Year: 2024
Total Time: 57:46
Label: Debemur Mortis Productions
This is the seventh album for the pillars of New Zealand’s Metal, ULCERATE and guess what, it’s not bad either, in fact it’s far from mediocre and that’s an admirable fact. The truth is that I loved “Stare Into Death And Be Still” of 2020, I got attached to it, I tried to feel it in its entirety, of course the circumstances were also strange back then, but in no way did I feel that its successor could be so equally strong.
The opening track “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts” sounds a little out of place with this cobwebbed dark riff more reminiscent of a FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM gothic phase rather than Technical Death Metal. However, things get into order quickly and the maze of ULCERATE opens up in front of us. What is noticeable is that now the band has focused on developmenting the melody rather than having strict technical parts, thus wanting to give more breath to the compositions. Calling it as “avant garde” would be unfounded, even though this term has been overused so much that in the near future we can also read it in reviews of a new IRON MAIDEN’s album! However, this is not completely wrong in this case.
Melancholy is pervasive throughout and sets a tone that is both heavy and mournful at the same time. The production is fantastic, you feel like what you’re hearing is not coming from a trio but from a five piece band, at least. The tension is intertwined with emotion and melancholy, Michael Hoggard’s “dissonant” guitars battle with Jamie Saint Merat’s seminal drumming and the result is, apart from the rest, the masterpiece “Transfiguration In And Out Of Worlds”, an eight minute and something polyrhythmic and dark epic, a composition that I have the impression that ULCERATE have never written anything similar.
“The Dawn Is Hollow” is also a strong moment of the album. “Undying As An Apparition” as a self-contained act of pain, blood and tears and “To Se Death Just Once” with its predictable rhythm cut in half by unexpected sweet chords to make the return to Paul Kelland roar more interesting and the controlled babble are also two very strong moments of the album.
Technical Death Metal is by definition a subgenre of something sterile, clinical and completely mechanical. However, ULCERATE manage to add these sweet moments of vulnerability, taking off the mantle of tech for a while, adding a little “soul” while approaching the fields of Black Metal (without being seen as trespassers), is for me something so admirable. Although “Cutting The Throat Of God” comes as a natural follow-up to “Stare Into Death And Be Still”, the targeted and well-crafted compositions make it an equal, at least. And all of these, were seen live at their appearance in Thessaloniki the past October, with a setlist based a lot on these two albums. ULCERATE have established themselves as a “Champions League” level band, escaping the narrow confines of Tech while continuing to release nothing but masterpieces!
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: ULCERATE – Facebook Page
