Ultra (studio album) by Depeche Mode

From santropez 04/15/2019 23:34

Favourite track: "Barrel Of A Gun"
Least-liked track: "Junior Painkiller"

Compared to the inevitable "Violator", "Ultra" offers only a few good songs. It all starts very well with "Barrel of a Gunn" but after track 1 "Ultra" unfortunately gets annoying. The melodies and the production are not bad, but they are absolutely unable to get me interested. A pity, because I love the darkness and sharp edge that DM chose in his best days as the starting point for unforgettable songs such as "Personal Jesus". "Barrel of a Gun" is, in my opinion, also the track that has been worked the hardest, and that hard work makes the song particularly exciting. Some of the components that scream here for the attention of the listener are the riff of the electric guitar dueling with the utterly expressive vocals of Gahan (who, if you believe the rumors and interviews, should actually have been dead), propelled by a nice pumping rhythm, the very well placed intervention of the humming choir etc.. DM has come to lean on "Industrial" but it is nice to see that the band retains its individuality (The same can be said of Gary Numan: praised by Trent Reznor of NIN because of being so very influential, but carefully seeking its own way without any plagiarism. The track "Home" sung by Gore is a favorite song for many fans. I certainly don't count myself in but "Home" is certainly relevant and has a handsome, somewhat daring vocal line and beautiful arrangements (violins cutting their way through the outro). Uselink is the kind of filler that can fascinate. In my opinion Gore would effortlessly succeed in composing strong soundtracks. But we cannot get further with that idea. Painful conclusion: only a few tracks rise above mediocrity, and that is definitely not enough for DM. I fear that Violator will never be matched.

Ultra lacks a pulsating theme musically or instrumentally, the album exists but it rarely rewards.

From Goliath 03/20/2018 13:22

This album is in my top 20, seriously underrated.....

Depeche Mode head towards a more ambient sound. It's a good album, but I do think that the peak years(1987-1993)were now behind them. As ever though the singles released from, ultra, are excellent, barrel of a gun, is brilliant, as is, it's no good, and, home. Depeche Mode were always a brilliant singles band, but as for the album, after the first third, the record starts to fizzle out and by the last tracks has completely run out of steam. A fairly good album then, but certainly not their best.

From serpico 08/06/2015 16:08

Para los que somos fans, o mejor dicho, devotos de Depeche Mode, cada álbum es una joya, no importa la etapa, aunque he de admitir que Ultra tiene un aura especial debido al entorno en que se gestó. Después de la salida de Alan Wilder y la caída al infierno de Dave Gahan y los problemas de alcoholismo de Martin Gore, surgió esta joya de claroscuros, al mismo tiempo esperanzador pero también decadente y creo que ahí es donde radica su belleza. Sin dudas pienso que este es uno de los mejores discos de DM. Contiene algunas de sus mejores canciones como It's No Good y Home, grandes temas instrumentales, buenos arreglos de cuerdas, Dave Gahan tomó clases de canto por primera vez en su vida para este álbum y suena estupendamente, también hay un mayor protagonismo de guitarras. Todas las canciones tienen un aura de noctambulismo y tragedia, pero también de amor y redención, al mismo tiempo hay un poco de reproche hacía Alan en la canción Useless. Este disco marca el inicio de la nueva era de Depeche Mode como trío nuevamente y probablemente se trate de su último gran disco, aunque Playing The Angel podría disputarse ese honor. Gran y clásico álbum.

Great album. It's No Good is the best song here.

From Bach 10/06/2013 21:16

Another very good album by DM.
Best tracks: Home, Useless, Barrel of a Gun, Sister of Night.

From lightmyway 05/08/2012 07:56

A really dark and powerful album, and another very good one by them. I love Depeche Mode. This was their last album that really did it for me though.

Dark electronics mixed with guitar rifts and even some orchestral strings. This was Depeche Mode's finest and most varied album which feels gothic at times.