Bandcamp Ultracombo are a self-released power trio from Vicenza, and Season 3 wears its DIY independence lightly. Five tracks, sung in a mix of English and Italian, sitting somewhere between stoner riff-rock and melodic alternative metal, with the odd post-grunge and Italian-gothic shadow drifting through. It is not a heavy record in the doom sense, and it does not pretend to be. What it is is a warm, unforced, self-produced set from a band that clearly plays a lot together and recorded it honest.
The production is the quiet strength. Most of Season 3 skips the modern brickwall entirely, and it pays off: “Annullamento” is transparent and dynamic, classic raw tube saturation with a knurled bass and a clean, glass-clear vocal that swings from spare verses to wide choruses; “Il pavone” leans into an alt-metal, post-grunge groove with an un-triggered, real-room drum sound and no fake sub-clicks; and “Il fungo e l’universo” rides a griffy classic overdrive through genuine dynamic steps into a varied solo. When Ultracombo trust that organic, amp-in-a-room feel, the songs breathe and the trio interplay carries them.
The catch is the opener and the ceiling. “Out of my mind” is the one track mastered loud and mid-stuffed, the 200-to-500 Hz band clogging and the doubled chorus harmonies biting around 3 to 5 kHz, and it sells the record short next to the organic tracks that follow. More broadly this is comfort-zone melodic heavy rock: the hooks are solid but rarely surprising, the “stoner” tag more a flavour than a foundation, and the lightest cuts drift toward straight alt-rock. Pleasant and well-made rather than essential.
Season 3 is a warm, likeable, genuinely dynamic DIY record from a trio who value feel over force, and for anyone who likes their stoner rock on the melodic, alt-leaning side, sung half in Italian and recorded like a real band, it is an easy, honest listen. Turn it up, windows down, no doom required.
Self-produced stoner-and-alt-metal from a DIY trio, sung in English and Italian, and the quiet strength is a mostly un-brickwalled, organic sound. “Annullamento” is transparent and dynamic with classic raw tube saturation, a knurled bass and a glass-clear vocal swinging from spare verses to wide choruses; “Il pavone” leans post-grunge alt-metal with un-triggered real-room drums and no fake sub-clicks; and “Il fungo e l’universo” rides a griffy overdrive through genuine dynamic steps into a varied solo. The reservation is the opener “Out of my mind,” mastered loud and mid-stuffed with a clogged 200 to 500 Hz band and chorus harmonies biting around 3 to 5 kHz, selling short the organic tracks that follow. More melodic alt-heavy-rock than doom; the stoner tag is a flavour, not a foundation. Warm and honest.
Standout tracks: Annullamento, Il pavone, Il fungo e l’universo
