Ultio/Cor/Brucia Records/2024 EP Review

 

  Ultio  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  a  very  raw  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their   2024  ep  "Cor"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Brucia  Records.

    A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams   while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  old  school  influences.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  a  couple  of  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing,  synths  are  also  added  on  the  closing  song.

  On  this  recording  Ultio  goes  for  a  very  raw,  old  school  and  traditional  style  of  black  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  evilness,  darkness  and  oppression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ultio  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Grey  inferno"  and  "Cor".  8  out  of  10.

  https://bruciarecords.bandcamp.com/album/cor

Ultio Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Ultio is an Italian one man band born in the late 2017. I released my first songs as a demo in 2018, then the remastered edition that will be released in March 2019. For now I consider it a side project, a “place” in which I can vomit negativity and violence in total freedom.

2.So far you have released one ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
I wrote and recorded this EP in few weeks, it has been a sort of “one song a day”. It's an experiment from a certain point of view: I wanted to be more natural and instinctive possible trying to capture the moment, without rational thoughts about style, production or anything else but playing black metal.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
The lyrics follow the same approach. They speak about instinct, violence, pain… there is not a real concept, but I focused my attention on the human's bestial side. That’s why the title is “Fera” (“Beast”, in Latin).

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ultio'?
Ultio means revenge in Latin. I think it’s perfect for this project: no mercy, no rationality, violence… and in my opinion the word sounds good and is consistent with this concept: concise, hard, sharp.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
As I said the EP is titled “Fera”: the artwork simply represent the mouth of a beast in a woodcut fashion. I think those primitive strokes fit very well with the concept, music and production.

6.On the metal archives the project is listed as being from an unknown area, is that intentional for the time being?
I think it’s due to the fragmentary promotion of this EP. When I released it as a demo I just uploaded the songs on bandcamp with basic information, without caring about promotion or anything else. Only few months later I decided to remaster the EP to give it a better form and an appropriate promotion. No mystery, I'm from Genoa, Italy.

7.On the ep you also recorded all the instruments by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
I think that the solo project formula helps to focus energies in a better way preserving spontaneity.

8.The EP is also going to be released through 'Brucia Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Brucia Records could be intended as a sort of collective. Some friends and me are involved in every aspect: the bands, design, production, promotion. For now is a container of the members' projects, in future I don’t know. We want just release our vision of black metal and similar music for attitude and aesthetic. Some releases are scheduled for this year, so follow us on bandcamp for updates.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
It's early to say, we just started promotion, but the first responses are pretty good.

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
Hard to say for now. I think the EP is a good format for Ultio because in a short time I can express only what is necessary without filler songs or useless repetitions. I don't exclude anything, but I don't care much about "formats", i think it's not a real problem in the current music world.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I think about some Swedish bands like Setherial, Funeral Mist. Maybe some Norwegian as 1349, Carpathian Forest or Gorgoroth for some atmospheres, but it’s difficult to say only few bands. About my current listening I could mention the recent works by Vessel of Iniquity, Elixir of Distress, Svederna, The Order of Apollyon, Precaria to name a few.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Just thank you so much for this space on your great zine. Follow me on Bandcamp for updates: https://bruciarecords.bandcamp.com. Hail

Ultio/Fera/Brucia Records/2019 EP Review

  Ultio  are  a  solo  project  from  an unknown area  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  ep  "Fera"  which  will  be  released  in  march  by  Brucia  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocal  are  mostly  inhuman  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  has  a  lot  of  Nordic  influences.

  A  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  era  and  the  music  always  sticks  to  a  very  raw  and  heavy  musical  direction.

  Ultio  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  goes back  to  the  90's era  of  Swedish  and  Norwegian  black  metal  taking  the  melody  of  the  former  an  the  rawness  of  the  later  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ultio  are  a  very  great  sounding  Nordic  influenced black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beasts"  and  "The  Right  Weapon'.   8 out  of  10.

https://bruciarecords.bandcamp.com/album/ultio-fera