Ulver Help Needed

[General Zod]

I know very little about this band. What I have heard is, their catalogue is very varied. To that end, it may be tough for someone to point me to their definitive work. However, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to which of their discs represents a good starting point, or one that is widely considered their finest. Thanks.

GZ

 

[Papa Josh]

I know very little about this band. What I have heard is, their catalogue is very varied. To that end, it may be tough for someone to point me to their definitive work. However, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to which of their discs represents a good starting point, or one that is widely considered their finest. Thanks.

GZ

I hope this helps

Bergtatt, Kveld..., and Nattens Madrigal are a trilogy. The first is one of my faves (folkish black metal), the 2nd is completely acoustic, no drums. The third is very harsh, cold black metal, but FULL of emotion.

Themes From William Blake is a mindfuck, especially for those of us who were listening to Ulver early on! Electronic.... I'm sure someone out there will care to elaborate!

Metamorphosis- a stopgap EP, continuing in the Blake path.

Perdition City- one of their best moments. Electronic, but much more subdued and atmospheric.

The Silence EPs are soundscapes, experiments, etc.

The last two releases have been soundtracks, very cool ambient stuff.

Oops... I'm stoned, A Quick Fix.. came out between the two soundtracks, features Garm singing again!!

1st Decade in the Machines- ugh... headache techno remix crap...

 

[Nate The Great]

I think a lot of people would agree that Bergtatt is the MUST OWN album from Ulver. I'd highly recommend the entire trilogy, though.

 

[Demonspell]

I'd recommend Perdition City and Bergtatt to start out with, the rest of the catalogue navigate at your own risk, although if you end up liking the former the rest of the electronic material shouldn't be too imposing...

 

[NAD]

Great thread from awhile back:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88264&highlight=perdition

I started where it all began with Bergtatt, I would recommend the same, or Perdition City if you're going for their electronic days.

 

[Black Winter Day]

Themes... is a great and (somewhat) underrated album

but the trilogy is MUST OWN

 

[JayKeeley]

I think Kveldssanger has some of the most beautiful music I've heard. Currently it's my favourite from the trilogy, but then I generally like the neo-folk genre. The song "halling" is such a great little instrumental - it reminds me of my daughter.

 

[General Zod]

Thanks for all the great info. Would Enslaved's "Below the Lights" be considered Folkish Black Death? Because I'm struggling to hear the musical value in that. I think perhaps "Kveldssanger" would be a better place for me to start, given that my taste for the more extreme is still in it's developmental stages. Thanks.

GZ

 

[J.]

No, Below the Lights is considered progressive black metal (if there is such a thing).

Kveldssanger is not metal at all (except maybe in lyric, which is in Norwegian I believe, so I can't understand it anyway). But it is a beautiful album. If you're trying to get into a little more extreme stuff, try Bergtatt, as mentioned before.

Othere bands that may interest you: Primordial, Cruachan (their first album is great folky black metal), Falkenbach, and if you feel real brave, try Summoning

 

[JayKeeley]

The question is then, Zod, are you trying to delve deeper into neo-folk metal or are you specifically interested in Ulver? You see, after the trilogy, the neo-folk tag can pretty much be dropped for Ulver. What are your thoughts on electronica/soundtracks/triphop/ambience etc?

 

[General Zod]

Dreamlord & Jay,

I'm not necessarily trying to delve deeper into any one genre. I've been trying to cultivate an appreciation for some of the more extreme music that is raved about on this board. Some of the glowing reviews leave me curious to hear what others hear. Which, in my eyes, is no different than acquiring an appreciation for single-malt scotches, full-bodied beers, fine red wine or one of my true passions, cigars.

My curiosity in those things Ulver, comes from constantly seeing the banner for the EP on this site, as well as from a thread I saw on another board.

I thought I had heard Enslaved described in a manner similar to the way someone described Ulver, which is why I asked if they were genre mates.

Thanks again.

GZ

 

[Nate The Great]

Bergtatt

 

[Papa Josh]

Yes sir.

 

[NAD]

Bergtatt

Yes sir.

 

[Papa Josh]

The Power Of Peer Pressure.

 

[Nate The Great]

You WILL buy Bergtatt!

 

[Erik]

Bergtatt. Or else.

 

[Lutz]

Buy Bergtatt.

 

[Demonspell]

Enslaved is something different entirely...progressive viking metal would be my best possible description for their most recent releases...

 

[GONETribalchemy]

Sometimes music is more effective than 1000 words,
so, there's a link with vast amount of Ulver here > http://www.musikkonline.no