammut has not been playing so hard and straightforward probably since Idolum, and it is a deliberate attempt. A few days before the release of the album, I had the opportunity to exchange a few words with vocalist and bassist Urlo, who told me that this is a specific response to the recent activities of bands which soften musically with each subsequent release. Contrary to this trend, the Italians added more fuel to the fire, without forgetting about all characteristic to their art elements, especially the heaviness and the already mentioned, omnipresent electronics, which adds the essential cosmic aura to this album. In the end, there is no Ufomammut without cosmos.

It is this combination of aggression, dirt, trance and the electronic background that underlies the new material that decides that 8 is an album that is so successful. Having reached maturity this year, Ufomammut does not get short of breath and is still in great form, as is evidenced by the very beginning of the album. Italians didn’t show such vehement opening of the album as the combined "Babel", "Warsheep" and "Zodiac" (a feature of all the tracks on the album) in a long time. After all, the band does not  reveal all the cards immediately, holding the aces in their sleeve until the last minute of inviting to a interstellar  voyage "Psyrcle". Let's just say that furious "Core" could serve as an example. Whoever got the mammoth so pissed off must’ve regretted it very quickly. It's hard to talk about new quality, since the band does not even think about breaking up with long-established style, but it is a style in which the trio has achieved unquestionable championship in which they’re still able to develop creatively.

8 is not aggression only, but also quite a bit of space. Rather stifling and disturbing, but still space, variables and fading, which in turn determine the proper level of material dynamics and effectively protect against boredom. This also favors the varying length of compositions that fluctuate between three and eight minutes. At the end, the eight is a cosmic equilibrium, is not it? The album does not ‘open up’ to you right away, in which production prevents it slightly, but when it finally ‘clicks’ you really want to keep coming back to it and catch all the little touches and simply just ride the sound waves. The looped 8 in the title, when rotated to the side changes into infinity sign, which turns out to be very adequate to the contents of the disc. In the end, however, I have to disrupt this octal harmony, using an assessment that is not number eighth.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Michael on March 1, 2022.

Ouch that hit me! I didn't get the opportunity to review the new Wound album Serpent Crown right in time, not even in the right year. The German quintet released their very rousing third album last December so this might have been a very nice birthday or Christmas present for me. Too bad!

The opener 'Silent Indoctrination' just blew me away when I listened to it for the first time. I hadn't expected such a great step forward by the band. What they are performing here is very old-school death metal with some nice Gothenburg melodies here and there ('Dethroned Surpremacy') and a lot of Gothic-era vibes ('Forged For Death'). Nevertheless the tunes stay very brutal and not really trendy in any way you might think melodic metal could be. The band continues this style on most of the album though I have the feeling that they weren't quite sure which way they should go – the doomy way or the melodic one. But that doesn't matter, the tracks sound very coherent and on some tracks the guys from Wiesbaden are quite surprising because they increase speed and deliver some brutal stuff too like in 'Disciples Of Downfall' or 'Antagonism'. Another very appealing track with thriving riffs and an intense wall of sound is 'Towers'. This is a monolithic track with a very catchy ending. I won't mention any outstanding tracks on Serpent Crown because there are so many things that want to be discovered on here and it will take several listens having fully explored the album.

The production is done very well, just the drums might be a little bit richer, and I think they sound a little bit muffled and tinny sometimes. The vocals however are really powerful and aggressive and the guitars are pretty nicely distorted and have a buzzing sound. This one doesn't reinvent the wheel of course but who needs it if the old one is still working perfectly fine? This is a very cool gem for old school death metal fans who are very happy with their stuff from the late 80s up to mid-90s and maybe want to try out something new that sounds pretty much similar to the era when a lot of milestones in the genre came out.

So sorry guys for having not reviewed you in 2021, this would have probably been one of my favorite death metal albums back then!

Rating: 9 out of 10 wounded belated Santa Clauses