As I was listening to this album for the first time, the first though that came through my mind was, “You see, I was right, this IS that infamous Death Metal act from New Zealand! So why in hell...” (I was trying to stay in the appropriate frame of mind there) “...didn't the editor-in-chief hand over the album to my Death Metal loving colleague, Ivan?” The lame answer to that would be, that The Chief simply looses sight on whàt should go to which of his collaborators, as he simply gets swamped with work thanks to all the downloading to be done! Also, the colleague had already taken home that many new releases to review (never mind that, at the moment of getting the 29-album packing this release was part of, I was still behind on some 25 albums which had to pass my evaluation, eh!?). Ach well, I shouldn't be bitchin' that way, because I actually lóve some variety in my to-do chores! So, let's quit complaining, and get down to the job of relating this band's history, eh!?
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, this band was originally founded in the year 2000 under the monicker of Bloodwreath by singer/ bassist Mark Seeney, guitarist Michael Hoggard, and drummer Jamie Saint Merat...a line-up which remained intact throughout 2001, as the band was struggling to create their own take of dark oppressive Death Metal. Early 2002 saw Seeney leave (to become a drummer), and being replaced by singer James Wallace and (live) guitarist Jared Commerer. The band then started writing material which would end up on their Demo 2003. With the release, it was decided to change the band's name to Ulcerate. With the February 2004 release of their The Coming Of Genocide demo, the band gained both national and international notoriety with reasonably favourable reviews, and which eventually resulted in the band signing to Dutch label Neurotic Records (the roster of which at that time also included fellow New Zealand act Psycroptic, as well as Panzerchrist, Spawn Of Possession, and Visceral Bleeding) in early 2006. Meanwhile, The Flood Records and Deepsend Records gave the band's second demo an “official” release, with the addition of the Demo 2003, on a compilation released also in 2006.
Just as the band was preparing to go record their debut album Of Fracture And Failure, Wallace threw in the towel and left, and as his replacement the band recruited Ben Read, whom brought in a change of vocal style. Indeed, his range was somewhat broader than Wallace's low-pitched growls, and the added Blackened shrieks and mid-ranged roars (which were reminiscent of Hardcore vocals) was a far cry from what the band was used to. And exactly when the band was getting on track again, Commener also decided to quit, bringing even more delays to the album's recordings. His replacement Michael Rothwell however prevailed, and with recordings done and mixed by Hoggard & Merat (the latter also taking care of the album's artwork), the album eventually saw day of light in 2007. The band toured their home country extensively, securing main support slots with the likes of Nile, Decapitated, Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse, and Deicide.
The new line-up would however prove to be unstable, and both new additions left in 2008, to be replaced by (live) guitarist Oliver Goater (of Load Master) and bassist Paul Kelland would also take over the vocal duties, which meant a return to the lower-pitched style of Death growl singing. The band, who'd by then signed to Willowtip Records, then started writing new material, and recorded that for the 2009 release of their sophomore album Everything Is Fire. Getting truly positive reviews from international media, the band consolidated their place in the global Death Metal community. They toured New Zealand and Australia, and even did a 5-week stint in Europe with Nile, Grave, Krisiun, and Corpus Mortale.
In early 2010 the band started writing sessions for their third offering, The Destroyers Of All (said to be the most atmospheric and challenging listen from the band up to that point), which was released in late January 2011 (again through Willowtip). Meanwhile, Goater had left the band's live line-up in October 2010, his role taken over by one William Cleverton, and it's in that line-up that the band spent the next two years touring throughout North-America, Europe, and Australia. The band signed to Relapse early in 2012, and started writing sessions late September. 6 months later, the guys had refined 9 new tracks, which they recorded in March and April of last at Auckland's MCA Studios. As on previous full-lengths, the mastering was done by Alan Douches, thus securing the best sound possible.
From the album's page at Wikipedia (which stood as the basis for the historical part of this article), I learned that with Vermis, the band made a conscious decision to bring back some of the “unpredictability” they always had in the past. That, along with the so-called use of “melody in a “weird and unsettling” way to create a tangible amount of tension and release” makes the album more than worthwhile to listen to! Without actually being conceptual, the title of the album (also one of the songs) was chosen as such on purpose...as Merat states on that same Wikipedia page that Vermis uses the metaphor of invertebrate animal species to explore the over-aching theme of spinelessness and oppression, the different forms of oppression explored including the helplessness and suffering of those oppressed; the barbarism of the oppressors; the ways and means of oppression, particularly dogma, power and manipulation; those unaware or ignorant of the oppressed and their own relative luxury; those aware, but rendered mute through fear and spinelessness, and the impact and collateral of these attitudes on the world around us. Lyrics, by the way, were written by Kelland, whom certainly seems to draw influence from things happening in this physical world. And indeed, with all the everyday horrors happening around us, who needs to seek inspiration in any imaginary world, eh?
For your listening session of the album (or acquaintance with the band, tout-court), surf to the “Music” section at (www.) facebook.com/ulcerate, where you will find yourselves re-directed to the band's page on BandCamp. For tour dates (also available at (www.) ulcerate-official.com, consult the “Tour” section (sounds obvious, doesn't it?). Meanwhile, the end conclusion, or at least mine, is that Ulcerate is a pretty great Death Metal act indeed, and Vermis an album worthy of being included in my year-lists! I wonder now...will you follow the example?