The Opus
First Contact 001

First Contact 001 is the debut album by The Opus, that is, Isle Of Weight and Mr. Echoes, two producers quite well-known in the underground rap scene for their experimentalism and abstract music, which we had already savored with the previous EP 000. Released by Ozone in 2002, First Contact 001 continues the narrative previously undertaken by artists like Company Flow, Antipop Consortium, and Cannibal Ox, contributing to the genre's evolution that masterpieces like Funcrusher Plus and The Cold Vein had marked.

13 blazing tracks, zero interludes or breaks, this is the recipe of First Contact 001, a concept album that, from its ethereal cover (which is very Isis :D), seems to be light-years ahead of all contemporary rap releases (and beyond).
It starts with the initial "Mission," in which intertwining vocal samples and lyrical singing seem to almost recall the mission to accomplish, to go beyond, then to encounter extraordinary tracks like the title track, where the apocalyptic base shines with the rhymes of Lord 360, Murs, and ISelfDivine, the beautiful single "Take Me To The Basement," with its spatial sounds and featuring the genius Aesop Rock, the hard and gloomy "Live" with Lumba, or "River," where the unexpected unease of the refrain and its strings perfectly meld with the rhymes of Slug and the rest of the soundscape created by The Opus. However, it is in instrumental tracks like "Mind Surfas," "Luna Landing," with its trip hop sounds, the raw "Fallen," or the long and almost "psychedelic" "I Come In Peace," perhaps the true masterpiece of the album, that the abilities of our artists to create incredible kaleidoscopes of sounds fully shine. The beautiful "Guide From The Other Side" concludes the journey to a new and dark dimension, which only our artists seem to know and explore.

Despite this, while remaining a great album, First Contact 001 does not seem to recreate that perfect alchemy that garnered so much acclaim for Company Flow or Cannibal Ox with their respective debut albums. Of course, there's no need to get too demoralized, The Opus's work is just a step lower and remains highly recommended to all those who aren't afraid to go beyond, listen to different sounds, and try new emotions. Mission almost accomplished.