ALBUM REVIEW: Providence – Ulthar

ULTHAR are back, and they aren’t messing around. Just two years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut Cosmovore, the Oakland power-trio have returned with another slab of Lovecraftian brutality, once again teaming up with one of underground extreme metal’s premier labels, 20 Buck Spin. Utilising a truly harrowing style of blackened death metal while delving into the universe of cosmic horror created by H.P. Lovecraft, ULTHAR managed to establish a solid degree of cult appeal with Cosmovore, but can they keep the hype-train moving with Providence, or are they set to suffer from the all-too-common second record drop in quality?

Against all expectations, ULTHAR actually manage to surpass Cosmovore with Providence. When blending black and death metal, its easy to fall into the trap of aping either the melodic work of DISSECTION or the crushing, mid-career BEHEMOTH records, but like its predecessor Providence couldn’t be further from simple Demigod or Storm of the Light’s Bane worship. Fans of Lovecraft‘s work will be well aware of the unsettling, downright weird atmosphere many of his stories encompass, and one of the crowning achievements of ULTHAR‘s sophomore record is that they’ve not simply drawn on Lovecraft for a lyrical theme, but the whole record embodies that atmosphere perfectly, creating a sonic experience that is unnerving in the very least.

And the sonic pallet of the record is essential to achieving this. The off-kilter, weirder side of death metal – MORBID ANGEL and modern legends’s BLOOD INCANTATION are a perfect example – dominates Providence, immediately creating some sort of horrifying sonic acid trip, while the black metal elements add to the overall chaos of ULTHAR‘s sound. This can be heard immediately with crushing opening track Churn, though its the following number, album highlight The Undying Spear, that really brings it to fruition. Subtle use of synths coupled with acoustic guitars create a NILE-esque atmosphere right off the bat, before the full weight of The Undying Spear hammers home. Shrieked black metal vocals pierce through the mix of almost tech-death riffing, easing into an almost pure blackened assault before regressing back into the chaotic technical riffs.

Its in these slightly longer offerings that ULTHAR really shine, the trio making incredible use of the space that extra minute or so offers. Each of the other tracks that push passed the five minute mark show this perfectly and make every second count, be it with the second wave black metal tinge of Through Downward Dynasties, the deeply unsettling, album topping vocal performance of Cudgel or the wonderful juxtaposition of crushing, BOLT THROWER grooves and classic black metal of penultimate track Narcissus Drowning. Five minutes is certainly not an excessively long run time, but that extra space works wonders for ULTHAR, and you can’t help but wonder what the trio would deliver if they pushed a song into double digits.

But aside from opener Churn, there’s no real short moments on Providence. The album’s title track is four-and-a-half minutes of pure, unadultered chaos, exhausting in the best possible way, while both Furnace Hibernation and closing megalith Humanoid Knot play into the old-school death metal revival incredibly. Musically a pure throwback to Altars of Madness, Furnace Hibernation is another stand out moment mixing that retro death metal assault with second wave black metal vocals to spellbinding effect, while Humanoid Knot rounds off Providence with touches of thrashy riffing amid the blackened death maelstrom of cosmic horror, ending as abruptly as the album began.

Lovecraft‘s place in extreme metal lyricism is well established at this point – but anyone can twist At The Mountains of Madness or The Call of Cthulhu into lyrics. Significantly harder is capturing that Lovecraftian atmosphere in the music. Almost unheard of, however, is creating an album that is a very real soundtrack to a descent into the insanity inducing cosmic void of Lovecraft’s writing – and this is ULTHAR‘s greatest achievement with Providence. Not that extreme metal needs any more micro-genres, but if “Lovecraftian metal” had a sound, ULTHAR would be the pioneers. Horrifying at every turn, harrowing in execution, and a near-flawless example of modern extreme metal, Providence serves as ironclad proof that this decade is ULTHAR‘s for the taking.

Rating: 9/10

Providence is out now via 20 Buck Spin. 

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