Opening today are Tilburg locals Autarkh, whom I first discovered playing the 2021 Roadburn Redux show. Eclectic and heavy, the band mix electronics with metal elements, so much that Encyclopedia Metalum (a.k.a Metal Archives) doesn’t even consider them metal enough. Tonight, though, the band have a live drummer with them, who plays the angular beats with relish. Frontman and guitarist Michel Nienhuis (formerly Dodecahedron) is clearly very much in the groove. A groove expertly set by their temping bassist, who learned the complex material in only a week. It’s very hard to stick a genre on what Autarkh make, but I’d call them Avant-Garde Math Metal.

Of course, the vibes of Dodecahedron are there, but with hints of Blue and Red era Baroness. All this with a solid mix of break core and blast beats. The only flaw is how bass and drum-heavy the sound mix is, which drowns out some of the more intricate layers.

I’ve seen Ulcerate before at festivals, but I have to say that isn’t the best setting to get into this band. Every time I’ve seen Ulcerate, I’d struggle to get into the groove, and, at a festival, the temptation to just skip them for another band or hang out with friends has always been too great. I could tell what they did was good, but I also just could not get into it. This time, however, I’m determined to make myself experience their full set. It takes me a good bit to get into it, and I’ll be honest, I keep desperately looking for a groove to latch onto. But Ulcerate are like ever-shifting, churning, ice-covered stormy seas. One moment solid, the next you get thrown upward, to land on a spike, sliding off into icy waters. You float a little on a calmer riff or melody, or clinging to some driftwood of a beautifully melancholy intro, before you get tossed around by the ridiculous poly rhythms again. It’s only three guys, yet so many layers of sound coming at you from all sides.

The mix is still a bit bass and drum heavy, even next to the sound desk, making it hard to follow the guitar riffs. But that’s not what makes Ulcerate an uncomfortable listen. With almost no interaction with the crowd apart from a thank you at the end, the band play their hour-and-a-half-long set with the single-mindedness of a steamroller, if one with many odd non-euclidean angles. It surely is a unique experience, and if you want your musical senses ruffled, do go see them. There is beauty here, but also crushing, upsetting, and disorienting heaviness.

And so we make our way home, to the train station across the street. Confused, musically bruised, and somewhat obliterated. A gig that was very much an experience and very technically impressive, but will take some time to process.

Buy Ulcerate music and merch here:
https://ulcerate-official.com/

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS
(photos were taken by phone due to battery issues)
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