| Ulcerate | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Bloodwreath |
| Origin | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres | Death metal, post-metal |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Neurotic, Deepsend, Willowtip, Candlelight |
| Associated acts | 8 Foot Sativa |
| Website | www.ulcerate-official.com |
| Members | |
| Jamie Saint Merat Michael Hoggard Paul Kelland William Cleverdon |
|
| Past members | |
| Mark Seeney Jared Commerer James Wallace Michael Rothwell Phil Kusabs Ben Read Oliver Goater |
|
Ulcerate is a death metal band from Auckland, New Zealand. The band formed in 2000 under the name Bloodwreath with Michael Hoggard on guitar, Jamie Saint Merat on drums and Mark Seeney on vocals. They have played alongside international acts such as Cannibal Corpse, The Amenta, Psycroptic, Decapitated, Disgorge, Suffocation, Behemoth, The Black Dahlia Murder and Nile.
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Formed in 2000 by Jamie Saint Merat and Michael Hoggard and Mark Seeney, the foundation of Ulcerate was formed. Then under the name 'Bloodwreath', this line-up remained intact for all of 2001 whilst the band struggled to find a 'sound' both stylistically and compositionally.
Early 2002 brought a line-up change with the enlisting of guitarist Jared Commerer and James Wallace on vocals (Mark having left to become a drummer). The band began writing material that would become Demo 2003. With the release of their first demo it was decided to change their name from "Bloodwreath" to "Ulcerate".[1]
In 2004 the band recorded their second demo, The Coming of Genocide. The demo received reasonable reviews from various metal magazines and paved the way to the top of the New Zealand Metal scene. The recording of the demo itself was entirely funded by members of the band. The Coming of Genocide has been re-released by The Flood Records and Deepsend Records with the addition of Demo 2003 as a compilation.[2]
In Early 2006 Ulcerate signed with Neurotic Records, whose roster at the time included such notable acts as Spawn of Possession, Psycroptic, Visceral Bleeding and Panzerchrist among others.[1]
Vocalist James Wallace left the band in 2006 just as the band were gearing up to record their first full-length album, entitled Of Fracture and Failure. Ben Read was recruited to fill the vacant vocal position. Ben brought a new take on vocals for the band, as opposed to James Wallace who used low-pitched growls, he had a much broader range with use of almost black metal shrieks and mid-pitched roars, somewhat reminisent of hardcore vocals. Jared Commerer also left the band and was replaced by Michael Rothwell. Of Fracture and Failure was recorded and mixed by Jamie Saint Merat and Michael Hoggard. It was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Studios, New York, USA. The album artwork was created by Jamie Saint Merat.[1]
Of Fracture and Failure garnered some critical response for the band and the attention of the extreme metal community. In support of the album, Ulcerate was the support act for several higher profile bands like Suffocation, Behemoth, Decapitated, Nile, The Black Dahlia Murder, Psycroptic, The Amenta and Cephalic Carnage.[2]
"Ulcerate's debut full-length 'Of Fracture and Failure' is available now on Neurotic Records. The album comprises 9 tracks of crushing dark death metal, with more than a few surprises in store. The culmination of 2 years of writing, 'Of Fracture...' brings new meaning to the phrase 'linear song-writing', mixing pure rhythmic and dissonant extremity with an unnerving sense of melody and atmosphere..."[3]
2008 saw the departure of Ben Read and Michael Rothwell. Oliver Goater of the band Load Master was recruited as Michael's replacement and bassist Paul Kelland took over vocals from Read. With the change of vocalist saw the return of the low-pitched death growls from the bands earlier recordings. Ulcerate then started writing and recording their second full-length album, Everything is Fire.
Everything is Fire is a progression from the band's last recording effort, with much more emphasis on dissonance and atmosphere, and less overall speed and constant progression of riffs.[4] It was released in March, 2009 to positive reviews and appeared on Metalreview.com's 100 Most Essential Albums of the Decade. In late 2009, Ulcerate travelled to Europe to join Nile on their European Tour.[2]
In April 2010, Ulcerate announced that they were writing songs for a new album.
"The new material is an expansion on the Everything is Fire sound with a far greater dynamic range. There's really no surprises or annoying experimentations, just the next step forward in evolving what we've established so far. There will however be a lot more of the bleak and blackened atmosphere and mood, perhaps a little less pace overall - with an emphasis on a very very large sound. We're certainly not a band that wants to repeat itself, but at the same time, we're extremely driven to create the sonic assault that we've had in our heads for a number of years."[5]
They released their third full-length album The Destroyers of All on January 25, 2011 through Willowtip Records. Oliver Goater parted ways with Ulcerate in late 2010, and has been replaced by William Cleverdon.
Discography
References
External links |