Ulcerate
Everything Is Fire

Let me tell you.. In a modern death metal landscape, increasingly invaded by trend bands that distort the very essence of the genre, an album like this "Everything Is Fire" is truly a godsend. The New Zealand band emerged a couple of years ago with the good "Of Fracture And Failure," a debut that already hinted at the real abilities of Ulcerate. Now, in 2009, and just a few months after the release of the album in question, I am not afraid to say that we are facing the album of the year; and it does not matter if they will sell a tenth of Behemoth or (worse still) Suicide Silence, it does not matter because here we are facing a truly significant work for the current scene, a work comparable (in terms of personality and taste) to the highly acclaimed "Diminishing Between Worlds" by Decrepit Birth, which came out a year ago. But now let's move on to the analysis of "Everything Is Fire"..

The proposal of the quartet, as highlighted above, presents itself as both winning and personal from the very first moments: "Drown Within", the opening track, introduces us to what will be 50 minutes of suffocating and brutal death metal, dilated by numerous post-core partitions (yes, you understood correctly) that Ulcerate insert with impeccable mastery within the tracklist. Each track will turn out to be long and complex, supported by an impressive guitar work and a precise, varied, and powerful drumming; the average length of the compositions (from 5 to 8 minutes), combined with the suffering and suffocating atmospheres, will certainly make listening difficult for newcomers, to whom I recommend first embracing works such as "Pierced From Within" (Suffocation), "Onward To Golgotha" (Incantation), and "Here In After" (Immolation) before tackling this album in its entirety (I open a parenthesis.. Focus on the HISTORICAL albums rather than drooling at the sight of "The Apostasy" by Behemoth).

To all others, however, I can only strongly recommend this "Everything Is Fire." Faced with so much beauty, it is almost impossible to choose a best track as all present the same, excellent, qualities: from "We Are Nil", through the epicness of "Tyranny", up to the imposing suite "Everything Is Fire", our eardrums will rejoice with minutes of intense music, sometimes brutal and annihilating, sometimes slow, dreamy, and this thanks to the aforementioned post-core/sludge partitions, which enrich Ulcerate's offering with a significant detail. A final praise (I forgot about it above) goes to the singer/bassist, endowed with a growl that reminded me of the much-loved "Onward To Golgotha," heavy and brutal but which adapts perfectly to the music played.

There is nothing else to say except to tell you to buy it with your eyes closed. I assure you that if you have patience and dedication, once metabolized, this album will give you the most beautiful emotions of 2009.. And then there are those who say that in death metal only Cannibal Corpse survive...