MacabreEternal

Nargaroth - Black Metal ist Krieg (A Dedication Monument) (2001)
 

Atheist - Piece Of Time

Horna - Perimä vihassa ja verikostossa (2000)
 

Candlemass - Tales Of Creation
 

Immolation - Here In After, Yonkiz NY 1996
 
Malignancy - Intrauterine Cannibalism, Yonkiz NY 1999
 

Blut Aus Nord - Fathers Of The Icy Age
 

Armagedda - The Final War Approaching, Sweden 2001, disciples of Darkthrone
 
Darkthrone - Panzerfaust, 1995
 
Obtained Enslavement- Centuries of Sorrow, Norway 1994
 

Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract
 

Cross Rot - Demo II (2013)
 

With Ulcerate being one of only a handful of bands who can genuinely excite me anymore with their music, I avoided any teasers on the internet for Cutting the Throat of God, waiting instead until the vinyl and t-shirt combo I had placed on pre-order many weeks ago finally landed in my grubby little mitts. The trick had worked for the last two records by the kings of dissonant death metal and despite my nervous that Ulcerate were long overdue a bad release (a golden run that goes as far back as Everything is Fire) I stuck with the process this time around also.
Once again, Ulcerate have delivered. I can think of no higher praise to heap on this record other to say that once it starts, I never want it to stop. As someone who is rarely moved emotionally by music nowadays, I find Cutting the Throat of God to be a welcome sensory wrench and a deeply stirring and fervent emotional experience at the same time. The expansive complexity is there as I have come to expect (although for me it sounds a little more dialled back overall – more on that later), yet the sense that there is a titanic shift within my very being ongoing is far more disorientating than the technical aptitude of the musicians and their songwriting.
Being able to captivate me from the off with the intro to your opening track is a rare achievement indeed, yet To Flow Through Ashen Hearts does this effortlessly. It is menacing and carries the upmost sense of threat that I have heard in a long time. Reminiscent of how Vermis started off way back in 2013, Ulcerate really prove that they know how to open a record. Of course, that is not the end of the experience by any means and having started as they mean to go on, they simply drop into cruise mode and deliver one of the most accomplished death metal albums I have ever heard and by far the best album Ulcerate have ever done.
Referencing Vermis made me recognise that although it has gotten better over the many records that have dropped since then, the vocal mix on their latest opus is absolutely bang on. On Vermis the vocals were mostly lost, an afterthought almost. Here, building on the improvements made on previous offerings since then, they are perfectly enacted against the instrumentation without detracting from their overall impact. Structure wise, I have to say I sense this record to be Ulcerate’s most accessible release to date. The fade and explode benchmarks are still here as well as that contagion virus of death metal tremolo riffs that punctuate the dense atmospheres with added brevity; almost sanguine melodies invest even more to really stretch the listening experience. But fundamentally the listener is pushing at an open door here when trying to access the gifts of Cutting the Throat of God. Ulcerate temper any technical mastery without ever leaving any doubt as to just how much effort has gone into composing such structures. Yet this is not arcane or esoteric music. It has flow, ebb and swell in bucket loads. However, it is a traceable record, with clear tracks. The Dawn Is Hollow may seem to perish as opposed to end, but Further Opening the Wounds does exactly what it says on the tin and starts something anew immediately.
If Gorguts are planning on releasing anything this year, then I would personally wait because this masterpiece is going to be hard to top in dissonant death metal circles. Album of the year right here folks.

Absu - Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (1993)
 

Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger (1994)
 

Darkthrone - Dark Thrones and Black Flags (2008)
Yes, today is a special Darkthrone day for me 😁
 

Burn the Priest - Legion: XX (2018)
 

Ljå -Til avsky for livet (206)
 

Witch Vomit - Funeral Sanctum (2024)
 

AOTY for me, so far.

Darkthrone - Panzerfaust (1995)
 

Warning - Watching From A Distance (2006)
 

Coffins - Sinister Oath (2024)
Black Forest - s/t (2024)
Of these 2 much talked about albums the Black Forest one is the better. That Coffins one is likeable just for their sheer tenacity at sticking with their sound over fuck knows how many albums it is now, but the BF one is a vibrant black metal release that goes straight for the jugular.

Umbra Conscientia - Nigredine Mundi (2022)
 

Doc and ME will be happy to hear that you're worthy. It's both of their albums of the year. I remember my friend Cody of Afterbirth fame going crazy for Everything is Fire 15 years ago. I didn't get it then, I don't get it now. But hey no biggie, I've got more metal I want to listen to here than I can shake a stick at. Not on physical media though. Guess there's no hope for me.

Coffins - Sinister Oath (2024)
Black Forest - s/t (2024)
Of these 2 much talked about albums the Black Forest one is the better. That Coffins one is likeable just for their sheer tenacity at sticking with their sound over fuck knows how many albums it is now, but the BF one is a vibrant black metal release that goes straight for the jugular.

Coffins - Sinister Oath (2024)
Black Forest - s/t (2024)
Of these 2 much talked about albums the Black Forest one is the better. That Coffins one is likeable just for their sheer tenacity at sticking with their sound over fuck knows how many albums it is now, but the BF one is a vibrant black metal release that goes straight for the jugular.

Leipa - Reue (2024)
Woorms - Slake (2019)