On August 1st 2024 The Espy bandroom in St Kilda marked the return of one of the foremost masters of insane technical death/black metal running today, ULCERATE. Touring off the back of their new release ‘Cutting the Throat of God’. Joining the lineup were the abyssic death metal of ALTARS and the long running legendary black metal of PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS.
There were no survivors.
ALTARS
To describe the music of altars (to myself at least) could probably be best described as the soundtrack to some unspeakable ancient horror appearing before you and using its magic to slowly turn your skull inside out. The sheer abyssic horror that this band creates live is honestly staggering. Unlike contemporaries more invested in providing light and dark, Altars don’t play around with that shit, it’s just sickening terror all the way down. It’s no surprise at this point honestly that Altars are making their mark as one of the current death metal bands in Australia to pay attention to. An absolute must see for fans of bludging impetuous ritual style tech death.
PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS
So I’m somewhat biased because what P.S does was always going to be good for me because I love their special brand of raw black metal, but fuck me they crushed it from start to finish. Since the mid 2000s Pestilential and it’s members have been a huge part of the world of black metal and over that period of time have built a cult fanbase with their unabashed sound and mastery of the craft.
The band played through a mixture of songs including several from their latest 2024 release ‘Devils Hammer’ (if you haven’t listened to this yet and you’re into black metal, don’t snooze, check it out asap) with a soaring blend of blasts and frozen riffs. The band’s ability to take a sound you could almost call “atmospheric” and still have it be as on point as the best of raw metal proves why these guys are one of the best black metal acts in the country.
SEE GALLERY OF ULCERATE SUPPORTING MAYHEM AT THE CROXTON BANDROOM IN JANUARY 2023
ULCERATE
And then came the final act of the night we were all waiting to see, the trio of Michael Hoggard, Jamie Saint Merat and Paul Kelland. New Zealand’s Ulcerate might legitimately be one of the most important metal bands of the last 15 years and I don’t think that’s news to anyone at this point. But if ever there was any doubt in anyone’s mind, I can guarantee you everyone who left the room that night was converted.
Ulcerates’ blend of maximal, hyper complex death/black metal goes beyond the realm of experiencing a metal band and more like participating in a transcendental ritual. The band immersed the audience for over an hour in agonising heart ache ridden horror with its own glimmers of reprieve from the soaring clean sections.
Now I know this is again stating the obvious but when people say “Ulcerate is insane to watch live you gotta see it live to understand” Yo, fucking listen to that advice. You cant truly understand how big a feat what Ulcerate does live is until you see it. I think the idea of humans being able to perform musically at that level is nothing short of miraculous. It has the same effect as the albums in the sense that you don’t sit and chill and have a fun time on an Ulcerate record, you are taken further into the depths of time and space and feel yourself falling apart slowly piece by piece rendered void of sense, the chunks of yourself slowly oscillating away into the aether until someone or something…. Emerges.
Thanks to Arcane Delve Bookings for making this insane show happen, If you get a chance to see any of these 3 bands, do not snooze.
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