Always the ones to keep us guessing, Ulver's new disc is certainly a huge departure from their previous works, and if you look at their releases in a linear fashion, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were 2 entirely different bands. Their debut, the fabulous "Bergatt:..." was an epic slab of battlecharged blackmetal, tinged with the Benedictine vocals of the now ubiquitous, Garm. The follow up, was a synth/accoustic outing, highlighting Ulver's versatility.
And on to "Nattens Madrigal- Natte Hymne Til I Wanden". Everyone I spoke to about the pending release of this album, suggested a cross between the debut CD, and the stellar hymns of Arcturus, something I also resigned to. How wrong they/we were. Recorded in some forest on a shitty 4-track recorder this is probably the harshest, rawest slab of...(whatever CDs are made of) i've ever heard. The songwriting is quite epic and harmonic, but in delivery Ulver have taken accoustic beauty and absolutely RAPED it, with pigdog aggression and blackmetal. And to top it off, Garm has left his monk-costume in the Arcturus-rockstar dressing room, just beside Hellhammer's leather jacket. Blackmetal vox, all the way. Hand the man a pack of throaties.
Think regression, think "Transilvanian Hunger" (Darkthrone, the gods), think Fimbulwinter (which featured now-members of Ulver). Perverse. Evil. The way blackmetal was meant to be. With so many bands taking it upon themselves to hash together black and death metals, its refreshing to see someone take a stand.
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