Bands – Ulcerate, Spirit Possession, Fell Ruin
Venue – Sanctuary Detroit
Location – Hamtramck, MI
Concert Date – November 15th, 2025
Words & Photos – Porous
A multitude of death and black metal flavors were presented to us last Saturday night in Hamtramck; an enclave within Detroit, Michigan. But the taste was nothing like the rich, sweet Pazckis, a donut type of which Hamtramck is known for. No, these were for the most wicked of tongues. For a type of palate that can only stomach a specially prepared force-fed vile cuisine. And I know of no better slaughterhouse than this town’s Sanctuary to feast upon these blackened sonic delights.
Alright enough of that metaphorical nonsense from me for a bit. At least it’s not AI slop. No, I don’t even think our eventual machine overlords could comprehend how to describe that evening headlined by Ulcerate, with Spirit Possession in tow. And my god, Detroit’s own Fell Ruin opening! LFG.
FELL RUIN
Spreading their grotesque gospel since 2014, Fell Ruin have easily become one of the best black metal bands in Michigan. If you’re not sure if you’ve ever heard them before… you have. You know those nightmares you get? That’s them. If you don’t believe me, listen to Cast in Oil The Dressed Wrought, their full-length from 2022.
Getting to experience these four purveyors of heavy dissonant beauty do their thing the other night was a joy. Playing almost in the dark, but backlit by blood red, Fell Ruin put on a horror show. Jeff’s bass guitar mastery was even that more apparent heard through ear plugs (protect your ears, people). August’s drumkit pierced through all the distortion, maintaining that guiding light back to the depths. Rob wielded his axe with the most harrowing intent; those wonderfully evil riffs cutting deep. And Brian, with his murderous black gloves strangling that microphone, spewed his blackened visions all over the hungry crowd. Fell Ruin are one of the best and most creative doom-laden black metal bands in the world right now, y’all. Truth.
SPIRIT POSSESSION
Fell Ruin may have unlocked the gates of Hell, but it was Spirit Possession that kicked them the fuck open and stormed through. I knew from listening to their 2023 release Of the Sign… that this was going to be a devilishly good time, but nothing could’ve prepared any of us for that murderous energy. And there’s only two of them!
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Spirit Possession play a raw, thrashy style of black metal that’s the perfect soundtrack for all manner of debauchery. Known only by their pseudonymous letters of “A” (drums/synth) and “S” (guitar/vocals), both were adorned in corpse paint, and both maintained that blasphemous swagger that only exists in black metal. Spirit Possession’s entire set was dark, fast, and had the crowd banging their heads from start to finish. It was a helluva party.
ULCERATE
Now it was time for the heavy hitters in Ulcerate to rule over these lands that Spirit Possession had laid waste to. Traveling all the way from New Zealand, this extreme metal trio put on a clinic. Playing almost exclusively from their two most recent full-lengths, Stare into Death and Be Still and Cutting the Throat of God, Ulcerate played for well over an hour and maintained absolute precision the entire time. There are a number of other tech-death bands I’ve seen live who were incredibly tight, but none of them were a three-piece.
On guitar, Michael was unreal. As a guitar player myself, I was in utter awe of the absurd skill he possessed playing those complex progressions and sustained tremolo picking over the entire set. Best of the best, he is. But then Paul’s slugging out those same arrangements on his bass guitar, while also ravaging our ears with his brutal impassioned growls. And Jamie on drums. I used a simplistic description because I really don’t know how he does this. Ulcerate’s avante-garde style with wild time signatures and death metal speed shouldn’t be humanly possible. He is not of this world.
Ulcerate’s unreal performance in Michigan was the second-to-last stop of their United States dates for the “Through Ashen Hearts” tour, and are onto Latin America next. I’m so thankful to them for putting in the work to not only write such incredibly intricate death metal, but also flawlessly performing it for a packed dark room full of strangers halfway across the world. Also, go listen to Spirit Possession and bang your head till you pass out. And once asleep, may Fell Ruin haunt your slumber.
NO AI WAS USED FOR ANY OF THIS COVERAGE. A HUMAN BEING USED THEIR OWN BRAIN
Follow @porousphoto on Instagram to see more photos from the show.
Biography: Porous has been possessed by heavy music for the vast majority of his life. For a good chunk of it, that love was exorcised by playing metal, punk, and hardcore with other musicians. Nowadays Porous writes/records music mostly on his own, but engages with the community by supporting/encouraging other artists, and one of those ways is through writing! In early 2025 he joined MoshPitNation to contribute album/show reviews, concert photography, and hopefully an infectious love for metal, punk, and hardcore. For more photography, visit his digital portfolio.
