Ufomammut | ‘Oro: Opus Primum’

There’s something just a bit too familiar about Ufomammut. A sense you may have heard them before.

Long time Doom and stoner aficionados will get it instantly.

The reason is that a huge proportion of this band’s sound, pray, is taken from UK space rockers Ship Of Fools.

The strains of ‘Empireum’ could have come straight of the UK trippers’ ‘Somewhere Out There’, and though granted this is more sludge based than electro-rock, all the cues are there.

Perhaps, given that they’re Italian they haven’t heard of them. In which case all I can offer is that the similarity is uncanny.

For the rest of it, Ufomammut’s extra-terrestrial thumping sits broadly alongside the likes of Skullflower, with notes to Om and sometimes Khanate in there as well.

There’s just nothing that really excites across these five long tracks. ‘Aureium’ brings the vocals in, but their too far gone, too distanced, to be effective.

Meanwhile the riffs themselves just arent compelling enough, at least until one uppety section in the track. It doesnt feel like enough.

The whole album is more or less variation on a theme. So when ‘Magickon’ reprises the same spooky, spacey intro as the opening track (which as we already know owes a rather huge stylistic debt to others) – frankly it feels a bit lazy.

It’s not bad, but there’s nothing in here to make up sit up and take notice – sorry, slip down into a deep cosmic trance exploring gateways of perception.

2.3 / 5 – Earl Grey ::: 02/07/12