Oltretomba

I have got along well with The Ossuary right from the start of their fairly brief career, and that even accounts for the Italians’ fascination with ‘70s rock and ‘70s movies, neither of which I’m that interested in. This third album reminds right away how much the quartet like their dusty old amps to sound vintage, croaking out from every song like flared jeans haven’t quite died out yet. Of course, what these guys try to do is bring alive the spirit of that time with nods to doom metal and some pinches of psych, so that an unusual contrast between chilly gloom and rollicking good times emerges on cuts like ‘Kyrie Eleison’. Fewer of the up-tempo tracks from previous full-length Southern Funeral turn up here, meaning that it took me longer to get used to the gradual approach employed, though I reckon the band were going for something different with Oltretomba.

Loping verses like the ones in ‘Serpent Magic’ eventually get kicked into higher gear during always entertaining lead guitar sections, though on the former issue I can openly criticize The Ossuary’s thought process, since the vocals just hold back a bit too much to highlight their alcoholic throatiness against plain backing. Admittedly, the instrumental tones chosen for this album sound gorgeously warm and inviting, as before drawing me to consider stoner rock as a reference point for the lazy sprawl of the bass-heavy ‘Orbits’, so using this album as a Sunday afternoon drinking or smoking soundtrack would certainly work well. The opposite effect ought to occur for the briefer rockers like opener ‘Ratking’ and ‘Forever into the Ground’, and they do get the blood pumping fairly convincingly. However, I just can’t help but compare them to old songs by The Ossuary such as ‘Belphegor’ and see them as a bit tame by comparison.

The long period from the middle of the album where the heaviness dries up for a while proves the sticking point for me, since the long pair of ‘Orbits’ and ‘Crucifer’ dawdle slowly down their respective paths, then ‘Mourning Star’ is all water and no waves, nor does the record return to anything with much more energy. This complaint obviously comes from me as a fan of heavier music and of motion over stillness, so lovers of cult classic rock may get more from the 54 minutes than me, and also find that the time passes more quickly. However, personally I see Oltretomba as a bit of a step in the wrong direction for The Ossuary.