Omnia Opera - Nothing is Ordinary. 2011 England

Here is Omnia Opera's long anticipated reunion, an album that was released well over a year after being first announced. Reunion albums are always a dicey proposition. It seems very few bands from the 1970s could ever get it right. As if they never understood why they were popular in the first place. But 1980s groups fared much better, and I think that's because of the circumstances from which they came about. In many cases, bands in the 1980s languished in the underground for years and years, with only their ardent supporters in attendance along with a dedicated-to-the-music-genre magazine press. Heavy metal groups were the most prolific, but on a lesser scale space rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock bands toiled in the small dirty clubs, and sold a small amount of LPs and later CDs to their fan base. Other than in the metal genre, the sales were too small to make a living at it, unless one wanted to remain a pauper their entire life.

With that in mind, Omnia Opera has really set the bar high for reunion attempts. The band went all out with a sprawling 2 CD set. Generally that's not appealing to me - presenting far too much music, and usually far too much filler. Two hour CDs are like 3 hour movies - they can be a slog to get through. Well I have good news for all of you here: There's not a moment wasted through the entire duration. It's as if they had spent the last 14 years putting it together. All the trademark sounds of classic Omnia Opera are on display: Heavy psychedelic guitars, thundering bass, active drumming, impassioned male and female vocals, and of course the cosmic keyboards. All the tracks are thought out, and present plenty of twists and turns to keep it exciting.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Umbilical. 2xCD cased in a large heavy duty digi-pak, resembling a mini-LP. My copy also comes with a postcard that was addressed to me by the band.

2/19/12 (new entry); 8/31/19