“We have reached the brink of this terminal world.“
Undisputed kings of Kiwi tech-death Ulcerate finally made a grand return to our grey and miserable shores to pummel our eager ears with a selection of cuts from their critically acclaimed new album Cutting The Throat Of God, joined by explosive and frenetic French sludge heavyweights Fange for a night of intense and atmospheric metal. The crowd at Highbury’s iconic Garage packed themselves in wall-to-wall to catch a rare glimpse of these masters at work in a relatively intimate venue, and we were lucky enough to join them for every pummelling moment.
Words by Ross Connell, photography by Dobbin T, contact before any use.
Fange
Kicking things off down-tuned and down-tempo, French extremists Fange were certainly a left-field choice to open this show, sonically sharing little in common with the night’s headline act. This absolutely worked to the band’s strength though, allowing their unique blend of sludge, hardcore, metalcore, electronica and industrial to truly shine and reach a new audience who seemed more than ready to take a chance on something new. Utterly captivating from the first booming notes, the band threw themselves passionately and violently into every song, to the point where slightly worried and occasionally bemused glances could be seen being shared by the crowd. Throwing all pretension (and personal safety) to the wind, accompanied by a pulsing and pounding light show, the four-piece rarely stopped for breath, launching into each song with renewed vigor and fury, with barely a word of acknowledgement to the crowd in between tracks. Their only real detriment came from the lack of a drummer – instead utilising a drum machine and layers of thick backing tracks – which can sometimes be a hindrance in a live environment, but there was more than enough chaotic energy and commitment on display to make up for the unconventional line-up.
Ulcerate
A dense and oppressive layer of ambience and atmosphere enveloped the venue, bolstered by warm stage lighting before Ulcerate finally took the stage, setting an appropriate tone for the progressive and technical onslaught to come. Opening with “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts” before shifting into a few cuts from previous release Stare Into Death And Be Still, the first few tracks of this powerhouse set were crushingly heavy and showed off the band’s frankly absurd technical prowess, but also their skill at blending ferocity and atmosphere together in a way that few other acts can pull off. The syncopated light show was adjusted to match the colour palette of each track’s corresponding album, adding not only flourish to an already impressive set, but also laying down a firm sense of progression through a journey that matched the band’s expansive repertoire of work that they pulled from for this show.
Vocalist and bassist Paul Kelland was on particularly fine form throughout their set, his furious barks and guttural yells sounding as if they were pulled directly from one of the band’s records. Nary a note was missed or out of place, and for a three-piece band the sheer precision and cacophony created was spellbinding and utterly flawless. Ulcerate have always stood head and shoulders above their tech-death peers, choosing to focus on crafting progressive, hypnotic and densely atmospheric songs rather than using each track as an excuse to show off their admitted mastery of their instruments, and in a live environment this couldn’t be more apparent. Their nearly fifty minute set had the entire audience enthralled from the first note until the last, and left us all counting down the days till their next sojourn to our lonely little island.
