Album Review: ORO: Opus Alter by UFOmammut

For all its cosmic, world-swallowing bluster, there's something reassuringly traditional about much stoner and doom metal. The dark fires set by Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Sleep and other forefathers still smoulder in the sound of many acts, and for the most part it's something to be celebrated. By the same token, it also makes those who do it exceptionally well stand out from the crowd, and over the past ten years Italian beard-fanciers Ufomammut have been doggedly climbing their way to the threshold of masters with their dense, prog-tinged grooves.

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away -- well, some six months earlier anyway, at, errrr -- a record store not too far from here, UFOmammut unveiled ORO: Opus Primum -- the first of two CDs necessary to contain a massive, hour-and-a-half-long "song" (conveniently spliced into ten smaller sections) that is hereby completed by ORO: Opus Alter. Clearly, the venerable Italian space/sludge outfit really challenged themselves with this most audacious project, and by and large, they delivered the goods on its impressive first half; but it's easy to understand why Neurot Recordings decided to hold back the release of ORO's second half long enough to spare the already deficient, 21st century's attention spans from having to absorb it all in one sitting. After all, this is one big-ass pill to swallow! And yet, discount the general masses not attuned to UFOmammut's unique but long-established formula, and their dedicated followers shan't have to expend too many of their remaining neurons grasping the full enormity of the band's accomplishment, even though this second sibling falls just short of its elder twin overall.

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