ULVER

Dear Tore, one day we'll float together.

It is not easy for me to define what Ulver's music is, but at least I am sure of one thing, that they are/have been/were free to explore their creativity with no boundaries at all.

And yeah, in my musical (and emotional) soundtrack Ulver has made a deep impact in the last years, and I am sure its importance will prevail until I reach eternity. That impact was developed by the band's colorful palette of sounds, which might be ironic because most of their atmospheres lie in a gray scale, however, though Kristoffer Rygg's iconic voice command the ship, this multifaceted project has been capable of reinventing themselves over the years, so through their discography concepts such as folk, black metal, drone, electronica, prog rock, ambient, trip- hop, avant-garde or even pop, have fulfilled our senses.

In the second decade of 00s this band of wolves started to release some music recorded live in concerts, some of which were actual compositions, some others improvisations, but most of them were re-worked on studio, which helped the band and the involved engineers make some improvements and deliver releases with the highest quality. One of those records is this entitled 'Hexahedron' which features a one-hour non-stop concert permormed by Ulver back in 2018, divided in five pieces where, of course, they offer a mixture of sounds, emotions and atmospheres.

With the first track 'Enter the Void' the experience might be multidimensional, one can listen to it with eyes closed and feel a lot of things, and though the drone music is what prevails here, the effect is not necessary dark, it might also be celestial, bright, foggy, uncertain, profound and indefinite, all at different moments but all at the same time. Fifteen minutes of a cathartic atmospheric trip that, all of a sudden, morphs into quite catchier and friendlier sounds, meaning we are already listening to 'Aeon Blue', an 11-minute episode where an 80s feeling with some new-age nuances, electronic winks and endless keyboard layers rule. Rumors say that this tune was a preview of what the band's upcoming sound would be, which was materialized in 2020 under the name of 'Flowers of Evil', an album some of my friends and I love.

'Bounty Hunter' is like music for a silent film, I don't know but sci-fi would suit the best. The first part has some softcguitar distortion and a feeling of uncertainty. Then after three minutes the rhythm and the path become clearer, some synthesizers a la new wave, with great and delicate drums and percussion that add a richness of figures and textures that will make your move your head and enjoy the ride. Then it becomes gentler, I love the soft bass lines while keyboards produce some new age atmospheres, taking us into a trip through different universes until it fades out.

OMG, after just a split second of silence the band take us to another universe with 'A Fearful Symmetry' whose danceable rhythm I am sure led some attendants to stand up and shake their bodies a little bit. The bass sound is so addictive, but I really love the percussion, quite delicious here. After four minutes in this track (and after 38 minutes in that performance) the vocals appear for the first time, and yeah, since the very first time I listened to this live record I immediately recognized the rhythm and lyrics, because people at that show (2018) didn't know, but this part would be released in 2020 under the title of 'Little Boy', one of the singles of the above-mentioned and acclaimed Flowers of Evil.

The last part is a long one, 19 minutes of 'The Long Way Home', which makes me question myself about what to consider home, a place, a feeling, a utopia? Well, this track represents another contrast in their music, because after that dancing moment, the obscurity returns here in so many forms, we can find it in forms of folk, trip-hop, experimental music, noise and a long etc. Listening to this experience make me envious of the audience, because it is evident that there is a trance full of cathartic moments in a performance where the sounds were not the only important elements, I am sure the visual production was carefully chosen, as well as the venue, in order to offer a multisensorial and I have no doubt at all, an unforgettable memory.

I feel sad, yeah, I would have loved to see them onstage once in this life, and though I ignore Kriss' decisions regarding Ulver's fate, we can deny that part of their essence has just left this world and hopefully, entered to a brighter one.

Ulver is not only music, is art, and I think we should embrace these words by our beloved Tore Ylwizaker: "doing whatever we want, not knowing what it's supposed to become or where it will end up."

Good to know their heaviness and rockability back to themselves. The previous studio-based work "Scary Muzak" possesses "dreamy but scary muzakish electronika" but this live album, on the contrary to that, is filled with a slightly post-y but fully heavy-crossover atmosphere that we can easily get familiar with (except the epilogue "Coming Home"). Guess it would have been better for the audience to accept their soundscape especially on stage in a natural and smooth manner, and even if this soundscape was launched 5 or 6 years ago, it is worthy for ULVER to release such a heavy live material as an official album. And the live performance was held just after one of their landmark albums "The Assassination Of Julius Caesar" and an ep "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" were out in 2017. "Grieghallen 20180528" symbolizes they should cherish and treasure their creativity in those days. Sounds pretty fantastic and pleasant for us.

Anyway "Grieghallen 20180528" consists of the songs in the two albums mentioned above, but their performances on the stage sound more qualified and straightforward than the two underlying creations. No dissonant effect nor quirky processing is needed in a venue but a sense of unity or affinity developed between performers and the audience should be important and essential. From the prologue "Nemoralia", we can feel such a rigid solidarity amongst their sound launches featuring fundamental rock instrumentals and additional synthesizers or electronics. The epilogue "Coming Home", much longer than the original one, is drenched in drastic post-rock, psychedelic texture, improvisational shoegaze-y development, melodic rhythmic flexibility, and especially infatuation around the audience. Cannot help listening carefully to the serious movement until the end of the track. We will be immersed in their real rock performance in 2018, for sure.

"Perdition City: Music To An Interior Film" is the 5th full-length studio album by Norwegian music act Ulver. The album was released through Jester Records in March 2000. It´s the successor to "Themes From William Blake's The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell" from 1998, although the two full-length albums are bridged by the 1999 "Metamorphosis" EP.

The "Metamorphosis (1999)" EP is important to mention here, as it marked a significant stylistic change for Ulver being an experimental electronic music release. "Perdition City: Music To An Interior Film" continues down the same electronic music path (although much more structured and featuring more memorable moments), featuring an experimental, ambient, and atmospheric electronic music style. There´s an Angelo Badalamenti (composer of the soundtrack for the Twin Peaks tv-series) influence here, when it gets most lounge jazzy, but combined with a dark, melancholic urban atmosphere. The subtitle to the album "Music To An Interior Film" is a very accurate way of describing the music and its impact on the listener. It is the type of music which creates cinematic images of dark, rainy urban environments, sleazy back alleys, and noir type settings.

The music is predominantly instrumental, but does on occasion feature subtle melancholic male vocals, which reminds me a bit of the most quiet vocal parts on the latter day Talk Talk/Mark Hollis albums (and sometimes "like on the opening minutes of "Hallways Of Always"" appear a bit more mainstream accessible). There are also some female vocals on the album, but they are even more sparse. Saxophone is used on opening track "Lost In Moments" and on "Dead City Centres", and to great effect. The sound of the saxophone creates a feeling of desolation, isolation, and longing for companionship in the decayed urban atmosphere created by Ulver.

"Perdition City: Music To An Interior Film" features a well sounding electronic oriented sound production filled with programmed drums, synths, piano, bleeps and bloops, samples, and other effects. Upon conclusion Ulver have created an intriguing, dark, and melancholic electronic music album, which at times may drag a bit too much while building atmosphere (tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows", "We Are The Dead"), and "Dead City Centres"), but other times shine quite a bit with great atmospheric moments of gloomy cinematic beauty. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Ulver's spookfest? 2021's 'Scary Muzak' is a surprise album by the Norwegian electronic and art rock band, essentially a pretend-soundtrack/score, posing as a celebration of the band members' love for the horror movie genre and the Halloween spirit - all good, but this recording could briefly be disregarded as a boring collection of spooky tunes, scooped up after an unsuccessful Halloween teen party. Well, there might have been a slice of exaggeration here, but the truth is that this so-called studio album is uneventful, absolutely forgettable, unimpressive and quickly tiresome, with all of its dry and already-heard instrumentals (they make them the same in every scary movie).

Moreover, it is a fabulous disappointment if we take it as the follow-up to the previous two synthpop releases by the band, 'Flowers of Evil' and 'The Assassination' - while 'Scary Muzak' might have some glimpses of these aforementioned release, it is the very pale, much weaker and severely less entertaining brother of theirs, and while this one tends to fit the synthwave label more, the fact that it fails to keep the listener attentive is a certain sign that something is wrong. I imagine that if this was to be reduced almost half in length and released as an EP, it might have been received better. Some of the songs are fine, but most of 'Scary Muzak' is just filler and really sounds like leftovers from previous recording sessions.

'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' from 2017 is the eleventh studio album by one of Norway's most exciting musical shapeshifters, Ulver, one of the many bands hailing from the northern country that fits quite impressively the progressive tag, as they have tried everything from grotesque black metal with doomy musical collages, to experimental and ambient art rock, to pure-hearted synthpop, full of gay but occasionally grim layers of electronic sounds. This specific album in question marks the band's shift to the aforementioned synthpop allure of band leader Kristoffer Rygg, but in reality, the record combines textures of dance music, electronica, darkwave, and eventually electropop.

The dark tone is perhaps quite well depicted by the slightly obscene cover art, depicting a fragment of the ingenious marble sculpture of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 'Ratto di Proserpina' (or 'The Rape of Proserpina'), and the religious and mythological topics will be further touched upon in the songs themselves. As for the sounding of this very interesting record, it has to be said that 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' is an absolutely brilliant and comprehensive release, one of the most well-written and even better performed art rock/synthpop song collections I have ever heard - from the very beginning the soft and nurturing nuances of the electronic soundscapes shelter the listener and allow him to peacefully embark on a sonic journey through the vast worlds of the various programming and electronic sonic paintings, aided by some great drumming and percussions, some occasional guitars, and a surprising but sincerely welcome saxophone part in one of the songs.

The album is kicked off by the energetic 'Nemoralia', a fantastic album opener and a very well-constructed song, impressing mostly with the catchiness intertwined with the depth of the lyrical content and the beauty of all the sounds working together. Same compliment goes to track two, the nearly 10-minute long 'Rolling Stone', the song that could be thought to be the big winner on this 2017 Ulver release, with the female vocals adding an especially gracious touch to the already-excellent electronic composition. 'So Falls the World' is more soothing, allowing the listener to unwind a bit after the exaltations of the previous track, while 'Southern Gothic' sweeps him away once again, with its heavier approach. It is evident that so far the focus of this record are (while this may not be as explicit at first) the stories that are being told. Track five is 'Angelus Novus', a more ambient piece, reminiscing quite distantly 'So Falls the World'. 'Transverberation' is to me the Depeche Mode moment of Rygg, and more specifically, his Martin Gore impersonation, even vocally, while '1969' is more dramatic and has a slightly romantic touch to the way it unfolds. Finally, there is the 8-minute 'Coming Home': this one is simply peculiar but tremendously enjoyable.

Excellent really, a very enjoyable release from the first glimpses of 'Nemoralia' until the final seconds of 'Coming Home', Ulver have definitely achieved something special with 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' - this album is full of satiating soundscapes, intricate arrangements, lovely vocals, and dreamy episodes, and is above all, quite far away from the generic, sample synthpop record, whose capabilities have been abused (and compressed) by the more mainstream artists of nowadays - this album, contrariwise, is simultaneously a proposal for the seeking listener and a presentation of what the music could sound like and where the genre could have gone, and how much depth you can fill in some 43 minutes of time.

'Flowers of Evil' is the twelfth studio album by black metal-turned-synthpop Norwegian band Ulver, a rock act in their essence, but a very unpredictable musical outfit in reality. This 2020 release is a very straightforward synthpop album, a pretty classic-style track list, consisting of just eight tracks spanning across some thirty-eight minutes of playtime, with the average song length being around the 4-minute mark. It is all very accessible but also very interesting and entertaining, as this album sounds quite murky and melancholic, with some moments of strong 'Black Celebration'-era Depeche Mode resemblance. This record, however, is overall less diverse in terms of sounds and moods, as all the songs almost strictly follow the same pattern, if you will, focusing on slow build-ups, lots of layers of synth sounds, warm male vocals, and introspective & introverted lyricism.

The main mastermind behind the music is band leader Kristoffer Rygg, handling all the vocals and some programming on 'Flowers of Evil', also writing the lyrics to the tracks, while there is a cast of other musicians, almost all Norwegians, playing anything from keyboards, electronics, percussions, bass guitars, violins, drums, bagpipes and what have you, to some satisfying and enthralling results. The depth of some of the songs is pretty impressive, as I can firmly state that this album proposes some of the most convincing electronic and art rock-tinted-synthpop compositions of this century; These would, of course, include 'Russian Doll', a more mellow, darker number, with an addictive chorus and some memorable lyrics, 'Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers', a more upbeat one, with its very attractive pulsating soundscapes as well as the great songwriting, 'Apocalypse 1993', an almost EDM-vibe penetrates this pretty decent track, and 'A Thousand Cuts', the album closer and probably the most emotive of all the songs. The rest of the record is more generic and quite forgettable, especially when compared to these highlight tracks mentioned just a smidgeon ago.

'Flowers of Evil' is certainly a very modern-sounding, honest and intelligent collection of songs, all falling under the synthpop (and maybe even darkwave) umbrella, as Ulver take a further step away from their rock and metal roots - the end result: entertaining, occasionally thrilling, sometimes a bit boring, but pretty good when looked at as a whole and when looked at as a two-sided classic format album. However, I cannot help but convince myself that the covert art gives a promise for a much better, far more sinister and deeply-touching LP, and the reality is not necessarily fitting this tiny description.

ULVER continues to be Norway's greatest shapeshifters having released material that is as diverse as black metal, dark folk and progressive avant-garde post industrial metal to ambient electronic and even synthpop. Well here's another one for the resume. Released on Halloween of 2021, ULVER has unleashed its first horror synth album that mixes progressive electronic and synthwave to celebrate the holiday cheer. Creepy and suspenseful and filled with dark ominous tones and timbres, SCARY MUZAK is definitely not where anybody could've predicted this band would go!

This album is more than just scary music for the Halloween holiday's sake but is a reinterpretation of John Carpenter's soundtrack music for the film. To be more accurate, SCARY MUZAK features five covers of classic soundtrack works of JC with the remaining seven tracks originals inspired by those pieces and put into the context of scary synthesizer sounds. Somewhat in the vein of Buckethead's countdown to Halloween marathon in 2015 but sounding more like the scary soundtrack music of the Italian proggers Goblin except ULVER jettisons all rock aspects altogether.

ULVER has had a somewhat fluid lineup over its 30 years of history. This album features the quartet of Ole Alexander Halstensgård (electronics), Kristoffer Rygg (percussion), Tore Ylwizaker (synthesizer) and Stian Westerhus (guitar) although i can't say i hear much guitar taking place so i guess that they are probably processed beyond recognition. The music while mostly electronically based on synthesizers flows a lot like a classical music score with tones and timbres gliding in and out of aural range along with drones, electronic drumbeats, oscillations, pitch slides and other cool electronic accoutrements.

The gist is a beefy bass groove, some strange upper range weirdness and a scary treble keyboard riff which is what sounds the most like the world of Goblin. The percussive drive is varied with some moments feeling tribal and others feeling a bit robotic. The tracks are fairly short and to the point with none exceeding the five minute mark. The album while not a soundtrack score per se certainly does evoke the sense of being one and it's not unfathomable that these tracks would somehow be used in that manner.

While certainly amusing and well executed, the problem with this album is that it does not really convey the scariness of the Halloween holiday however even if the whole point was to emulate the Halloween film's soundtrack, it all seems a bit pointless as the album sounds as if it exists in the world of the Italian film soundtrack powerhouse Goblin. In other words ULVER hasn't found its own niche in crafting this sort of musical mosaic and therefore it sounds rather derivative of the Goblin universe with a particular feel of "Suspiria." Not bad but not exactly what scratches my itch if i have the urge to check out this style of synthesized electronica. What's next ULVER? Marching band renditions of classic ABBA songs? Why the hell not?!!!

Dreamy but scary electronika, and ULVER's spirit and intention for experimentalism are still alive, under such a pandemic situation. Their latest album "Scary Muzak" has another subtitle "Pandemic Pastime Project" which would mean all Ulverians enjoyed playing and recording the material for this creation 'virtually', I guess. Like scary background music via the air, time dominated by coronavirus goes forward slowly. We are afraid whether we could see the light in near future, but it sounds like they would mention we should never give up under such a dark circumstance ... by the words "Pandemic Pastime" and their gloomy but flowery opus. Although this creation cannot'be called as progressive rock, their strongly positive attitude for creativity should be heard. In addition, we could feel their energy to bring a happy life back directly via it.

As mentioned above, we cannot hear any 'rock' element but kinda electronic / ambient features through this album. The first shot "Aleen Howl" is a good example. Repetitive phrases constructed with synthesizers sound a bit critical, and stereotyped rhythmic vibes are inorganic but mystically addictive. Good to hear some powerful beats too. "Genet Nightingale" makes us impatient with the current tough situation, maybe like themselves. On the contrary, the following track "Addi Fled Hon" sounds more hopeful and thankful, the last scene is slightly tragic though. In "Club Fuego" we can enjoy dramatic, theatrical movements produced with beautiful, atmospheric keyboard plays. It's well understood that they would elaborate this album fully with cooped-up feelings and resistance against the feelings. Easily imagined they have sometimes got addicted to electronic pop upon the production. We the audience can find out the essence ... that's why such a scary muzak sounds somewhat enjoyable and delightful. Not progressive nor rock-ish but fascinating nonetheless.

Our blood is boiling and muscle is moving in a lively manner. ULVER's "Blood Inside" released in 2005 lets us know what they would like to do in this album and how they should pass on their soundscape for us via this creation. Tough for us to classify this stuff which involves full of experimental, post, post-metal, electronic, classical, or diverse essence (and which subgenre they should belong to is under discussion even currently, how interesting), but who cares ... no suspicion this album is fascinating and innovative in the sense that we can enjoy various, colourful musical elements. Let me claim this is not so-called progressive rock, because they obviously launched their original, creative messages through "Blood Inside" that vibrate our brain continuously all through the exhibition.

The first "Dressed In Black" proposes dark electronika in the very beginning. Heavy, depressive instrumental works plus rough voices and chilling chorus knocks us completely out. Such a procession they shoot here sounds more of experimental metal and stimulates our progressive mind into activity. The last congestion of ambience and complicated piano deliveries is also enchanting. The following "For The Love Of God" is another crazy ****ing one filled with deepness, weirdness and calmness. Their repetitive hallucinogenic sound elaboration reminds us of some leaning towards a kind of Kraut-ish construction, but we can feel coolness via the coarse desert segments deeply in it. In "Christmas" apparent sarcastic delights and critical moments both can be enjoyed. Wondering what they want to tell the audience in the middle part, where rough darkness is dominant. On the contrary, the last phase sounds fantastic, beautiful but simultaneously disquieting. Such a complex unification of sound should be their strong intention and attitude for creativity. Surprisingly "Blinded By Blood" is pretty simple and mystic.

One of my favourite tracks "It Is Not Sound" is another controversial creation indeed, featuring J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue BWV 565, but it's a good point that they incredibly digest and sublimate this renowned gem. Sorry I cannot stress so confidently but their heavy experimentalism goes forward along with such an ultimate classical masterpiece. The former kaleidoscopic metallic sound bullets are also impressive. Any similarity to one of pop / psych rock / chorus giants The Beach Boys can be heard via "The Truth"? Maybe I'm incorrect but I cannot help feeling like that. What a wondrous truth. The most avantgarde, experimental journey can be touched in the sixth track "In The Red" possessing jazzily atmospheric procedures in the latter part. Such a diversity like this can tell us their profound musicality. "Your Call" where ringing sounds are quite effective is postic and introverted. Dry-fruity, improvised violin playings also ring our bell, and eccentric quietness is going to be followed by a loud, tough situation - the epilogue "Operator", the quirkiest, most violent critical hit. Earthy, unrefined sound collective should be another appearance of theirs. Good to know we cannot breathe until the end of this album.

Anyway at last, please let me appreciate many discussers for ULVER.

Listening diary 11th February, 2021: Ulver - Kveldssanger (dark folk, 1996)

It's undeniably pretty, but up until now it's really just gone in one ear and out the other for me. Perhaps that's something to be celebrated with what is ultimately a mood piece, because it does cast a beautifully melancholic and wistful aura over whatever scene it graces, even if it doesn't make much of an imprint. From a stylistic perspective, it's also another outstanding genre shift from one of the finest of them all for changing sounds - the fact that they never returned to this sound really does show how sucessfully they achieved their goal of a folk piece with a particular atmosphere. Time will tell if this grows on me further, but for now it's nice to relax to.

6.6 (3rd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction