Ultralord – We Hate You And Hope You Die / 2006 This Dark Reign / 8 Tracks / http://ultralord.cjb.cc/ / http://www.thisdarkreign.com / Reviewed 29 March 2006

The beginning of “We Hate You And Hope You Die”, during a track called “Wizard Pimp” is nothing less than brutal. The speed of Ultralord is nothing compared to the rest of the speed metal bands out there, but each guitar riff acts like a knife twisted in a wound. “Pussy Witch”, the companion track to “Wizard Pimp” shows Ultralord’s other side, a sped-up version of Motorhead with a screamed out set of vocals that is nothing less than furious. Tracks can be practically any length on “We Hate You and Hope You Die”, but the one thing that does not change even in the slightest is the talent that the band exudes at every juncture.

The arrangements are always fresh and linked inexorably together, to the degree that merely listening to one track will make listeners want to listen to the rest of the disc without fail. There may be a few times where the band works with a high amount of repetition, but Ultralord changes matters up enough to allow listeners to not become bored with the track. While there seems to be some overall story present during “We Hate You And Hope You Die”, there is nothing very clear that will show listeners that fact beyond the titles of tracks on the disc. “Blood Sport” is another track done on this disc that absolutely blazes while the vocalist rages in a way similar to the vocals present in a 9 Shocks Terror. The band must be brutal live, with each of the tracks on “We Hate You And Hope You Die” showing themselves to be exercises in controlled chaos.

“Negative D” is perhaps the heaviest track on the disc as Ultralord goes back to the sludge metal of a “Wizard Pimp” but cranks it down a few notches. This modified style is something that will make uninitiated listeners wonder whether the recording was done on the right speed, or if they needed to speed things up to the 45 speed. “Don’t Fear the Reefer” is another track in the same vein of sludge that has dominated the disc as of late, and it may be in this style that the band makes their biggest victories. The confidence exerted during the entirety of “We Hate You And Hope You Die” has not been paralleled since the days of Pantera and early Slayer, and Ultralord will make listeners thirst for more throughout this disc.

Top Tracks: Negative D, Don’t Fear The Reefer

Rating: 7.6/10

[JMcQ]