EVERYTHING IS FIRE

Everything is Fire is the second full-length studio album by New Zealand progressive death metal act Ulcerate. Lead vocalist Ben Read and guitarist Michael Rothwell who were new in the linup on the debut album Of Fracture and Failure (2007) have already left Ulcerate again and Everything is Fire was recorded as a three-piece with bassist Paul Kelland also taking over the vocal duties, Michael Hoggard playing all guitars and Jamie Saint Merat manning the drumkit.

The lineup changes will have some effect on Ulcerate´s style but the music on Everything is Fire is unmistakably the sound of Ulcerate. The dissonant chords and notes played by the guitars and the chaotic technical drumming are trademarks in the group´s sound. The new things on this album compared to the debut is that Ulcerate incorporate some slow post metal sounding parts into their brutal death metal. The pace is generally slower than on the debut making Everything is Fire a darker and more heavy album. The vocals by Paul Kelland are unfortunately not as powerful and varied as the vocals by former vocalist Ben Read and that´s a real shame as Ben Read´s contributions to the debut were considerable and a real asset to Ulcerate´s sound. Paul Kelland´s deep guttural growling style doesn´t set itself apart from thousands of other death metal vocalists and while they are not bad they are certainly monotone and a bit tiring IMO. The music on the album is of high quality though and the vocals are not downright annoying just a bit trivial so my impression of the album is still very positive. There are eight songs on Everything is Fire all between 5 and 8 minutes long. Like on the debut you shouldn´t expect too many melodic or instantly memorable parts on the album but the songs win after repeated listens.

The production is a bit darker than the production on the debut. It suits the songs well and makes Everything is Fire an even heavier album than it already is. The vocals are a bit low in the mix which is a typical post metal feature and I wonder if the post metal elements in the music has also influenced the production.

Everything is Fire is a great second album by Ulcerate. While there are many recognizable elements that gives away the fact that this is an Ulcerate album there are enough new features on the album to set it apart from the debut in a positive way. I can´t say I´m happy about the shift on the lead vocalist spot though but I guess it´s a matter of taste. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved.