Ulcerate : "Cutting the Throat of God"

If you like dark and dissonant death metal I would assume this band from New Zealand doesn't need an introduction. They perfected their art form back in 2011 with "Destroyers of All", now with album seven, they are refining how melody works within their songwriting process. Does it sacrifice brutality? It depends on what you want from Death Metal. If you are looking for just a straightforward pounding, well Deicide just put out a new album. Not to say there are no moments of blasting, they are just used as a tool and not the primary function of the songs. In the broadest sense of the word, they are a tech death band, which is a term I normally do not like, as it means masturbatory time changes and excessive solos. There is a technical nature to how these compositions are assembled, but the math of it is different from what makes these songs. 

Things do get obscured in the blur of bludgeoning riffs that is "Further Opening the Wounds" so the band is not totally against the concept of being heavy for the sake of being heavy. "Transfiguration In and Out of  Worlds" finds the atmosphere creating more space that gives the illusion the song is more melodic than it is, though it sonically does not conform to the path most death metal follows. This is one of their strengths as a band. "To See Death Just Once" is dissonant as expected, but lumbers along the bounds of death metal that is not uncommon for these guys, perhaps even more so when the tempo picks up as more technical embellishments haunt the song. The blasting against the angular passages is not as compelling as what the album has already laid out before us. I prefer the mood created when the song breaks down five minutes in.  

"Undying as an Apparition" sounds like the title suggests. It feels like a ghost is haunting a normal death metal band. The song starts off like most death metal these days a storm of double bass and jagged guitar then gradually the haunting eerie touches of sonic nuance begin to take things for a darker turn. The title track closes the album with a throb that is more spectral than say Morbid Angel's but does not take as many chances as we heard earlier in the album. I will give this album a 9, the third act is more straightforward death metal, but they do offer more melodic experimentation this time around.Comes out June 14th on Debemur Morti Productions.  

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