Wait.
No.
Fuck.
I mixed that up. Let me try again.
Poland. 2013. HM-2 distortion pedals have been long-forgot until the the recent resurgence of Entombedcore and Dismember-worship bands. Ulcer is about to release Grant Us Death. It's a brutal, crushing album filled with bonesaw riffs, D-beats, and inhuman howls.
That sounds about right this time.
If you couldn't tell by my spiel up there, Ulcer is a Polish death metal band that drop the most sickening type of death metal out there: '90's Swedish death metal. Morbid melodies, grave-turning aggression, and non-stop moshing is name of the game here with Grant Us Death. Ulcer know exactly what they're aiming for and achieve just that. I'm going to give a disclaimer, I really like this genre and these kinds of bands, so I am
Everything goes as expected on Grant Us Death. There are no twists. There are no turns. No parts that make me stop and go say ...holy fuck... how did... I... what just happened? All throughout Grant Us Death's 42 running time, there's nothing but straight the fuck up death metal. No bullshit and no questions asked. The guitars have that perfect Sunlight Studios tone that everyone's beloved Entombed, Dismember, and Bloodbath all have. Perfectly nauseating and beefed up with thick as fuck distortion. The riffs are not only as melodic as back in '91, but they seem to have a certain amount of originality to them as well. It's nice to hear considering every other Entombed or Dismember-worship band pretty much just plays a mash-up of Left Hand Path and Like an Ever Flowing Stream.
It's beautiful (and I use that in the loosest sense of the term) to hear the vocals here. If there's a way to do old school Swede-death, D (that's the only name I could get from their Facebook page) has it down pat. He sounds raw, vicious, and ready to tear my throat out with his bare hands. There are certain bits on the album that D really sells. His bloodcurdling howls near the end of "Thanatoeuphoria" his giant loogie hock at the end of "Godcremation" are both little moments that you can't help but smile at.
Overall production is also totally brutal here too. Like I've already said, there are those famous Entombed and Dismember style guitars, but the drumming, bass, and vocals are also kept pretty rough around the edges. Things are definitely clearer than those '90s albums, but things are just raw enough to bring all that nostalgia surging back.
Bomb-Ass Tracks: Devilspeed, Godcremation, My Lord Has Horns
On a Playlist With: Sorry, I can't find their names. I must have dropped them earlier.
Alright, fine. Dismember and Entombed.
Overall Score
4.0
Ulcer smash your brains out with Grant Us Death, plain and simple. It's 90's Swede-death done right. Evil never sounded so good.
Grant Us Death comes out February 19th, 2013 on Pulverized Records. You can check out Ulcer's Mybook or FaceSpace pages.
That's all for now, folks!
-DG
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