Band:	Ulthar
Album:	Providence
Style:	Black metal, Death metal
Release date:	June 12, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. Churn
02. Undying Spear
03. Providence
04. Through Downward Dynasties
05. Cudgel
06. Furnace Hibernation
07. Narcissus Drowning
08. Humanoid Knot

I wouldn't call Ulthar a supergroup, especially since it debuted around the same time or even before most of the other bands of the members, but having a trio with connections to Vastum, Tombs, Pale Chalice, Extremity, Mutilation Rites, Palace Of Worms and Spirit Possession isn't really easy to overlook.

The trio of Steve Peacock on bass and vocals, Justin Ennis on drums, and Shelby Lermo on guitars, and with their membership in the aforementioned bands fairly equally distributed, Ulthar bring a mix of death and black metal on an album whose cover art has the biggest amount of penises I've seen on a metal cover art. So, 20 Buck Spin, fairly high-profile members, incredibly phallic black/death metal, a sophomore album. What gives?

While the black metal part is felt first and foremost in the horrific shrieks, this isn't to say that there aren't plenty of moments when the drums go in full blasting with some tremolo picking on top, but that those moments seem to be closer to the exception than the rule. Nevertheless, even if death metal, of a somewhat technical variety, is the main force of the record, black metal has enough of a presence to not be considered just some sprinkled ingredient. And judging by those moments that are purely black metal, Ulthar could easily pull off an album completely in that style. Which, Providence is not.

I did mention the death metal part being quite technical, but don't take that as an excuse to disregard their strong OSDM sound. They have much more in common with Tomb Mold than Rivers Of Nihil, and make full use of their technical approach to make their death metal as dizzying as possible without compromising their commitment to the power of the riff. And the riff here is powerful, enough to make up for the lack of solos. Slightly cavernous as well, but that is the sprinkled ingredient if anything.

In the slightly under 40 minutes of its runtime, Providence doesn't have a moment where there isn't at least one member of its trio being an absolute beast at what they do, and what they do best is showing how great warped death metal and blistering black metal can sound when put one next to the other.

And if you're interested in their other stuff, be on the lookout for the upcoming Spirit Possession as well.