Ufomammut is now streaming their contribution to the upcoming Superunknown Redux covers album, "Let Me Drown". The cover is a sludgy take on Soundgarden's classic track that only Ufomammut can summon.
"Something was happening to underground music at the end of the eighties," said Ufomammut's guitarist Poia. "It was a time when a particular branch of rock music was becoming more granitic, powerful and real, free from the clichés of classic metal, and inspired by a more raw, punk attitude.
"Seattle was the epicenter of that 'sonic earthquake' and those waves reached the world and also Italy, at the outskirts of rock, at the beginning of the nineties. This storm changed our lives, forever. We were doomed and decided to form a band, inspired by both the classics of rock and by the new bands we began to love. This link with the past made sense. Also, King Buzzo in an interview once said that 'Nirvana were The Beatles, while Soundgarden were… Led Zeppelin'."
Bassist and vocalist Urlo adds: "We still remember the first time we listened to Badmotorfinger, just after it released way back in 1991. The riffs, the drums, Chris Cornell's vocals slapped us in the face. Soundgarden took the rock of that period to a different level. And with Superunknown they reached perfection. It is a unique and unattainable record. We take it as a big honour to have the chance to pay tribute to those giants and open this album with 'Let Me Drown', a song that sounds perfect in Soundgarden's hands.
"We began to play it as it was, but immediately understood that making the piece too similar to the original wasn't the way. So, slowly, little by little, we deconstructed it. We tried to understand the spirit of the song, and did our best to transform it into our own vision: a thunderous desperate vortex, inspired by both music and lyrics. Dealing with Kim Thayil's riffs and Chris Cornell's voice was a challenge, but also a very interesting, deeply satisfying experience. We think that, at the end, we’ve created a very Ufomammut song with the backbone of a great Soundgarden classic."
Superunknown Redux is out July 14. Pre-orders are available here and the full tracklist is as follows:
- Ufomammut "Let Me Drown"
- High Priest feat. Bobby Ferry (16) "My Wave"
- Marissa Nadler "Fell on Black Days"
- Somnuri "Mailman"
- Valley of the Sun "Superunknown"
- Frayle "Head Down"
- Spotlights "Black Hole Sun"
- Horseburner "Spoonman"
- Witch Mountain "Limo Wreck"
- Beastwars "The Day I Tried to Live"
- Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows "Kickstand"
- The Age of Truth "Fresh Tendrils"
- Marc Urselli's SteppenDoom feat. Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam), Igor Sydorenko (Stoned Jesus), Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Eleven), Albert Kuvezin (Yat-Kha) & Utelo "4th of July"
- Dozer "Half"
- Darkher "Like Suicide"
