Band:	Umbra Et Imago
Album:	Opus Magnus
Style:	Neue Deutsche Härte, Gothic metal
Website:	http://www.umbraetimago.de
Release date:	2010
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Ohne Dich
02. Perfect Baby
03. Depressionen
04. Gebet Nr. 1
05. Liebeslied
06. Kokainsong
07. Is This Love
08. Hexxenhammer
09. Ignoranz
10. Ode An Die Musik
11. Sonntagsandacht
12. Wanderers Nachtlied

Umbra Et Imago is a band hailing from Germany, often characterized as vulgar in terms of aesthetic and expression - but we don't care, being the brainchild of Mozart. The dark wave/gothic rock days of the past are over and with the passing of the years the guitars started playing an even more important role, reaching a welcome amount of heaviness and distortion (Machina Mundi, Mea Culpa, Dunkle Energie, Memento Mori), with their live shows being actually quite metal (Imago Picta).

2010 and Opus Magnus comes to the surface and with the experience of their later releases the album presents a solid gothic metal/rock sound, dynamic and elegant as well dare I say! Umbra Et Imago tend to marry a wide variety of ways of expression, a diversity most welcome since all the elements blend in such a successful manner altogether. In Opus Magnus you will find Mozart's distinctive and utterly expressive vocals, heavily distorted guitars, melodic and acoustic chords, strings, orchestrations and operatic passages, slight use of electronics, atmosphere-evoking keyboards and a whole lot of inspiration. One may find Rammstein-driven references due to the vocal lines, don't be taken by mistake, it's due to the deutsch lyrics and interpreting accent. Teutonic gothic metal/rock? Well, yeah, why not!

Mozart, Lutz and the rest of the crew proved that it was worth waiting such a long time for a new album to appear on the horizon, I mean, of course an album 1-2 years after Memento Mori would be good, instead Umbra Et Imago prefered touring to make their fans happy and get their vibe, as well as working hard in order to bring together an album worth of their name and the relation they have with their audience.

"Ohne Dich", "Gebet Nr. 1", "Liebeslied", "Ignoranz" and "Ode An Die Musik" could be referred as some recommendations, although to sense the intensity and beauty of Umbra Et Imago in 2010 you will have to listen to the album as a whole, somehow the compositions welcome one another and with a careful listen you will find here and there quite enough interesting sound treasures. Confidence, maturity, inspiration, even personality are some words that could describe Opus Magnus, a title representative of its content.