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Album Review: Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis

Christopher H James
StarStarStar

"Disorientating time signature switches, overwhelmingly thick sound design and bovine death bellows."

More Ulcerate Ulcerate Profile

This is the fifth album from these profoundly grumpy, technically minded death metal kiwis and the initiated will know what to expect.

Packed with disorientating time signature switches, overwhelmingly thick sound design and bovine death bellows, Shrines Of Paralysis is an impressively accomplished work where the speed and precision of drummer Jamie Saint Merat is frequently breathtaking. Aside from some effectively slower, atmospheric passages on the likes of There Are No Saviours, there's not a great deal of forward progress from 2013's Vermis, hampering Ulcerate's chances of breaking through to new audiences.