Today, New Zealand death metal titans Ulcerate release their third full length record entitled, “The Destroyers of All”. The album marks their second full length release for Willowtip Records.
Fans of the band’s trade-mark brand of enormous, foreboding death metal will surely enjoy this year’s installment. Since the band’s formation in 2000, Ulcerate have been slowly conjuring up a somewhat unique sound for themselves. Taking cues from innovators Gorguts and Morbid Angel, they blend a dark and atmospheric tone with serious speed and musical virtue.
Although the record is a mere seven tracks, “The Destroyers of All” is actually the band’s longest record to date. With a delayed yet abrupt start, opening song “Burning Skies” blasts forth and wails the proclamation of it’s arrival. As the song comes to a close, it’s apparent that Ulcerate are still deftly expanding the bleak atmosphere that their music looms over. “Dead Oceans” does its job of casting you out into the abyss that is this record, and “Cold Becoming” follows suit; taking you even deeper. I am unsure if this album is in any sense a “concept album”, but I feel inclined to mention how fond I am of its’ ebb and flow. Clearly a lot of hard work went into this record as a whole, including the order the songs are presented in.
The last two songs are the band’s two longest. “Omens” builds up dramatically for nearly 3 1/2 minutes and then echoes on magnificently. The closing and title track is Ulcerate’s biggest and most epic. I personally feel that it does an even better job of summating the record than it’s predecessor, “Everything is Fire” did for that album.
Ulcerate are not to be misread as a mere run-of-the-mill doom metal influenced death metal endeavor. With many lengthy songs, the band’s long-plays demand your earnest attention. With this record, they have achieved epicness that most bands only dream of. The only band I am reminded of that has a comparable vastness is the German black metal group Zarathustra. I have read fan-written reviews calling Ulcerate a blend of Gorguts, Immolation and Hate Eternal. The fact of the matter is that anyone with an ear for the extreme ought to check out this band, especially for this album.
