Ulcerate - Everything is Fire!

When I contact Jamie Saint Merat to ask if I can interview him, he tells me there's no problem, but warns me I'll have to be patient, since he has another 5-6 interviews to get through. I have no trouble believing him, given the stir caused by the recent “The Destroyers Of All“, the third full-length from the band in which he serves as drummer and more or less undisputed leader. Way out in distant New Zealand, Ulcerate work hard, almost obsessively, to give body and soul to an increasingly complex, "dark" and atmospheric brand of death metal. The country we'd learned to appreciate for the lo-fi pop of the Dunedin scene and for the terrifying free-noise wanderings of Dead C and their peers seems, then, to have spawned one of the most important bands shaping the development of a genre that, staying in Oceania, has also seen the rise in nearby Australia of that terrifying creature called Portal in recent years. Even if relatively distant from the labyrinthine, hallucinated chaos of the Brisbane band or the annihilating, miasmic epic of Mitochondrion, Ulcerate share with these two bands (not to mention Gigan, whose new album is due out any day now) an unbridled passion for structural and sonic exploration within extreme metal.

Let's start from the beginning, when you were still called Bloodwreath.

Mike Hoggard and I formed the band back in high school, choosing that moniker. Later on, once we'd put together the material for our first demo, we decided to change the name. In any case, you can find all the biographical information on our website.

And before founding the band, what were you up to?

Nothing particularly important, we were still in school.

Ulcerate: what does it mean?

There's a metaphorical meaning behind the choice of that moniker. We wanted to evoke a kind of infection of human thought.

Your first demo was very raw, almost "gore" in places. What were your influences back then (2003)?

Gore? Not so much, from our point of view. Our influences at that time included Immolation, Hate Eternal, Gorguts, Today Is The Day, and I think something from Deeds of Flesh also found its way into our sound.

On those early demos, your drumming style is also different too, less dynamic and creative, I'd say. Would you agree?

Certainly, but I was only 19-20 years old back then, and I was still trying to find my own "path" within death-metal drumming. Not to mention the consolidation of my style beyond the boundaries of the genre.

Then came "Of Fracture And Failure", your first album. What had happened in the meantime?

We wrote the material for that record over a two-year period, and our intention was to take a decisive step forward, both in terms of composition and performance. Getting the chance to record our first album was a huge opportunity for us, and obviously we used all the material we had at our disposal. While writing the riffs, we also started to emphasize the darker aspects of our sound, while structurally our songs were moving toward increasingly extreme solutions. Looking back, there are certainly things we would have done differently, but I still think it's a work worthy of our catalogue, since it offers something clearly different from both the records before it and those that came after.

In my opinion, "Everything Is Fire" is, at least for now, your best work. Tell me a bit about its recording process and the emotional background it came from.

The recording process was incredibly "simple": we did everything ourselves (recording, mixing and mastering), making sure everything fell into place. But obviously we also did a lot of pre-production work, experimenting with tones, sounds and ideas during the writing stage: that way, we knew exactly what needed to be done. So we went into the studio and just did it!

As for the emotional background... if you mean what was going through our heads at the time, and how we approached the overall mood of the record, then I can tell you that what really interested us was raising the stakes, working on the depth and overall atmosphere of the record, while at the same time streamlining part of the arrangements, partly moving away from the chaotic trajectories of "Of Fracture And Failure". "Everything Is Fire" was the moment we realized we'd found a sound of our own, with all the pieces blending together perfectly. As far as I'm concerned, it's the first material that really showcases the dynamic range of our sound, even though we'd already dealt with "elusive" sections and their relationship with the more extreme parts before.

"The Destroyers Of All", on the other hand, has a more imposing sound. What are the most significant differences between this record and its predecessor?

We wanted to make a more "considered" record, one that was overall much more "open" and expansive. We were interested in continuing what we'd started with "Everything Is Fire" (since we all felt truly at ease with that kind of approach): so we used that sound as a genuine platform, continuing to build on it and making the overall atmosphere even more all-encompassing, with an even more cohesive set of songs, capable of making the record feel bigger than the sum of its parts.

Ulcerate play death-metal, but your approach is clearly far from orthodox. What can you tell me about your influences, musical and otherwise?

We're interested in all kinds of music: I think the one thing all four musicians in the band have in common is the will to maintain a sense of integrity and honesty toward music, whatever happens. As for non-musical influences, I can't speak for the others, so I'll just say that, as far as I'm concerned, graphic design, web design and cinema are my main areas of interest outside music. When it comes to art and design, I really like Stephen Kasner, Timo Ketola, Francis Bacon, Bosch, Aaron Turner, and I also want to mention Alexander Brown of Witchrist (fellow New Zealand death-metallers; ed.): his artwork is flawless. In terms of web design, I'd mention Fi, Group94, WeightShift, Mighty. As for cinema, anything European is a good starting point...

Are you trying to create a synthesis of death-metal, "atmospheric" sludge and post-core? Do you have a definition for your sound?

There's never really been a deliberate intention to mix those three genres. Our goal is simple: to create death-metal that's very dark, oppressive and atmospheric, with a powerful sense of dynamism. So that's our "frame", and within it, anything goes, even though the essence is always death-metal. Beyond that, I'm not interested in slapping a genre label on our sound. I'll happily leave that to others!

Do you think your island situation has repercussions on the way you understand and make music?

Yes, I'd definitely say so. In fact, we don't constantly have the chance to go on tour the way American and European bands do - so there's a very limited level of feedback, to the point that most bands from our part of the world last a couple of years at most, precisely because of this situation. The longest tours we can do here in New Zealand or in Australia run to 4 or 5 dates at most: so when you're not playing live for long stretches of time, you have a lot more time to reflect on the music, avoiding being influenced by sounds that achieve instant mass success.

Australia and New Zealand seem to have one of the most unique, brutal and experimental death-metal scenes on the entire planet (I'm thinking of bands like Portal, Impetuous Ritual, Ulcerate themselves, Aethyrvorous etc.). Simple coincidence, or do you think there are specific reasons behind it?

I believe that isolation from the rest of the world has, in a way, preserved that "insular" feeling we were talking about earlier; then, of course, certain regions produce certain individuals as well as certain sounds. As for why there's been a certain gravitation toward a dark, caustic form of death-metal... well, I couldn't say exactly. I do think, though, that it's been a kind of phenomenon whereby all the influences accumulated over time have gradually reached a certain climax. We're lucky to only have one or two bands of a certain caliber coming to play here each year: that way, we're less exposed to the main overseas trends, and I think that's historically worked in our favor.

How did you get in touch with Willowtip?

They were distributing "Of Fracture And Failure", which came out on our previous label, Neurotic Records. When that label "did a runner", Willowtip was our most obvious choice.

What happened with Neurotic Records?

Right while we were getting ready to record "Everything Is Fire", we went for months (literally!) without receiving any response about releasing the record. So we decided to contact Willowtip. Then the owner of Neurotic Records, Rud Lemmen, came out saying he'd responded to us right away by email (after months and months during which we'd tried in vain to get an answer!) and that we therefore owed him a certain amount of money because we had broken the contract - worth remembering that he had never fulfilled his end of the deal beforehand (no royalties, failure to send the full run of printed copies, etc.). So, not only was the whole thing childish and pathetic - it was also extremely illegal! So we told him our lawyer was handling it and that we weren't interested in screwing over people or labels. And that it would be best if the whole thing just died there. Since then, not a single reply from him.

What's your take on the current state of extreme metal and metal in general?

I think there's an excess of boring music out there, with few true "rough" diamonds. And in saying that, I want to stress that the bands doing genuinely great work are doing it brilliantly... and it's on their shoulders that the future of this music will be built.

As far as I'm concerned, Ulcerate, along with Portal and Mitochondrion, represent a "revolutionary" outlet for death-metal...

Of course I'm happy to agree with you, because to me these bands have the true spirit of this kind of music: no rockstar bullshit, just honest people making honest music. Beyond their actual output, that's, in my view, a very important aspect for a band. I'd also like to mention Dead Congregation, Svart Crown, Ingurgitating Oblivion and, of course, Immolation.

Let's talk a bit about the New Zealand death-metal scene...

It's very small and insular. There are three kinds of sub-layers: extreme bands with a very individual character, but convinced they're making "valid" music; more mainstream, groove-oriented music; and then, of course, there's the usual metalcore/death-core infiltration: crap running at least fifteen years behind the "Gothenburg sound".

As for your lyrics, is there anything you'd like to highlight - a particular theme or characteristic element?

It's Paul Kelland, our bassist and singer, who handles the lyrics. So I don't really feel comfortable going into detail, also because the themes he focuses on vary from time to time.

How has your drumming style changed over the years?

When I started playing this kind of music, I was very focused on learning the rudimentary elements of the style, but I was also working on blast-beats, double bass pedal, and finding the right balance between dynamics and stamina. That said, I've always kept a certain level of improvisation, regardless of how developed my drumming style was. Lately, though, I've been increasingly focused on touch, groove, and limb independence, which has really "freed up" my drumming. I think I've now reached a point where I can finally focus all my attention on developing an ever more personal, refined style, regardless of meter or rhythmic structure.

I know you played in Italy with Nile, during their 2009 tour…

Yes, of course. We played in Milan, Rome, Rimini (on the 26th, 27th and 28th of November respectively, ed.). Those shows were part of a European tour with about thirty dates, and things went really, really well for us. In Italy we definitely got the most positive feedback. We were associated with the guys from Nefas (a Milan-based death-metal act, ed.) and their label, The Flood. So it seems Ulcerate have a good reputation in Italy (or at least that's what we've gathered).

Speaking of The Flood: that label reissued “The Coming of Genocide”. How did you meet the guys from Nefas?

Simple: Dario (Pagotto, the band's guitarist, ed.) got in touch with us by email, wanting to reissue our demo material.

What's your take on all this chatter about illegal downloading?

I don't care that much, to be honest, because what really matters to us is that people, one way or another, get to hear the music. Besides, album sales mostly concern the labels, since we don't get royalties in the conventional sense. At the end of the day, if someone doesn't care about having the full artwork of the record, something they can hold in their hands, well: what can you do about it? Records spread much faster than they did ten years ago, so it's damn crucial to be able to enjoy the whole thing, start to finish, before deciding what to buy or not.

Ten albums you'd take to that “famous” desert island…

Immolation – Close To A World Below

Cult of Luna – Somewhere Along The Highway

Hate Eternal – Conquering The Throne

Craft – Fuck The Universe

Clutch – Blast Tyrant

Today is the Day – In The Eyes Of God

Jakob – Cale:Drew

The Crown – Hell Is Here

Bohren und der Club of Gore – Black Earth

Arkhon Infaustus – Orthodoxyn

If you had to pick just three Ulcerate songs?

“Everything Is Fire”, “Cold Becoming”, “Omens”.

Future plans?

We're lining up dates for the European tour and the one in the United States. After that, we'll start working on album number four. Everyone in the band has other musical projects, but right now it's not worth giving anything away.

What will your next album sound like?

Right now, I have no idea at all!

(30/05/2011)

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