Italian progressive sludge/doom outfit Ufomammut has been around for 20 years now…and until last night, I had only seen ’em once, back in 2015. This gig was a much more stripped-down affair, with a smaller stage and no visual backdrop. But we were still in for a very heavy evening!
Local openers Witchrot are best known as the band that broke up over Facebook. (I guess they’ve got a new guitar player now?) I had never seen or heard their music before, but now I gotta say, if you wish Witch Mountain sounded a little more like Sleep, and had keyboards on a couple tracks, then this band is for you.
Kings Destroy from NYC was making their third Toronto appearance, in support of their latest album Fantasma Nera. Their set list drew very heavily from said record, with highlights like “You’re the Puppet” and “Yonkers Ceiling Collapse” coming on strong in the live setting. I’ve seen these guys three times in four years now, and will be making it four for four at Maryland Doom Fest in June… They deliver every time.
Not having a brand new album to support might have given Ufomammut a bit more creative freedom this time around. While I still couldn’t decipher their cryptic, cosmic set list, their performance seemed a lot heavier than what I remembered from 2015. Maybe it was all the red lights in the background?
