Stare Into Death and Be Still

Stare Into Death and Be Still is the sixth studio album by the New Zealand band Ulcerate. It was announced on 2 March 2020 and released on 24 April, their first record for Debemur Morti Productions, with the title track put out for streaming and purchase on the day of the announcement. The band is Paul Kelland on vocals and bass, Michael Hoggard on guitars and Jamie Saint Merat on drums. The density of technical death metal is intact while the pacing borrows from post-metal. The reception was strong. Jay Gorania of Blabbermouth called it dissonant and discombobulating, not an easy release to consume but rewarding on the deepest and most profound levels for those patient enough to let Ulcerate work their magic. James Weaver of Distorted Sound Magazine praised it as a masterpiece of extremity, the strongest album the band had made and one of the strongest to grace extreme metal that year. Langdon Hickman of Invisible Oranges credited it with a deeply emotional core and noted how deliberate the band are in their deployment of techniques from both technical death metal and post-metal, concluding that it is a must-listen not only for fans of the subgenre but for fans of heavy metal in general.