Slashed deep and diagonally, erratic in its labyrinthine carve of circuitous channels this seventh full-length album from Auckland, New Zealand-based unorthodox blackened technical death metal trio ULCERATE proposes a kenotic examination of reality itself, a blooding-out of the nature of morality in relation to the self, and treatise on just how insignificant all earthly perception is from the calloused eyes of divinity. A singularity likely to blind and deafen even the most ruthless peon ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ hones in on the ominous dramatism they’d developed over the years and crafts an ever-splaying lotus of it, leaving behind little yet expanding upon the most resonant emotional centre of the trio’s efforts. The outcome is an album which is well-directed rather than accessible, fraught with stern nihil rather than connectivity, and the blood pool resultant provides an anxietous, damning session to soak up.
It would be fair to view the greater discography of Ulcerate as a sturdily built and steadily climbing staircase when looking back to their point of origin around ~2000 (officially ca. 2002) and taking a slow walk through the realization of early brutality, dissonance (Neurotic/Willowtip years), post-metallic craft (Relapse years) and the current transcendental reach (Debemur Morti releases). The most reasonable observation to make in this examination is that the main songwriters Jamie Saint-Merat (Verberis) and Michael Hoggard have always been well aware of the current highest standards perceived for extreme metal in terms of performance and production values, and I don’t necessarily mean a modern standard so much as an artistic one where the finery of craft and the meaning of things matters. In this sense we find fewer contemporaries for the band as the years churn on, finding them lumped in with Gorguts and Immolation inspired technical/experimental death metal and dissonant black/death craft most often though anyone unfamiliar with the group could be shown maybe Suffering Hour‘s more recent work for surrealistic tonal reach and Sinmara‘s latest for dramatic, fluid and sometimes emotive technique. Rather than describe each era of the band in detail and speak at length about the virtue of each album you’ll recall I’d already given some extensive effort in my review of the band’s previous album.
Plague year savior, undeniable solace among the heap, and a force of nature unbound… ‘Stare Into Death and Be Still‘ (2020) was a resounding arrival, an hourlong storm within an infinite sea where every end had a point of conjoin with another thread. Needless to say it was an impossibly immersive record which’d proven somehow superior to every other record released that year according to my Top 100 Albums of 2020 where I’d commented on it as an important marker for what comes next: “If the future of death metal can only be more brutal then you’ll have lost sight of music, favoring noise. If the future of death metal can only be more regressive ‘old school’ cave-gang, then you’ve lost hope in youthful ambition and the pursuit of originality. If the future of death metal must be this much of a symphony of ill tides and dissolving spirits, a marriage of technical, brutal, melodious, graceful, and terrifying ruin then we don’t deserve its intoxicating mastery” Implying that a statement of that particular magnitude will always outweigh cursed nostalgia and “legacy” when it comes from an authentic place. The traits that the previous album held, primarily the guitar interplay, which were seen as emotionally weighted are now the major emphasis and voice of ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘, though granted part of this is a change is in production values/sound design (and how emphasis naturally changes perspective) while part of this observation is clearly implied in the focal intent of the composer.
There are many potential marks of a great album but there is something deeply repulsive in approaching a record like ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ and expecting it to be great by virtue of name and past resume. Yes, of course we can assume the same highest standards have been intended, and yes they have been achieved but we are in the realm of art-metal, of atmospheric blackened death metal infused with dissonance and synesthetic luxury where we can at least occasionally stumble in without expectations and be amazed. What then is the mark? When the seventh album from a proposed “favorite” band has you questioning if you’d ever paid enough attention to the artists work in the past, potentially missed the foreshadowing for this latest event. There is some uncanny, unexpected leap taken here which is surely logical and probably tasteful but hits the senses as boldness.
Our conversation with Death isn’t over. — ‘Stare Into Death and Be Still‘ was a death metal album down to its bones wherein the furor and morbidity emanating from every riff and vocal line was most often a bludgeon in concert with a searing and chiming higher-registered presence from the second guitar. The conversation had between primality, destruction and some manner of enlightened obsession with dread was pure nihil, both tonally and lyrically. There are just a few comparative analyses which seem reasonable when ‘Stare Into Death and Be Still‘ is yet fresh in mind and ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ chimes in succession, they appear related in terms of the signature sound and technique of the band shining through but one is clearly built beyond another. As we enter the thickest point of immersion on this new album guitar technique and arrangement are the major actors, intending to further illuminate (insignificance and wrath) through something more than call-and-response this time around, deploying dual-threaded cyclically spun sequences crafted to echo in and out of harmonized instances with precision timing. We won’t have to dig too deep to find this phenomenon in full resplendence but opener “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts” introduces us to this general staging of the guitar work up front with a tone setting opening riff. A restless, anxietous pace is applied to the heated blade of the lead guitar voicing, given some sense of snaking mystère by way of its arcing dissonance-tipped phrases which are somehow even more slick and unreal than the previous album’s right off the jump. In this way the first strike into this album should feel like a return to Ulcerate‘s realm but from a new angle, familiar in the sense that nobody else can do this but different in its configuration/presence.
Revelations of disgust, terminal perspective and the ever-lingering acidity of existential dread should quickly permeate the listener as the first three or so songs on ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ find their intricate hooks through forceful, roaring paths. The finesse of the guitar work is showcased first and most prominently as we enter the fray where all is related, motif are developed and banked in succession, and each song truly sings when the dual guitar interplay clashes and writhes upward as if two vines climbing up the same dead tree. “The Dawn is Hollow” stands out most to start for its use of glowing effects rather than distortion up front, easing the bite into the song and making surreal event of it. As was the case with the previous album it becomes difficult to differentiate any one piece of the experience to start as the darting whorl of statement variously dashes, sprints and pools into a complex mesh of richly sensorial movement. Granted “Further Opening the Wounds” almost has a laid back touch to certain movements, a resignation felt in a few brief verses which juxtaposes wildly with the rushed and roaring bulldoze it presents otherwise. There I’d been glad to hear they’d not ironed out all of the extremity, the noxious crush of death metal in their sound.
As the array of guitar tones and general warp of their lead voicing became more familiar the now more soiled and groaning ugliness applied to the rhythm section began to shine through, at least by the third or so listen when I’d begin to take a closer ear to the bass and drum performances. I believe the most recent Verberis record also employed Magnus Lindberg for its mastering and I see some parity of choices made in favor of depth and feature, wherein the low end is lent some extra richness but never obstructs the focus of the album which is centered around the interplay of each guitar channel while making clear the equal importance of the drum performances in concert. This leaves the vocals from Paul Kelland slightly less on the attack, matching the mood from the center of perceived space and with a more readable diction than ever. Though I was beyond happy to have the lyrics on hand for this review I’d admit I didn’t always need them on pieces like “Transfiguration In and Out of Worlds” where the trade between different levels of growling dictation was not only appreciable in its finesse but occasionally readable outright.
The depth and the cleverness available to the head-swimming immersion of ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ is most readily available within the second half of the experience where “To See Death Just Once“, and to a lesser degree “Undying as an Apparition”, reprise and resolve some of the general melodic motif developed in the first half, creating a sense of déjà vu and amusia at once where I’d not necessarily lost the plot but began to see related ideas expanded. Otherwise these lengthier pieces tend toward a more brisk pace more often as the general narrative voice of the album relies on increasingly complex rhythmic turns and interruptions to keep the flow pouring as we draw closer to the full hour sitting demanded. At the peak of any analytical listening session I’d found the general map of progression(s) on “Undying as an Apparition” some of the most entertaining as the nearly ten minute piece appears to drone on but hits some of its most complex and evocative movements overall.
The mood is vast, depressive, all-consuming. — It might seem odd to see folks suggesting that ~7-8 minute blackened death metal songs in elaborately dark and technical presentation might be “accessible” but there is of course some ear-worming (ear-glooming?) nature or some manner of memorable movement within each song. Are you going to be able to hum along to certain guitar movements? Sure, get out your conductorial hands and give it a try with some careful attention paid to timing, but overall the line between emotionally connective pleasure listening and a blustering storm of impenetrable alien-level craft is yet still somewhat vast, depending on your perspective of course. When a leading melody or a chorus-like guitar hook does appear within any given song they generally make sense or make a statement which anchors the sensation of that particular song in place. A fine example would be the hook found on closer/title track “Cutting the Throat of God”, which is no less impactful than the more ornately chiming voice of the first ~3-4 songs but at this point they’ve been mindful to craft an endpoint and not leave the electricity flying throughout the entirety of the finale. In this sense we’re absolutely not getting single-oriented pop metal album but perhaps a memorable experience which plenty of depth on display.
Drumming on, co-songwriting, engineering, and mixing ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ wasn’t enough but the long history of Saint Merat‘s own artwork crafted for each Ulcerate album continues to great results herein. This impresses me not only for the quality of the graphic design in direct relation/relevance to the greater vision of the album but for the additional sense of independence it lends to their reputation. This goes a long way toward meeting high expectations for the overall packaging and aesthetic of the listening experience where an elaborately designed double LP is now becoming the standard set for the band’s output. The quality and curation of this release meets an exceptional standard.
Without question ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ is of the highest standard available to extreme metal today, not only for the proficiency of its curation and performance but for the expressivity of its work. Of course we can go into any Ulcerate release expecting a lot based on past work but their music is given no easy pass in my book, especially with the bar set so incredibly high per the previous album. Much as I appreciate tradition, backwards-facing revisions of heavy/extreme metal ad infinitum I greatly appreciate an artist which looks within themselves, scouring the here-and-now for inspiration. They’ve crafted a not-at-all nostalgic vision which achieves its connective rush of an experience, one which somehow holds up for not only the duration of its ~58 minute length but for countless successive listens. Highest recommendation.
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