Ufomammut has been one of the most consistent doom bands of the past decade. The band released five albums from 2000 to 2010, not including the brilliant collaboration with Lento, and there’s not a mediocre album in the bunch. They’ve cultivated a unique sound that layers ebbing tides of lashing doom riffs with synths and vocals distorted so much they simply dissolve the in the twisted morass of riffage. Their name is a combination of UFO and the Italian word for ‘mammoth’ and hot damn if that doesn’t capture the essence of their music.

Oro: Opus Primum is the first part of the band’s most ambitious project yet; a two-part album spread across two discs. While the second half won’t arrive until September, the first half is out and it is an unbelievably crushing ocean of cosmic doom. It’s as hypnotic and expansive as doom gets, with an atmosphere dense as dark matter. The monstrous riffs flow like waves from a supernova lapping at the universe, melding with swirling synths and indecipherable vocals into a mind-frying psychedelic alloy. “Empireum” introduces the musical theme using spritely keys and tumbling drums, building to the nasty grooves of “Aureum” and waves of twisting crush of “Infearnatural”. The theme from “Empireum” returns in “Magickon”, the keys this time building to a full blown riff before melting into closer “Mindomine”.

Ufomammut have developed a mastery of dynamics, rivaled perhaps only by Corrupted and Ocean. Riffs play off each other, build to peaks and crumble to valleys, maximizing their impact and making sure they don’t hang around too long. The last point is perhaps the most important because you’re left wanting more, because let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than a perfectly good riff getting run into the ground through repetition. The lyrics are unintelligible, the vocals bleeding out in a cyclopean warble, and are used like a second layer of synth to accent particular passages, working brilliantly to solidify the mind-warping atmosphere.

Ufomammut have again pushed their craft beyond the outer realms of doom. Rich with atmosphere and packed with riffs, Opus Primum is one of the best doom records released this year. Given headphones, a dark room, and a massive bag of heady psychedelics, this is the kind of shit that will have you traveling the cosmic planes searching for the link that binds you to the One at the center of the universe. See you in space, brothers.

[Visit the band's website]

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