Ufomammut, the Italian experimenters of space and sound, have returned with their second album of the year: Oro – “Opus Alter”. This album follows on seamlessly from Oro – “Opus Primum” released five months prior. The depth of meanings present in the wordplay involved in the naming of the albums is worth noting in that the albums are intended to be alchemic variations of one another. Ufomammut state that the concept behind the album name is a play on the palindromic ‘Oro’ which means ‘gold’ in Italian and ‘I pray’ in Latin. The etymology of the word ‘alter’ derives from the medieval latin meaning ‘other of two’ and semantically indicates a difference without a change. Ufomammut present Opus Alter as the dark twin of Opus Primum and develop musical as well as linguistic motifs from Primum in Alter.
‘Oroboros’, the first song in the album develops this wordplay from the very start and is an apt metaphor with which to continue the Opus. Space age sound effects and dark downtuned bass set the brooding tone of the album. A pulsing web of sound draws you in, revealing a highly textured network of detail. There is a strange three dimensional depth to this album. Voices and echoes reverberate and sound from different distances, bleeps and squeaks emerge from unexpected corners of the music as if trapped in a space age time capsule.
A sense of controlled chaos is vented through thick layers of guitars, shattering drums and distant screams. You could loop this album and it would work as a circular song, 'Ouroboros' links both albums to each other and swallows it's own tail in the process. 'Sulphurdew' and 'Deityrant' are stand out tracks containing trademark beastly riffs and a gigantic scale of sound. Ufomammut create a highly atmospheric world of sound that will unfailingly shape your mood and inject vast amounts of bass into your mind. Ufomammut are recommended for fans of Yob, Om, Colour Haze or anything with a hint of sludge and a wall of bass.
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