Depeche Mode's "Ultra" turns 25

Hands down, "Ultra" is the most underrated and underappreciated DEPECHE MODE-record ever. It clearly stands in the shadow of its predecessor "Songs of Faith and Devotion", still it's easily among my Top 4 favourite records of these legends. I loved this phase of the band, the dark atmosphere, the gritty instrumentation, the clash of Electronica/Synths and Rock-influences...

The indications prior to the recording couldn't be any worse. Alan Wilder left the band by 1995, while Dave Gahan was fucked up on drugs, finally entering rehab in 1996. As a result Martin Gore was the one to write all the "Ultra"-songs, but it mainly was a chore to record them, as the band was once again on the verge of disbanding. Somehow they pulled through and the result was amazing. 

To fully cherish the quality of "Ultra" you probably gotta be a lover of the band. In direct competition to "Violator" and "Songs of Faith and Devotion" there are way less bangers on here. Sure, you get "Barrel of a Gun", "It's no Good" and "Useless", but it's nowhere near the density of hits present on the two albums prior to it. "Ultra" is an album of contrast, with some gritty, Rock-infused tracks, some Electro-Instrumentals and a lot of mellow, introspective cuts. It's a ballsy album aswell, cause there's definitely some experimentation there. The songs are often drawn out and slowly progressing, and not all too catchy. It's nothing you'd listen to every day, and nothing you'd listen to incidentially. If you give 'em your attention though, it will reward you nonetheless, cause there are some cool moments in nearly every song.

"Ultra" is a two-sided affair. While the first half is pretty much on par with "Songs of Faith and Devotion", the second half is more calmed down and unspectacular at first glance. Cuts like "Sister of Night", "Freestate" and "Insight" need some time to grow on you, but they're worth its growing-time. The first half is where it's really at, in terms of classics. The opener "Barrel of a Gun" might just be my all-time favourite MODE-track, while the beautiful "Home" is my favourite Gore-sung track up to this point. "The Love Thieves" is more subconscious, while "It's no Good" & "Useless" are catchy as fuck. 

"Ultra" is nomen est omen, as it's THE ultimate album when it comes to representing all the sides and qualities of DEPECHE MODE. There are bits of the 80s and 90s in this, pieces of New Wave/Synt-Pop as well as some Alt-Rock-tendencies. There are some mega hits on one hand, and long, introspective tracks on the other hand. And there's a cool and gloomy atmosphere covering everything that's going on. "Ultra" has "DEPECHE MODE" written all over it and that's probably the best thing you could say about it...