To use a cliché, the New Zealand Metal scene has gone from strength to strength in the last few years. Auckland's Ulcerate, who have been at it since 2003, are another in a long line of quality Extreme Metal acts from across the ditch. The band's initial demos caught the attention of up-and-coming Dutch label Neurotic Records, who have released their proper debut full-length, 'Of Fracture And Failure'.
Featuring current 8 Foot Sativa members (geez, those guys seem to be everywhere in the Kiwi Metal scene!) Ben Read (vocals) and drummer Jamie Saint Merat, Ulcerate are hardly novices. Relentless, efficient musicianship and tight songwriting are what drives Ulcerate's uncompromising brand of Death Metal. The band showcase plenty of influences, which perhaps shine through a little too strongly occasionally, but it's far, far from plagiarism.
The music sounds so immediate and vital it doesn't matter though. 'The Mask of the Satyr' is relentless and 'Becoming the Lycanthrope' sounds like an ungodly mix of Suffocation, Meshuggah and Hate Eternal, only combined with the band's emotionally-charged personality. 'Praise And Negation' has an Immolation crossed with Necrophagist intensity and the more clinical sections of 'Ad Nauseum' recall Meshuggah, but with a twist. 'Defaeco' has a more brooding intensity to it that ensures it never loses your attention during its eight minutes.
The band does precious little wrong. The vocals are a vicious combination of throat-lacerating screams and growls, showing real depth. There's great variety in the riffing, and the drumming is tight and creative, with some truly devastating fills and ferocious blast-beats unleashed at regular intervals. The musicianship is quite technical, (see 'Martyr Of The Soul) with complex changes in tempo, unsettling use of dynamics and intricate, often stop-start riffing, but not to the point where it becomes distracting, or detracts from the actual songs.
This is a very accomplished effort: forceful, precise Death Metal with its own identity. It's little wonder that Ulcerate are winning over Extreme Metal fans everywhere. With 8 Foot Sativa about to release a new album, here's hoping Ulcerate don't become an afterthought. These guys are on to something here.
- Spiritech
(See reviewer's scoring method)
