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Universal Totem Orchestra - Rituale Alieno CD (album) cover

RITUALE ALIENO

Universal Totem Orchestra

 

Zeuhl

4.10 | 127 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
4 stars The drummer and bass player who appeared only on RUNAWAY TOTEM's debut album "Trimegisto" are back, this time with UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA.They have a similar name to their previous band and a similar style of music as well. It's difficult to describe this one with the male and female Italian operatic (almost) vocals. There is a definite Zeuhl flavour to this album. Hey they thank C.Vander and J. Top in the liner notes. Dark with heavy bass and lots of rhythm. Similar vocal style to Zeuhl at times. Not as metal as RUNAWAY TOTEM though. Yes this album really took some time to get used to. And that's part of what makes it a great record to have, because it's different. Check out tszirmay's review because he is so good at describing their sound.

"Pane Astrale" is a beauty with the female soprano vocals and piano throughout. Some violin as well. "Saturno" is an over 21 minute ride into the abyss. Love the dark and heavy 1 1/2 minute intro. Church organ then takes over. Sax, drums then guitar follows. The guitar is ripping it up. Six minutes in the song stops as we then get some gregorian chanting. Then 7 1/2 minutes in it's back to the heavy intro sound with some excellent guitar. Nice. The tempo slows right down 10 1/2 minutes in as heavy drums and deep male vocals come in. A catchy, faster paced male and female vocal section comes in. The tempo continues to shift. "Il Viaggio Di Elric" is spacey to open before an uptempo percussion driven melody comes in. It stops 2 minutes in as she starts to sing slowly with percussion to match. It kicks back in before 3 1/2 minutes. Great sound as the guitar grinds it out. It stops 5 minutes in as viola takes over. Female vocals are next and they sound terrific. Male vocals then come in. The tempo picks back up before 8 minutes as guitar and male vocals lead the way. Not a fan of the last 2 minutes.

"Ipernatura Del Tempo Centrale" opens with percussion and sax until it changes completely 1 1/2 minutes in to an almost jazzy flavour with piano, male vocals and bass. Nice guitar before 4 minutes. Check out the chunky bass 4 1/2 minutes in. This continues for some time with female vocal melodies in the background until MAGMA-like male vocals come in 7 1/2 minutes. Great tune. "Antichi Occhi Ciechi" opens with spoken words as flute arrives 2 minutes in. Female vocals then male vocals as a melody has arrived before 3 minutes. I like the drumming and piano. Jazzy. The tempo and mood continues to change. Love the guitar 4 1/2 minutes in and later 8 minutes in. Cool song. "Meccanica Superiore" is dark with male and female vocals come in singing at a good pace. Some wicked guitar follows. Back to the vocals. Check out her vocals before 4 minutes. Great section after 6 minutes to 7 1/2 minutes.

This is music for the adventerous, those who like to explore new places.

Mellotron Storm | 4/5 |

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