Masterful Magazine - Death Metal and Black Metal Magazine

Ulcerate

Wywiad przeprowadził - Wouter Roemers

Found in New Zealand in 2000 it took Ulcerate until 2003 that the band found its niche conceptually as well as musically with its promo "The Coming Of Genocide". November 2006 saw the release of the band Neurotic Records' debut "Of Fracture and Failure". This debut record displayed a promising outfit that mixes the typical traits of the genre with influences all their own. Talking to us at length about the band's debut, the New Zealand scene and extreme metal in general is founding member Jamie Saint Merat, who's the main composer/drummer for Ulcerate.

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. "Of Fracture and Failure" is your latest release and I would like to concentrate on this. How long did the writing take for the album?

The writing took around 2 years, although we weren't specifically writing for an album per se, we were just writing songs. The idea of the album came up at some point, and then we got very strict on ourselves and wrote fairly quickly in the last few months leading up to tracking.

Is there an overall theme to this album, or how would you say "Of Fracture and Failure" is different from your promo "The Coming Of Genocide"?

There's certainly themes we've explored with this album, both conceptually and musically... The lyrics follow a loose chronology illustrating the downfall of mankind and our planet at our own hands. Each song is a new 'movement' of sorts detailing a certain facet of human failings and shortcomings, ending with 'Defaeco'. Musically, this album shows a huge growth from our earlier stuff, we spent a lot more time working with counterpoint and rhythmic interplay, and a lot longer arranging this stuff. The sound we opted for with this album is almost the opposite approach to our demos: we wanted a powerful, dense, punishing and organic sound rather than the clinical almost sterile 'tight' sound of the demos. We wanted to make something that was a big listen this time round.

How do you feel about your new album "Of Fracture and Failure"? Did it turn out the way you envisioned?

Song-writing and packaging/art wise we're very happy with the release, it was the embodiment of what we wanted to portray. In terms of individual performances, in hindsight we are of course not as happy as we could be. We've all improved significantly in a playing sense since then, and there's always things we could have done better, but again that's the beauty of hindsight... The production for the most part is headed in the right direction, but I think a touch more clarity would have let each individual instrument sing a bit more, but we knew we're travelling a rocky road with our 'wall of noise' approach we were after. But the right level of intensity and the moods we wanted to get across are there, so we definitely hit the mark with it, we just know how we can improve next time.

Many reviewers have correctly pointed out the slight post-metal influence in your otherwise technical death metal sound. It is a great feature, are there any plans to extend on this influence in future material?

We never intended to have 'post-metal' parts in our compositions, we just write as we see fit and what comes out comes out. I think a lot of people have read that we're influenced by certain bands and instantly assume that our less chaotic parts are 'post-metal', but to me its all death metal, it still maintains the vibe of the rest of the album. And this is what we will be building on for new material, more atmosphere and dynamics, and I guess if people want to label that as being a certain external style, then so be it. There's a strange consensus of opinion within the scene that if the music doesn't subscribe to the staid 4 or 5 rhythms and feels then its 'not death metal', as if the style isn't allowed to dabble in dynamics. To me we have a clear direction for the inclusion of this sort of stuff, its taken us a long time to develop an 'angle' to hit and get it right, so we're definitely going to be continuing it.

The dizzying level of technicality in the music is definitely something that sets you apart from the majority of your peers. Any contemporary bands that you guys admire?

Oh, for sure man! We've been really hit hard by bands such as Negativa, Hate Eternal, Psycroptic, Necrophagist, Cryptopsy, Blut Aus Nord, Shining, Deathspell Omega, Anaal Nathrakh, Origin, Neurosis, Isis, Cult of Luna, Jakob, Bohren und der Club of Gore, Jesu.

Is there a particular song that you prefer that you feel really stands out on the new album.

For me personally that's a pretty hard choice. I don't really have a preference at all, although I could say I enjoy playing 'Becoming the Lycanthrope' or 'The Mask of the Satyr' perhaps more-so than the others... Only by a hair's width, though.

I must say that I've been listening to this new record a lot over the last days. Do you fear that it will be too complex for some listeners?

Well yeah of course, but it's not our aim to write complex music for the sake of it. We just sit down and write, and then a few weeks later 'oh fuck, this is kinda hard to play', haha. I don't know, we want to make music that is interesting compositionally, so I guess that's where complex structuring ends up making its way in. But in terms of worrying whether or not we could have more fans if we made it more straight forward, there's certainly no fear there. There's enough awesome extreme metal around that covers all spectrums of complexity, we've just picked our niche and will of course stick with it. I hate the notion that bands change their sound because people find it too tough to sink in to, it's a real pity.

Technique and variation are two words omnipresent through out Ulcerate's repertoire. I must admit it was refreshing to hear "Of Fracture and Failure" in between the current torrent of blasting death metal albums. Of what importance are these two facets in the compositions?

Of utmost importance, man. Don't get me wrong, some of my favourite bands are very straight forward and blasting 100% of the time, but they do it so well it would be stupid just to emulate that. Also, we all listen to a lot of different styles of music, there's so much good stuff out there to get inspired by. We feel it necessary to write music that above all, keeps us interested and motivated. Ulcerate is the vehicle for writing the death metal that we want to hear - that's fucking self-indulgent, but I don't care! The albums that made the biggest impact on me when growing up were the one's that I didn't understand or couldn't comprehend on first listen, so we're just following that ethos with Ulcerate. When all of us first listened back to the album as a whole for the first time, we got the same buzz, the objectivity of listening allowed us to be steamrolled by the album, the same way my favourite albums affected me.

How do you write songs, is there a central songwriter in the band or does everybody contribute something to the process?

For "Of Fracture and Failure" guitarist Michael Hoggard and I wrote all the music, while guitarist Mike Rothwell provided some of counterpoint melodies that you'll find sprinkled throughout. So for the most part, Mike Hoggard and me work on melodic and rhythmical ideas, we take them to rehearsal and flesh them out, then we record everything and piece it all together. Then we listen back, critique and make changes where necessary. As we play the songs more and more I improvise a lot as I get more comfortable with the rhythms and sequences, until there's essentially the final product.

What, if any, is the link between the title and the cover of "Of Fracture and Failure". What lies behind the title of the album?

The cover art represents the metaphor of humanity's passing, shedding the shell of man and the birth of the next dominant species... The title of the album simply sums up the overall message of the lyrics, the failing of mankind to preconceive the consequences of our actions.

The material featured on the record is of an incredible highly technical level, how many times do you need to rehearse this stuff to keep it fresh and tight?

We rehearse twice a week as a band, and usually a couple of other times a week myself and Mike Hoggard will get together for run-throughs and writing. We all play in other bands with other rehearsals, and I practise drumming every night I have off rehearsing. So yeah, its more about maintenance than anything else, so long as we're getting together at least once a week, we can keep it tight.

What type of music inspires you to set new goals and break into new territory?

Any kind! There are no limits in terms of genres. Ideas are ideas, and they can be translated across many platforms. I think in terms of metal, you've got essentially two categories, and these are across the board - you have the bands that play to convention and strive for perfection in terms of playing, and then you have the bands that are more 'edgy', pushing boundaries in terms of what is 'safe', and I think for us, the latter is where we are positioning ourselves. Obviously we want to better ourselves as musicians, but in terms of what we're actually creating, I don't feel any need for us to repeat what has already been done in the past. In terms of what we're hearing that inspires us, I can't pin-point influences you know, just any and everything we listen to

The album comes with stunning artwork that was done by you, Jamie Saint Merat. Have you done any work for others bands as well?

Thanks a lot man, I'm glad you appreciate it! Yeah, I've worked for mostly NZ bands such as Dawn of Azazel, Graymalkin, Creeping, 8 Foot Sativa and I handle every aspect of Ulcerate's visual aesthetic, which is of course my main priority.

Neurotic Records is the label to release this incredible debut. How has the label been accommodating the band's needs?

Well, considering this is our debut we've been treated pretty well. There has been a lot of issues with product (CDs / merch) getting out to us and also customers of Neurotic, but that is not necessarily the label's fault. At the end of the day, the album is widely available and a lot of people have been listening, so that's all we can really ask for at this stage!

What's your take on the album now that it is completed and released? Anything specific that you guys picked up in retrospect and are using to put together and improve the new material?

In retrospect we couldn't really be happier with how it turned out. I mean, obviously there are a lot of things to improve and work on, but at the time, we did the best we could and worked our asses off to complete it! The coolest thing about the release has been the positive responses we've been getting, which is certainly humbling. In terms of improvement, our performances will naturally be better on our next release, and we're developing the song-writing further as we're a lot more comfortable with constructing Ulcerate tunes. We also have many ideas on how to put out a more quality production, as we're again going to be recording in our own studio once again.

You come from Auckland, New-Zealand, besides death metal formation Dawn Of Azazel I'm not really familiar with any other bands from your region. How would you describe the extreme metal scene of your continent?

There's a few noteworthy acts kicking around, and a few of the Auckland bands are doing very well internationally... The scene is small but the better acts have a tendency to kick a lot of ass, notably Dawn Of Azazel, Asphyxiate, Diocletian,Vassafor, Creeping, Akaname, Skuldom, OdiusEmbowel. The death and black metal over here is very violent and dark, which you have to appreciate!

Are there any plans for Ulcerate to do a number of tours in Europe in the nearby future in support of your debut album?

We'd love to for sure, but at our status we're looking for support slots on bigger tours, so we just have to play the waiting game. But it's high on our priority list, for sure.

Has writing for the follow up to "Of Fracture and Failure" begun? If so, how is it going and what can we expect?

Yes it has, we've got one new full track written and another in the wings... What to expect? Well, it seems so far that the material is the next step forward for our sound, more of everything that we explored on "Of Fracture"... We're still fixated with the linear approach, and the sound is as always pitch black... It will be a vicious album, but there's gonna be more relenting moments than our previous work. I also think that this new stuff is very catchy, but at the same time we're simplifying nothing. I'm gonna say right now that if you enjoy "Of Fracture" then the next album will most definitely appeal!

What are your nearest future plans?

Well, we've got a couple of support slots with some big overseas names coming up in New Zealand (one being Australia's The Amenta), then we're hopefully getting to Australia early next year. Asides from that, we're constantly on the look out for European/international tour opportunities and writing for the next album.

What are you doing outside of the band? Any interesting jobs, studies, hobbies?

Well, I'm a professional web and multimedia designer in everyday life, we have vocalist Ben and bassist Paul studying at the moment (doing language degrees), guitarist Michael Rothwell works in film distribution for cinemas, and guitarist Mike Hoggard manages a cafe. Asides from that a few of us play in other bands: Asphyxiate, Vassafor, 8 Foot Sativa, The House of Capricorn.

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview! The last words are yours... Cheers!

Thanks a lot for the interview man, we appreciate all the support! Check out our websites for any other info: www.offractureandfailure.com, www.myspace.com/ulcerate, www.neurotic-records.com, www.thefloodrecords.com .

Booking: ulcerate@gmail.com
Site: www.ulcerate.orcon.net.nz

Ulcerate

Wywiad przeprowadził - Wouter Roemers

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