''Vermis'' is the fourth full-length album by New Zealand

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Ulcerate. It was released on September 13, 2013, through

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The ...

to positive reviews. It is the first album by Ulcerate to be released through Relapse.

Musical style and writing

While the band has been noted for its use of dissonance, drummer Jamie Saint Merat countered that "dissonance for dissonance’s sake is extremely fatiguing". Given this, Merat said that ''Vermis'' uses melody in a "weird and unsettling" way to create "a tangible amount of tension and release". Merat further noted that the band made a conscious decision with ''Vermis'' to bring back "a level of unpredictability we've always had in the past" due to the feeling that the previous album, '' The Destroyers of All'', "came out a little too fluid on the whole". According to Merat, ''Vermis'' uses the metaphor of invertebrate animal species to explore "the over-arching theme of spinelessness nd

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...

". Merat explained that different forms of oppression are explored on the album, including:

Critical reception

''Vermis'' has received positive reviews from critics. Several reviewers noted that Ulcerate's approach posed a challenge for casual listeners, with Greg Pratt, Dave Schalek, and Brandon Ringo cautioning that ''Vermis'' placed exceptional demands upon its audience prior to disclosing its positive features.

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

's Andy O'Connor cited the album's use of technicality favourably, remarking that "as complicated as the music may be, ''Vermis'' is an album of songs, not exercises. Technicality is used to convey madness; it's not the ultimate goal in and of itself". Praising the band's "distinctive voice",

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

' Craig Hayes observed that ''Vermis'' extended the band's "continually refined" creative trajectory by "bringing more artful sculpturing to its downtuned dissonance and complex time signatures, and setting that against a backdrop of often droning and industrial textures. The band’s work has evolved to become steadily more nerve-shredding and formidable, with the usual riff-based shreds of death metal mutilated into a seething and polychromatic canvas of avant-garde atmospherics".

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Hoggard and Jamie Saint Merat. All lyrics by Paul Kelland.

Personnel

Personnel adapted from liner notes. ;Ulcerate * Paul Kelland – vocals, bass, lyrics * Michael Hoggard – guitars * Jamie Saint Merat – drums ;Production and art * Michael Hoggard - audio engineering * Alan Douches - mastering * Jamie Saint Merat - art, layout, and photography, mixing, audio engineering

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Ulcerate albums Relapse Records albums