Gig report: Ulcerate, Selbst (Zagreb, Croatia 08.11.2024.)

Last Friday in The Swamp we had feast for the champions, a double course in the name of Ulcerate and Selbst, with such heaviness and quality texture that has the strength of four bands, even those gay hobbits from LOTR would not ask for seconds.

It had been seven long years since Ulcerate had raped and pillaged our ears which in fact, having in mind their proficiency and heaviness, is the right amount of time for our eardrums to recover. To be honest, we very much expected that the ticket sales for this gig would be in the „not great, not terrible “category, considering that the band Abigail from Japan tore a new one in Zagreb just a day before.

But this dual package was something else, and in their style they very much complement each other.

With doors opening in 20:00, Selbst started right on 21:00 to an already solidly filled up venue. Now, I have an interesting history with the band; discovering them in 2015 while reviewing their EP An Ominous Landscape and after that picked up every release of theirs for every review.

The band is truly a hidden gem in the black metal genre filled with strong, moody atmosphere. Since they are based in Chile, they we also on the list of bands that I never considered seeing them live, like never. But here they are, in all their suffering glory.

Kicking with an excellent track Silent Soul Throes from their second album Relatos de angustia, for anyone who is looking for a solid introduction for the band; this track and this album are a very solid choice. Despite promoting their new album Despondency Chord Progressions, released this year Debemur Morti Productions, this is actually their first tour. So the set list was a solid combination of “the old & new” taking songs from every record from their discography which blended very well. The highlight for me truly was the title track of their mentioned EP; a seven-minute relentless sonic bleeding darkness that I first heard some seven years ago.

I know that this is bias as fuck. Sue me.

The sound, like it happens in the venue like The Swamp, is hit and miss. Some instruments like the bass was prominent and the sound that Frozen had is a feast for the ears. Their frontman Jhonathan Villamizar (guitars & vocals) got the short end of the stick. His vocals were more or less audible which kinda suited to the overall vibe of the gig but his guitar sonically was barely out there. Nevertheless, sonically they successfully carried the sound and vibe of their albums.

The only main compliment for the band was an almost absolute zero contact with the audience. It is awesome seeing and hearing the band live, which gave a really professional performance, but some verbal or even non-verbal acknowledgment that around 120 people are standing in front of you can go a long way.

SELBST SETLIST:

1. Silent Soul Throes
2. The Depths of Selfishness
3. Chant of Self Confrontation
4. The Stench of a Dead Spirit
5. An Ominous Landscape
6. Instrument of My Own Destruction

Now is the time for the main course, fucking Ulcerate. The New Zealand three piece death metal institution and even during sound check the space in the venue was getting quite tight.

The sound check was done quite quickly, or perhaps that was our perception because we were staring for 20-something minutes on the guitars pedals that Michael Hoggard (guitars) and Paul Kelland (bass, vocals) are gonna use and abuse our ears with it, well.

Look at the size of this thing, and those cute lamps.

There was like a dozen of us guys from the right side of the first row just staring at it and discussing what the fuck are those things.  Now, mostly bands with kind of equipment use just to show of, but with this band you know that every inch of this bad boy is going to be used.

Of course, that happened.

After a very impressive lightshow during the intro, the three titans got on the stage and a sonic avalanche started with the track To Flow Through Ashen Hearts right of their critically acclaimed album Cutting the Throat of God.

I’m not going to talk about the technicality, laser precision and any other superlative found in the English lexicon about these three musicians. If you are reading this you know their miracle of sound. If not, take a day off, find a chair of your liking and prepare for a doozy. They are not easy listening and even for those who dont like their material, they are not crazy enough not to acknowledge that their musicianship and song structure are on a very high level.

The same goes for their live sound. If you are lucky enough to see them two days in the row I recommend this; on the first gig enjoy the performance and the vibe with fibre of you, on the second gig get to the first row and just see the foot work around the guitar pedals.

This is not the usual foot switch action when the solo goes; after every fucking riff Michael Hoggard kicks around five switches on the guitar pedals. I shit you not, on the first three or four songs we were like acting like cats staring at a laser point and don’t believe what the hell is happening.

The minus about their entire gig is similar like with Selbst, very little interaction with the audience. So much that I had small talk about with the organizer of this gig.

“Dude, if they just wanted the play live with zero interaction I could watched their concert in my home.”

“Yeah, I know, but like this you can hear them on the venues loudspeakers.”

I guess he has a point.

Nevertheless, the crowd was absorbing every decibel that the band was producing, it is very obvious that Ulcerate has a cult following here, which is very much deserved.

ULCERATE SETLIST:

1. To Flow Through Ashen Hearts
2. Drawn Into the Next Void
3. Further Opening the Wounds
4. The Dawn Is Hollow
5. Dissolved Orders
6. Cutting the Throat of God
7. To See Death Just Once
8. Stare Into Death and Be Still

Encore:

9. Everything Is Fire