“I feel very lucky to have the chance to travel and play our music around the world,” says Ufomammut’s guitarist Poia. “This will be a whole new experience in an entirely different world.”
“I’ve never been to Australia before,” adds bassist and vocalist Urlo. “So I’m expecting nothing, and I won’t feel disappointed. But surely there’ll be a lot to discover.”
Ufomammut are globally renowned as significant players in the European metal scene. Prolific in both their reputation and musical output, the band have released eight studio albums across the course of their 17 year history, the latest being their 2015 release Ecate, their third release through Neurot Recordings. According to the band, their live foray into Australia will see Ufomammut focusing mainly on material from Ecate, featuring a mix of dark synths and effects and stunning visuals. Nonetheless, while the band’s live show contains an uncompromising volume of technical prowess, the band insist their performance is based upon fulfilling the needs of the audience first and foremost, while performing with great passion and heart, more so than blinding technical virtuosity.
“We always try to play live as though we were the listeners,” says Poia. “We try to put the same intensity and effort into every night. I really don’t like to be disappointed by a weak live act by a band that I love, and this happened to me many times.
“The show will be focused mainly on Ecate,” he says. “But we’ll also play some songs from our past in the Australian and New Zealand shows.”
“We play live music more from the heart than with instruments,” drummer Vita adds.
Although Ufomammut have existed for more than a decade and a half, the band are unfazed by their survival in the tough and uncompromising world of heavy rock’n’roll. Instead, they’d rather focus their attention on progressing musically as a band and developing exciting concepts, as opposed to worrying about the band’s survival.
“We started playing in Ufomammut quite late, so now we’re not so young,” says Urlo. “But we feel we’re more into this thing now than when we started.”
“No one can read the future,” Vita adds. “Everybody knows that playing music with people you love and respect will give you the strength to always find new incentives and new inspirations.”
“I hope to have the chance of creating and playing more music from different perspectives,” Poia says.
A major highlight of the band’s approaching tour is that Ufomammut are bringing Monolord along for the ride, making for a ridiculously loud and sludgy double bill. Somewhat surprisingly, these two bands have never met, let alone toured together. “Our paths have never met before,” Urlo says. “I’m happy about it because I love meeting new bands, people and musicians,” says Vita. “We both play very loud, so watch out for your ears.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
