ULCERATE — The Destroyers of All (review)

ULCERATE — The Destroyers of All album cover

Album · 2011 · Technical Death Metal

4/5 · 2011-06-23
UMUR

"The Destroyers of All" is the 3rd full-length studio album by New Zealand, Auckland based death metal act Ulcerate. The album was released in January 2011 by Willowtip Records. I´ve followed Ulcerate since the release of their debut album "Of Fracture and Failure (2007)", which is an album I really enjoyed. The band´s sophomore release "Everything Is Fire (2009)" incorporated post metal elements to the band´s signature dissonant brutal death metal sound, but while the album certainly is a both well played, well composed and well produced affair, it somehow didn´t completely click with me like the debut did. So I wasn´t sure what to expect after I learned about the release of "The Destroyers of All".

The band have settled on a three-piece lineup. There have been no changes in the lineup since "Everything Is Fire" and I think it´s obvious when listening to the music on "The Destroyers of All", that there is now continuety in the way things are done. "The Destroyers of All" is not a copy of "Everything Is Fire" by any means though and Ulcerate have challenged themselves and their fans greatly on this new release.

The music is still a twisted, dissonant, cacophonous sounding version of brutal technical death metal which at its roots is greatly influenced by Gorguts and their extremely influential "Obscura (1998)" album. There´s also a strong influence in the music from the dissonant structured chaos of experimental black metal acts like Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord. The post metal elements, which were introduced on "Everything Is Fire", are even more prominent on "The Destroyers of All" and something that rivals the bleak depressive atmosphere of mid-nineties Neurosis is a big part of Ulcerate´s sound.

The band seamlessly blend all influences and music styles into a sound of their own and it´s actually one of the biggests strengths of "The Destroyers of All". It all sounds very natural and like the band do this with ease. That´s of course just another testament to the extremely high level of musicianship on display here. Ulcerate are a tremendously talented bunch. Not only does the music feature odd time-signatures, loads of tempo shifts and worldclass technical precision drumming, but the very core of what makes music great IMO, is very much present on this album too. Songwriting that challenges, moves you and gives you a kick in the butt when that´s needed is something Ulcerate masters to perfection. Sure the vocals are a tiny bit one-dimensional. The deep growling vocals seldom leave much of an emotional impact, but they actually fit well with the generally bleak atmosphere. The intrumental part of the music is dynamic and can take you from blasting technical chaos to bleak slow post metal parts in seconds. The song structures are adventurous and the album is definitely not an easy listening experience.

Personally it´s taken me a couple of months to fully crack the code to the music, and I anticipate that it´s an album that will always challenge and puzzle me. It´s the kind of album where I´ll never be completely familiar with all details and therefore it´s an album that will provide me with endless hours of discovery and listening pleasure. "The Destroyers of All" has so far been one of the most interesting new albums I´ve listened to in 2011 and a 4 - 4.5 star rating is fully deserved.