Death Metal, beyond it’s primal stages, has had it’s ups, but many, many downs over the years. As the genre became more modernized, bands like Suffocation and Cryptopsy came along and were able to introduce more technicality and sharper precision to the style, and create something interesting, while sticking to it’s primitive roots and build off of them, without straying too far from the art. Then there were bands like Lykathea Aflame, Cynic and Gorguts, who brought a new level of progression and technical prowess to the table, and gave it their own genre-bending twist, that added a new layer of melodic depth and psychedelic cacophony, and managed to fuse both elements together, into their own, distinctive, mind-fucking sound, that resonated with those who were itching for something different, that separated itself from the herd, and pushed the creative boundaries of where Death Metal can go, and opened the door to new sonic planes, which in turn, made them stick out like sore thumbs, with albums that still get talked about to this day. Then, there are bands who take the term “technical” a smidge too seriously and mindlessly wank their instruments until they’re blue in the face, while over-producing their sound to no end. There’s a way to do these things on both the technical and progressive sides of the spectrum, as demonstrated by the first few bands I just mentioned; the band who are the subject of this review, New Zealand’s Ulcerate, can do both, as they have proven time and time again, throughout their already insane discography, but have solidified with this nightmarish hellscape of an album that they have bestowed upon us here in 2020.
Stare into Death and be Still is Ulcerate’s sixth album, and further demonstrates the band’s technical prowess, and holistic skill, that they tirelessly implement into their sound, to create an ominous, menacing, psychedelic trip in aural form, that overtakes your senses and makes you sit there and pay attention to every last note and word that it’s conveying to you, through a punishing, but equally spellbinding amalgamation of beauty, darkness and esoterica. Very rarely does a Death Metal album take melody, ferocity, technicality, atmosphere and progression, and blend it together in such a massive and vibrant way, that it sends chills down your spine, like a cold breath on the nape of your neck, in the form of potent, melodic riffs that sneak up on you when you least expect it and catch you off-guard, under a chaotic storm of quaking drums and maiming guitars, all kept at a pace, and carefully crafted, to where everything is placed where it should be, and nothing is wasted. Every inch and detail of this album is laced with the deepest and rawest of emotion, which molds it into one of the most evolutionary and captivating Death Metal albums I’ve heard in recent memory, which a very select few bands can pull off, including Ulcerate, who, in and of themselves, are an evolutionary band, who peels back their stylistic repertoire layer by layer with every release. Everything flows together through various tempos, well-placed riff sections, moments of calm and outbursts of chaos, under an atmosphere that sounds like being trapped in a cave in the middle of a storm, in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic landscape that you were somehow unlucky enough to survive.
Starting off with the mid-paced and spiraling The Lifeless Advance, which really caught me off guard, with the level of potency in the melodic riff that swells through the first minute of the track, that immediately brought on the goosebumps. It’s the more melodic side of this album that sneaks up on you and plants itself into your psyche and fill you with euphoria. That quickly became apparent as this track went on, and upped the chaos throughout. The more chaotic side is also very well done, and showcases the band’s tight technical prowess, that stays within it’s boundaries and doesn’t go too overboard, into fretboard wankery, a la a majority of the Tech-Death genre over the years. These guys showcase Tech-Death in it’s most precise form, keeping within the confines of what it should naturally sound like, while evolving within said confines, even on slower tracks, like that first one, as well as well as the title track, plus the harsher and more aggressive numbers, like Exalted in Ash and There is No Horizon. The band holds true to the genre’s chaotic and crafty roots, while making it their own, and soaking it in their own nuance, as bands like Suffocation and Cryptopsy did (the former of which helped spawn a whole other genre in Slam); in Ulcerate’s case, the defining element is absolutely the melody, that drags you through a gut-wrenching fog of melancholia and disdain, though raw, visceral emotion; sounds like something of a Death Metal version of Svartidauði or Sinmara. Very few bands can make atmosphere and melody meet in such a smooth and endearing way, and make it flow together so effortlessly.
I’m also not discounting the rest of Ulcerate’s discography. They’ve always been one of the more interesting Technical Death Metal acts around, who kick the over-the-top fretboard wankery to the curb, and use their skill to their utmost advantage, to craft a multiverse of holistic disarray, with each album exploring a similar, but simultaneously different sonic plane, that they mold into their own image, by pulling from the deepest, darkest facets of their psyche. This is Death Metal for the deep thinkers, as well as those tied up by depression, or just the nihilistic-minded, who crave chaos and dwell in despondency. The emotion is real and you can feel it, with every melodic riff that offers you a small breath of air, as you suffocate in the oppressive atmosphere that this album permeates. The tracks I’ve already mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg, as there is so much to unpack and discover with every listen, even in the slower and more steady tracks, like Visceral Ends and closer, Dissolved Orders. This is the most multi-faceted, detailed and organically ardent Death Metal I’ve heard in a long time, that the term ‘Progressive fits right into, and is actually deserving of that merit, unlike many other cacophonous messes of bands, who that term gets thrown at willy nilly. This is something truly evolutionary, with a solid foundation, that’s built on naturally and with purpose. The end result is a harrowingly beautiful experience of a listen, from front to back.
I think it’s corny when a band calls their new album “the official soundtrack to the apocalypse”, which we’ve seen plenty of lately, but if we truly are witnessing one right now, this is definitely the album I’d want to perish to. True emotion and nightmarish beauty radiates from this from start to finish, without a single low point, or any wasted motion; a true, psychedelic trance of an album, if there ever was one. Ulcerate have never been one to disappoint throughout their existence thus far, and this album is the magnum opus of them all, so, give it a listen and let the void consume you.
Stare into Death and be Still is available now through Debemur Morti Productions and the Ulcerate Bandcamp.
Thy Kingdom Scvm 