Ultras

Reviews

Ultras Ultras II EP

Very tight fastcore here. The drums and guitar both sound great, but I wish the vocals and the bass were a little louder in the mix. It lacks any low-end and comes off sounding a lot less heavy than it should. The vocals sound like they’re being run through an old distortion pedal and have very little power behind them. They’re tucked behind everything else in the mix and are drowned out by the rest of the band. This is fine for what it is, but I guess I just expected more from a band featuring members of WORLD PEACE.

Ultras Ultras cassette

Not to be confused with the great Spanish band ULTRA, this Oakland crew rips through four sinister, crushing hardcore stompers in about as many minutes. Pummeling, no-frills, no-fills brutality with relentless drums and vocal-cord shredding, all bookended by bleeding shards of feedback. This is fighting music, and I would cross the street if I saw this tape coming my way. Every track is strong, but let’s take the lyrics to “One and the Same”: “Problem made flesh / Each breath a regret / Wake up, same shit / Life counterfeit.” Nihilism you can smash your head on. Featuring members from WORLD PEACE and FENTANYL, and for fans of mean-ass punk like VACCINE and CITY HUNTER.