Owing either to their Italian origins or a discography heretofore released on small, defunct labels or the band's own Supernatural Cat imprint – most likely a combination of both – Ufomammut haven't enjoyed the accolades offered their peers in an increasingly US-centric psychedelic doom scene. That's a shame, because by any objective yardstick they stand heads and shoulders above the majority of American groups (particularly when it comes to epic, spaced out instrumental doom, a particular niche in which Ufomammut are arguably unparalleled).
A move to Neurot Recordings, home to Tribes of Neurot, A Storm of Light, and, of course, Neurosis, should help to rectify that slight. Unfamiliarity rather than indifference seems to be the main culprit hamstringing Ufomammut in America.
For the uninitiated, theirs is a wizardry of riff-driven, grandiose doom riffs with space rock-influenced layers of psych fuzz and electronic noise, the only occasional lyrics coming by way of distant chants or full throated, elongated bellowing, either of which will be buried deep in the mix, becoming in essence an undifferentiated tactile element in the overall tapestry of sound. They don't beat you over the head with noise, they stick to pretty much the same tempo from one song to the next (one album to the next), and only the indelible strength of the riffs themselves keep the material firmly rooted in doom rather than spilling over into what most people consider "drone"… though the trance-like, "head" musical intent is very similar.
Ufomammut seem to maintain the cohesiveness of their individual albums by assigning each of them a theme, though again there is next to nothing by way of discernible lyrics to illustrate these themes. Nonetheless, if it gives them a peg to hang their writer's hat on, more power to them. Oro: Opus Primum maintains the quality and direction of their last several albums, though the concept is a little more arcane: something about the "alchemical" nature by which thoughts and fears are converted into knowledge.
Longtime listeners may initially be thrown off by the atmospheric opening track, "Empereum", which takes much longer to build up to the actual riffing than their usual opening cuts ("Stigma" from Idolum, for instance, essaying one of the record's most crushing riffs directly out of the gate). All in good time, established buffs. At only five songs totaling fifty-one minutes, Oro: Opus Primum has a tendency to stretch its legs a bit, but the extended build just makes the eventual climaxes all the more satisfying.
By the way, as part of Malleus Rock Art Lab, Ufomammut have made a recent habit of creating "visuals" (a little too free-form impressionistic to be readily identified as "music videos" per se) for the entirety of their last couple albums; which means you can stream the entire thing in five segments below.
For higher quality CD or vinyl visit Neurot's webstore here.
The second volume, Oro: Opus Alter, will be released in September.
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