The Trolsk Sortmetall: 1993-1997 box set compiles all of the early releases from Ulver during their black metal period. I've owned the previous versions of all four of these for a long time. The purpose of this review is to analyze the quality of the remastered material and is primarily intended as a reference for people who are already familiar with these albums.
The remasters of Vargnatt, Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and the Nattens Madrigal - 4 Track Rehearsal, Summer 1995 demo tape were done by Jaime Gomez Arrellano. The remaster of Nattens Madrigal was done by Tom Kvålsvoll.
The version of Vargnatt included is not extremely different from the 2009 Kyrck Productions & Armour CD remaster, which I think is a testament to Kyrck's quality considering that this remaster was done on Century Media's bank roll.
The Bergtatt remaster is not substantially different from the original master, but it features a more full sound due to the advances in digital music. The original album is one of the best examples of excellent recording and mixing in 1990s Norwegian black metal, but this one manages to sound even better. The improved sound quality caters to the dynamic arrangements on this album.
Kveldssanger is actually my favorite album by Ulver, and I have to admit that I had some reservations about this remaster. Fortunately, this remaster is much like that of Bergtatt and just improves on what was already there, rather than trying to change it. The new remaster enhances the intimate atmosphere of the acoustic folk performances on this album. It also features a bonus track.
Nattens Madrigal is an album with notorious production quality, although I've always felt that its rawness was overstated. This remaster doesn't do away with the "grimness of sound" that makes the original album what it was. Like the original version, the instruments are actually quite discernable, including the bass. This album retains the qualities that made it stand out in the first place, but loses some of the tinny sound typical of earlier CDs.
There is also bonus disc featuring an instrumental demo of songs from Nattens Madrigal included with this box set. This is unreleased material, so I have no basis of comparison for it. The songs are not substantially different from the final versions that would appear on the album.
This box set also comes with a 104-page book containing interviews, background information on the albums, translations and archival photos of the band from this era.
