THE DESTROYERS OF ALL

The first expectation I get when I'm told a band plays "technical death metal" is that of a flurry of perpetual noodling riffs, arpeggios, and sweeps backed by constant blast beats and a crystal clear sterile production. Oh yeah, and death grunts...gotta have those. This Ulcerate album is certainly technical and most definately death metal, but does not follow the "tech-death" blueprint by any means. Ulcerate here seperate themselves from other bands of their chosen genre by not concentrating on how fast one can play a riff, but on the riff and note selections themselves. By utilizing strings not often bothered with concerning metal rhythms, there's a complexity to the chord progressions that make for some creative passages and an actual atmosphere that's rather psychedelic at times. Higher registered guitar notes chime for long durations, ringing and interweaving with heavier chord progressions both tonal and atonal to achieve a broad expansive sound, heavy as hell yet vast and sweeping. The drummer is inventive as well; blast beats are not in short supply, but often the tempo is slow and varied in time signatures. There are mellow moments found admist this propulsive entitiy, as if the band's mothers roamed into the recording studio and told their sons to "turn down that racket". The band shifts to a sparse & less distorted sound while still retaining their distinct vibe, until after a minute when their mothers leave and the amps go back to 11. The title track has an especially interesting mellow section where an almost chiming guitar reminds me of a mellotron...it's an imaginative moment by Michael Hoggard, followed by an explosive segment that comes across as overwhelming due to the atmosphere provided beforehand.

Vocals are an issue. Standard death growls with little variation in pitch or style. They contribute to the music as adding an almost mechanical quality to the music...a angry yet soulless delivery. The other issue would be the lack of distinction between songs, which tends to be a common gripe concerning extreme metal albums. The first and last songs to me have the most impact and are actually quite memorable, but the other five tracks, although well made as individual pieces, tend to blend into one another as Ulcerate uses their weird chord techniques in every song, resulting in a 'sameness' that begins to get irritating until the final track redeems The Destroyers Of All.