OF FRACTURE AND FAILURE

Of Fracture and Failure is the debut full-length studio album by New Zealand progressive death metal act Ulcerate. A new lead vocalist Ben Read and a new guitarist Michael Rothwell have been added to the lineup since the demo days. Especially the inclusion of the former has great impact on the sound on Of Fracture and Failure. Ulcerate started their career releasing two demos Ulcerate (2003) and The Coming of Genocide (2004) which both showed great promise. Relentlessly brutal death metal but with a few twist and turns to make them interesting to fans of progressive death metal. The two demos were released in a combined package on the The Coming of Genocide (2006) compilation album. Allthough both demos showed great promise it´s not until this debut album by Ulcerate that we really get to hear what they are made of.

The basis in the music on Of Fracture and Failure is brutal death metal but the guitars play alot of dissonant chords and notes in addition to the chaotic technical drumming by Jamie Saint Merat so this is no standard death metal act. Intense and complex rythm patterns bordering the manic shifting between mid-paced and ultra fast blast beating in a second. This is no easy journey and those who crave melody in their music should not come near this beast. Well there are actually a few places ( and I mean very few places) where Ulcerate incorporate a melodic bit into their chaotic sound and I think it suits the music well with a bit of variation. The vocals by new vocalist Ben Read are definitely worth a mention too. He utilizes both low guttural growling and more high-pitched aggressive sneering. Within the confines of the genre he is a great vocalist with a varied style. A real asset to the band. I can´t help comparing his style to the almost eerie schizophrenic vocal style of Matthew Chalk ( formerly of Australian progressive death metal act Psycroptic). Ben Read doesn´t quite reach the hights of Matthew Chalk but he comes pretty close. There are nine songs on the album and with almost no melodic hooks or instantly memorable parts this is an album that takes time to get into. A bit of patience will be rewarded though as twisted themes and hooks begin to appear after repeated listens. I enjoy that the album is inaccessible upon first listen but unfolds after many listens. To those who want music that is instantly recognizable this will be a hard one to get through though. After having said my praises it is in the variation department that Ulcerate can improve their style because their technical skills and general songwriting is flawless. A very innovative and professional act.

The production is professional and powerful. Clean but not too clean which gives the music the right raw sound.

Of Fracture and Failure have been a real treat for me to listen to in the last couple of months since I purchased the album. As I mentioned the album didn´t impress me right away but has grown on me. It was like I had to get in the right mood to appreciate it. I´ll recommend Of Fracture and Failure if you enjoy brutal progressive death metal with lots of dissonances and a chaotic atmosphere. Bands like Gorguts, Crowpath and the most chaotic side of Nile could be reference points but Ulcerate have done the hardest thing for a new band and that´s creating a unique style. Of Fracture and Failure fully deserves a 4 star rating.

By this time, Ulcerate were homing in on a distinctive sound, combining vicious, brutal death metal with a generous helping of Gorguts style dissonance and bizarre chord progressions, coagulating in this chaotic and propulsive maelstrom of abrasive lunacy. Some of these tunes offer a bit of respite with guitar-based ambiance, but for the most part, this release is relentless.

Being "different" doesn't always correspond to being "good" or even "listenable", but for those who don't mind a whole lot of blast beats and guitar noise can certainly find something to enjoy here. Some of these erratic riffs are quite fascinating, and I can imagine the writing process for some of these songs must have been an unusual and taxing endeavor, in that anything remotely catchy and easy to headbang to had to have been scrapped. It makes for uneasy listening, but the talent shines through without the need of guitar solos to showcase instrumental skills.

Ben Read's vocals add to the disarray, fluctuating between lower registered growls to high pitched screeches at any given moment, which offers more variety than his replacement concerning their next album, but at the same time it sometimes distracts from the wild music. I know I've somewhat dissed bassist Paul Kelland's more monotone vocal approach in the past, but in retrospect it actually worked better in contributing to the band's overall atmosphere regarding their followup releases.

That's another point in itself, in that while the band's technicality is certainly there on this release, they would further delve into weirder and more varied territory on their subsequent efforts which enhances the cold shape-shifting aura the band can pull off, whereas Of Fracture And Failure seems content to just drill a hole in the brain and induce ulcer in the body.

Still, the progressive side of the band really started kicking in here, and musically it's perplexing riff-wise but entertaining to my veteran ears, but for me it would be their next album that truly defined what the band were aiming for in terms of uniqueness.