Ulthar – Anthronomicon/Helionomicon
Release Date: 17th February 2023
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Technical Death Metal
FFO: Cosmic Putrefaction, Faceless Burial, SEDIMENTUM, Universally Estranged.
Review By: Eric Wilt
When I first heard Cosmovore, Ulthar’s debut full length, I thought they were pretty much straight forward black metal. As I gave the album a few more listens, I realized that, while there is definitely a black metal aspect to their music, Ulthar’s songs are so full of twisting and turning metal madness, that it is impossible to pin them down to just one—or even two or three—genres. As they prove again and again on their latest LP, the massive, dual-album collection Anthronomicon/Helionomicon, Ulthar combines characteristics of just about every style of extreme metal at one time or another to create a furious slab of heaviness that is so intense it is not mere hyperbole to call the music face-melting. Well, it is still in fact hyperbole, but if listening to metal could truly melt a person’s face, these two albums would be the ones to do it. In fact, the ten songs on Anthronomicon/Helionomicon are so intense, Ulthar has provided spacey interludes at the end of five of them to give the listener time to catch their breath and tighten their seatbelt before the next track attacks.
Although I don’t know if there is an order in which to listen to the two albums, I listened to Anthronomicon first, so I will begin with it. Anthronomicon is composed of eight tracks that run the gamut of Ulthar’s sound from sludgy black metal to technical death metal to jazzy noodling to, and stay with me here, battle metal (see Astranumeral Octave Chants). Cephalophore and Flesh Propulsion sound like what would happen if black metal was created in the sweltering swamps of Louisiana. On these two tracks, Ulthar employs a fat, dripping guitar tone that makes the black metal riffing sound that much more evil. In other places, Ulthar focuses on technical death metal and a plethora of riffs to pummel the listener. Songs like Saccades and Cultus Quadrivium contain more than enough riffs for four songs from most bands. Larynx Plateau is the most straight-forward black metal song on the album, which is not to say that it is a straight-forward black metal song. And finally, Fractional Fortresses and Coagulation of Forms are very heavy on what the accompanying press release very aptly terms angular warped riffage that take off-kilter, multidirectional turns. This last is a description of Ulthar that is so good, so accurate, I could never top it.
The second album of this two-album release is the two track Helionomicon. While only two songs long, Helionomicon comes in at around 40 minutes, as the songs are right around 20 minutes each. When I first put Helionomicon on, I expected a departure from the music that is found on Anthronomicon. I mistakenly assumed that if Ulthar released two albums on the same day, it would be because the albums were very different. This is not the case. While the tracks on Helionomicon have more room to develop, the music itself is really more of the same. This is not a bad thing, especially if you enjoy Ulthar’s warped brand of sludgy-blackened-technical-death-jazz metal, but if you, like me, find listening to all of Anthronomicon in one sitting a bit overwhelming, then you’re going to want to put a day between listens of the two albums.
Ulthar is a band that isn’t trying to fit into a box. They play a unique brand of extreme metal that incorporates a number of styles into one that culminate in songs that are filled with weird riffs played with technical precision at a breakneck pace. If you like Ulthar, their new dual album offers you a lot to sink your teeth into.
(3.5 / 5)
