UFOMAMMUT
ORO: OPUS ALTER
What we have here is the second of two linked albums – one album, I suppose – released within the space of six months by this Italian sludge metal band. I haven’t heard the first half of the project (ORO: Opus Prime) but I feel safe in saying that it’s probably not a collection of Carpenters covers. This is straight up spacey sludge, indebted to all the usual suspects: Kyuss, Melvins, Hawkwind, Isis. The bass is gluey and gooey, the guitars grind, the vocals shout and murmur from a tasteful distance. There’s nothing new about this music, but there’s nothing wrong with it, either. I don’t know how you say “if it ain’t broke” in Italian, but UFOmammut certainly seem to have the idea down. This is music for bongs and custom van art, crawling out of the magma pit to scream its fury at the impotent Space Lords. Your taste for this kind of thing may vary, but if you’ve worn out a copy or two of Blues for the Red Sun, you’re going to enjoy this, especially when the opening riff of “Sulphurdew” kicks off on top of a bed of swirling. (Neurot Recordings) by Aaron van Dorn