Track By Tracks: Buckshot Facelift - Ulcer Island (2018)

Track by track of the Buckshot Facelift album “Ulcer Island” by singer William Smith:

To begin, it should be noted this concept album about crime, drugs and mental health is broken up into 2 parts - part one being the waking world and part two being the sleeping subconscious. We have ordered the songs accordingly so that from part 1 into part 2 there is a gradual change from hardcore and powerviolence inspired songwriting to longer songs with a dark, abstract death metal feel. The lyrics, samples and interludes were all carefully chosen to create this atmosphere. I will explain as we go on.

Part 1:

1. Ulcer Island:

The introductory anthem in which we establish who we are, where we are from and how fucked up it all is. An old-school BUCK basement jam with circle pits and 40 year old guys doing windmills in mind.

2. Czech Yourself:

A clever play on words? A tribute to the Legendary Czech death metal and grind scene? You will never detect our musk musk.

3. Afterbirth Puzzle:

The first part of this album is supposed to be a celebration of our hardcore/ powerviolence/ goregrind roots so we resurrected this song from our 2004 demo to keep tradition alive. You are the missing piece of the puzzle.

4. Ascend to Descend:

Beneath this hard rocking old school mosher is the first taste of the grim philosophical lyrics that our drummer Fergus wrote to reflect the bitter undercurrent of the album. Remove all doubts...

5. Burn the Baby Raper:

You know what time it is.

6. OxyDocs:

Yet another type of lowlife predator taken from the news and procured for this album. "What a waste of school."

7. Sundress Skeletor:

Featuring guest vocals by the legendary King Fowley of DECEASED, this raunchy anthem to that special kind of girl is a return to the punk driven noisecore we left in the wake of our early demo recordings.

8. Comptroller Cult:

An ode to the local politicians here in New York and round the world getting caught with their pants down and their hand in somebody's pocket. Timeless story. "That's why your schools are going broke!"

9. What Does Fergus Dream Of?:

A quirky, psychedelic grindcore journey through the mind of our drummer Fergus as he falls asleep, presumably after drinking tequila while watching the events of the album thus far on the evening news. In this song, we give the listener a taste of the abstraction to come in Part 2. What will he dream of next?

10. Hell Eats Repetition:

The final act of part 1, a dreamy instrumental that takes our narrator Fergus down a winding wormhole to his subconscious mind...

Part 2:

11. Don't Hang From The Pipes:

This song title is a real life warning found on the walls of basement venues we have played in but also a plea to those suffering from suicidal thoughts to literally not hang themselves. Here we start to see song structures take on a more death metal atmosphere in parts as the sleeping mind conjures up unfamiliar atmospheres.

12. Weathered Mask of Autumn (Unearthing the Armless):

Fans of our second album, "Anchors of the Armless Gods" will recognize the references here. In the twisted mix of noisy goregrind and freeform techdeath, we see shadows of the masks we once wore.

13. Delusions of a New Age:

Fergus cuts deep through the ego and reimagines society as a feast for insects while all undertones of nostalgia and youthful energy are cast aside for churning metal misery - an analogy for our time in Buckshot Facelift, perhaps? (Shudders)

14. Dustification (end times version):

An apocalyptic vision of germs and giants brings the lucid dream of part 2 to it's haunting end. What will Fergus wake to? The notation "end times version" is to differentiate this version from an unreleased mix with different vocals and lyrics unrelated to the Ulcer Island concept. Stay tuned...

15. A Trophy Cup Intoxicant:

And the conclusion of "Ulcer Island", in which the narrator rants about hockey as he awakes hungover and drenched in piss to be carted away by the police. Is the NY Islanders hockey team a metaphor for all of his friends who moved to Brooklyn? Is there any meaning to it all? Is this song a preview of what BUCKSHOT FACELIFT fans can expect in the future? Will you ever unlock the mystery?We wanted to end the album with a classy acoustic piece to pay tribute to all of the epic metal bands who inspired us along the way. Thank you for visiting Ulcer Island, please keep an eye on all of your personal belongings.