A New Zealand progressive death metal band known for creating a distinctive body of work while remaining staunchly independent and self-reliant, Ulcerate emerged in the early 2000s with a sound that was influenced by dissonant extreme metal groups like Gorguts, Immolation, and Cryptopsy. Almost from the beginning, the band’s sound was fully formed: a maelstrom of abrasive, dissonant art-metal guitars, thunderous blastbeats, and vocal roars evoking an all-encompassing sense of crushing dread, which they went on to further refine on career highlights like Everything Is Fire (2009), Shrines of Paralysis (2016), and Stare into Death and Be Still (2020).