Servants of Chaos - Spotlight: Ulcerate

ULCERATE will headline Servants of Chaos festival on October 18th as part of their extensive European tour. The NZ Death Metal luminaries will exclusively perform their new album, "Cutting the Throat of God", in its entirety in addition to selected classics from their rich discography – this is a unique opportunity to witness the crushingly emotive new record in full.

Originally founded in Auckland, New Zealand, by guitarist Michael Hoggard and drummer Jamie Saint Merat, ULCERATE was conceived as a vessel for crafting dark and oppressive Death Metal. This vision solidified, yet also progressed with the addition of bassist and vocalist Paul Kelland in 2005, leading to the creation of three seminal albums that remain classics: "Of Fracture and Failure" (2007), "Everything is Fire" (2009), and "The Destroyers of All" (2011).

Further evolving as artists and song writer, ULCERATE ventured into even deeper and darker realms, producing "Vermis" (2013) and "Shrines of Paralysis" (2016). Their 2020 debut with DMP, "Stare into Death and Be Still", marked a groundbreaking exploration of melody, harmony, and Death Metal power – remaining true to the band's roots while becoming more daring and accessible than ever.

In 2024, ULCERATE returned with their mind-bending seventh album, "Cutting the Throat of God", which was once again hailed by fans and critics alike as a unique work of Death Metal artistry:

"In the end, "Cutting the Throat of God" is very powerful, and it shows ulcerate continuing to pave their own way, pave their own sounds in the Death Metal, Black Metal, post-Metal, the everything Metal realm." (The Needle Drop)

In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, drummer Jamie Saint Merat delved into the meticulous work behind "Cutting the Throat of God":

"We actually typically spend a lot longer than a month on any given song, and yes, the same timespan for "Cutting the Throat of God". We began writing in November 2021, with the first song 'Transfiguration In and Out of Worlds' pulling itself into shape by around February 2022 (albeit a rough outline of a single guitar and drum line). We build our skeletons between Mike and myself, first focusing on melodic ideas, and then moving into rhythm born out of improvisation. A very organic, chaotic pushing and pulling of ideas. From here, we then developed three more songs over the following seven months that we pre-produced as full entities with rhythm and lead guitars, bass and vox. This is a meticulous process where we're aiming to get to near-album quality so we can get a feel for how things sit and move around. It also means we're doing a lot more 'in-the-box' arrangement work, particularly in terms of bass lines and vocals. We then broke for European and Australasian touring, and came back to work February through to August writing and pre-producing. Drums were then tracked September, and strings late October. Again, we broke for North American touring in November, and finished tracking and mixing in December / January. Visuals + album layout were developed in parallel throughout the last half of 2023 into early 2024.

The hardest songs to write for us are always the first group of three or so, as you're searching for the sound of the album. It has to be fresh, hopefully unique, yet still feel as though it's a coherent step forward. So, a lot of ideas get rejected and reshaped. Throughout the writing this becomes less common, as we instantly know exactly what works and what doesn't."

Listen to their latest album here:

ULCERATE's recent tours across the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe have demonstrated their unparalleled technical skill and creative energy on stage. For the upcoming Servants of Chaos festival, part of their extensive European tour (see all dates here), these NZ Death Metal luminaries will perform an exclusive set, featuring "Cutting the Throat of God" in its entirety alongside older tracks.

ULCERATE will take the stage on October 18th at the Servants of Chaos festival. Find all event details and order your tickets here!

Watch a clip from their 2023 tour performance at Saint Vitus Bar, New York (USA) to get a taste of what's in store: