Ulcerate - Stare Into Death and Be Still (2020)

As one of the most expected releases of 2020, today we have Kiwi’s Ulcerate and their impressive full-length release “Stare Into Death and Be Still”. Pegged as Technical Death Metal, this release is as refined as it is brutal, delivering nearly one hour of savagely crafted songs that will rattle your speakers and skull. With an unrivaled finesse, this release is by far on one of the best we have heard in 2020, so be ready to be blown away.

Opening with the crafty layering on “The Lifeless Advance”, we are instantly immersed into the band’s punishing world of high-octane drumming and intricate guitar work. Juxtaposing walls of sound with the inhuman vocals of Paul Kelland, the band creates very cavernous and intimidating pieces like the crushing opener and its more playful counterpart “Exhale the Ash”. There is an underlying melodic aspect to the band’s sound that makes songs even more effective in delivering their contrasting fast-paced brutality onslaughts of intense riffs and growls, as we can hear in the moody album title track.

The release continues to delight the listener with crafty pieces like the ravaging “There is No Horizon” with its incisive guitar work and Amenra-esque atmospherics. Other songs like “Inversion” and “Visceral Ends” dabble in more experimental Post-Metal/Sludgey territories with its expansive riffs and tempo changes. However, the band never strays from its path of brutality as they always deliver some intense sections in each song. For those just looking to headbang and mosh like there is no tomorrow, “Drawn Into the Next Void” is the perfect track for it.

Closing with the chilling atmospherics of “Dissolved Orders”, the band creates a very dystopian and bleak opener before delivering that last swift blow of intensity to the listener. Overall, “Stare Into Death and Be Still” is one hell of a release that will have your adrenaline pumping from start to end. It is rare to see a band as brutal and yet refined and proficient as Ulcerate, and with this release they continue to lead the pack with their highly intense and sophisticated sound.

Label: Debemur Morti Productions

Release: April 24th, 2020

Genre: Technical Death Metal

Country: New Zealand