Ulver
Encyclopedia
Ulver is a musical group from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 release entitled Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler (1995), Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres such as rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....

, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

, symphonic and chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 traditions, noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...

 and experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 into their oeuvre, but with a heavy reliance on electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 recording techniques.

Black Metal Trilogy

Although Ulver’s first three albums are often called their “Black Metal Trilogie”, they are quite different in style, with only two of them belonging at all to the black metal genre. The archaic Dano-Norwegian lyrics were inspired by Baroque poets such as Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

 and the hymn-writer Thomas Kingo. The themes of the lyrics were greatly influenced by Scandinavian folktales
Scandinavian folklore
Scandinavian folklore is the folklore of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Swedish speaking parts of Finland.Collecting folklore began when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden sent out instructions to all of the priests in all of the parishes to collect the folklore of their area...

.

The album Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler is placed in the folk-themed black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 genre for its occasionally fast tempo, distorted
Distortion (guitar)
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding overtones. The three principal types of distortion effects are overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Distortion effects are sometimes called “gain” effects, as distorted...

 electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

s and croaky screaming vocals
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...

 intermitted with melodious acoustic passages with singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, and for having a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 storyline. The title Bergtatt translates as “taken by the mountains”; in Norwegian folklore the word refers to people who wander off into mountains, lured by troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...

s or other mythic creatures. The narrative of the album’s lyrics follows a maiden as she becomes so mountain-taken. The subtitle translates as “A Tale in 5 Chapters”. Bergtatt features a melancholic, fully acoustical song “Een stemme locker” (“A Voice Beckons”).

Kveldssanger
Kveldssanger
-Credits:*Garm - performer*Håvard Jørgensen - performer*Erik Olivier Lancelot - performer*Alf Gaaskjønli - cello*Kristian Romsøe - co-producer, engineer, mixing*Craig Morris - mastering*Tanya "Nacht" Stene - album cover design...

, Ulver’s second album, contrasts with Bergtatt as it uses classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...

s, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

 and chamber chants, completely eschewing the metal elements of Bergtatt, while still having a folk theme. Garm has since remarked that Kveldssanger was an “immature attempt at making a classical album”, later adding that the performance was immature, yet the content is strong when their youth at the time is taken into account.

The third album, Nattens madrigal (“Madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....

 of the Night”), saw the band returning to a black metal style similar to Bergtatt
Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler
-Credits:*Garm - vocals, lyrics*Håvard Jørgensen - guitar*Torbjørn Pedersen - guitar*Erik Olivier Lancelot - drums*Skoll - bass guitar*Sverd - piano*Lill Kathrine Stensrud - female voice, flute...

. Unlike on Bergtatt, however, the only acoustic instruments appear in a brief interlude in the first track. The album is intentionally underproduced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, akin to Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...

’s Transilvanian Hunger
Transilvanian Hunger
Transilvanian Hunger is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone, released in 1994 through Peaceville Records. It was the band's first album to be recorded with just two members, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, following the departure of Zephyrous...

, with buzzing guitars and rather muffled drums. There are rumors surrounding this album and its recording, the most famous being that the band recorded this album in a forest. A lesser-known rumor is that the band purposely recorded the album on a four-track cassette recorder and used the money that Century Media
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

 gave them for other things, like Armani
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...

 suits, haircuts, cocaine, beer, and/or a new car. When questioned on this matter, Garm only affirmed that the band has expensive tastes.

The Blake album

Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is the fourth album by Norwegian experimental band Ulver. It is a musical setting of William Blake's book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, featuring guest vocals...

, released in 1998, was different from what Ulver had made before. Tore Ylwizaker, a new composer and sound architect, added to Garm’s expanding artistic visions, and together they stepped over the boundaries of black metal aesthetics, creating a genre-defying work. In this album, the musicians blended electronics
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 elements, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

 and avant-garde rock, adding ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

 passages. Lyrically, the album incorporates the entire text of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs. Like his other books, it was published as printed sheets...

, and relies on guest vocals. Despite confounding and perhaps alienating many fans of the band’s first three albums, the album received widespread acclaim from critics within both the rock/metal and alternative music press. For instance, it was reviewed as album of the month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...

, and Rock Hard. It also ranked very high at many year’s best polls that same year.

The metamorphosis

In 1999 the group declared:
Ulver’s next two releases, the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 Metamorphosis and full-length album Perdition City
Perdition City
Perdition City: Music to an Interior Film is the fifth studio album by Norwegian band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Lost in Moments" – 7:16#"Porn Piece or The Scars of Cold Kisses" – 7:09#*2.1 Piece One - 3:58#*2.2 Piece Two - 3:11...

, were even more experimental and pensive than the Blake album. The band moved further away from rock and metal and into a more ethereal style, much like that of Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...

. The use of programmed sound
Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...

 and atmospheric arrangement is dominant here, unlike the previous albums.

Teachings in Silence and soundtracks

The band followed up these two releases with two minimalist
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....

/ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

/glitch
Glitch (music)
Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...

 works Silence Teaches You How to Sing
Silence Teaches You How to Sing
Silence Teaches You How to Sing is an EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

and Silencing the Singing
Silencing the Singing
Silencing the Singing is an EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

. These works featured minimal melodies and often had subtle, weird and unnatural noises within the song structures. Due to their individual rarity, they were later amalgamated as Teachings in Silence
Teachings in Silence
Teachings in Silence is a compilation by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver. It combines the previous two EPs, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing, back-to-back...

.

Having proved their proficiency at making atmospheric music, Ulver were hired to make music for cinema
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 films like Lyckantropen
Lyckantropen
Lyckantropen is a Swedish short film written and directed by Steve Ericsson. It follows a family in a small town that struggles with relationship balance and internal emotional conflicts...

(see Lyckantropen Themes
Lyckantropen Themes
Lyckantropen Themes is the original soundtrack album to the Swedish short film Lyckantropen, composed entirely by Norwegian band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Theme 1" – 1:21#"Theme 2" – 1:37#"Theme 3" – 7:12#"Theme 4" – 2:13#"Theme 5" – 4:48...

), Svidd neger
Svidd neger
Svidd neger is a Norwegian film released in 2003, directed by Erik Smith Meyer and written by Stein Elvestad. Norwegian band Ulver provided the soundtrack. The plot revolves around two families living in a rural part of Norway. The main character is a young black man who wants to be a Sami....

(see Svidd neger (soundtrack)
Svidd neger (soundtrack)
Svidd neger is the original soundtrack album to the Norwegian film Svidd neger, composed entirely by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

), and Uno
Uno (film)
Uno is a 2004 Norwegian drama film, directed by Aksel Hennie, who also stars in the film. The film was hailed by critics, and won Hennie an Amanda Award for Best Director.-Plot:...

.

Second decade in the machines

Since 2003, Ulver graduated into a more symphonic
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 style. They released the EP A Quick Fix of Melancholy
A Quick Fix of Melancholy
A Quick Fix of Melancholy is the fourth studio EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Little Blue Bird" – 6:35#"Doom Sticks" – 4:40#"Vowels" – 6:18; lyrics taken from a lipogram poem of the same name by Christian Bök....

, which kept the minimalist, sparse styles of their previous albums, albeit adding more dramatic and symphonic elements, with various string sounds and operatic vocal styles.

In July 2004, the band had recorded their sixth album, Blood Inside, which was released on June 6, 2005. Bringing back more traditional rock instruments like guitar and acoustic drums, combining them with classical instruments, brass horns, and their rich electronic inventory.

Ulver later joined the drone
Drone metal
Drone metal is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music...

 band Sunn O)))
Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) is an American doom metal band known for its synthesis of diverse genres including drone, ambient, noise, and black metal. Supported by a varying cast of collaborators, the band has two core members: Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson .-History:Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn...

 on a fifteen-minute track which appears on Sunn O)))’s WHITEbox
WHITEbox
-See also:*White1*White2*Live White*Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice...

box set, released in July 2006. Additionally, the trio had announced back in 2002 that they had been working on a string remake of Nattens madrigal
Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden
Nattens madrigal - Aatte hymne til ulven i manden is the third album by Norwegian black metal band Ulver. It is a concept album about a man who, through the efforts of Satan, succumbs to lycanthropy and the beast within...

, but Garm
later stated on the message board of his alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band, Head Control System
Head Control System
Head Control System is a cross-national groove rock/metal band featuring Portuguese Daniel Cardoso and Norwegian Kristoffer Rygg . Head Control System is currently part of North-American The End Records' roster along with bands such as Voivod, The Gathering, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Ulver...

, that the project “is in a state of total dormancy.”

The band’s seventh album Shadows of the Sun
Shadows of the Sun
Shadows of the Sun is the seventh studio album by the Norwegian experimental band Ulver, released on October 1, 2007 in Europe and on October 2 in the United States. The title was announced on July 13, 2007 and the album was described as "low-key, dark and tragic"...

was released on the 1st of October, 2007. Garm described it as “our most personal record to date.”

Changes in line-up

At 2009, on the official Ulver website it was announced that the core three members of Ulver have become four with the addition of British composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan
Daniel O'Sullivan
Daniel O'Sullivan is a multi-instrumentalist/composer from Manchester, England best known for playing in experimental art-rock bands Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Æthenor, Miracle and Mothlite....

. With this line-up a new album album consisting of cover versions of psychedelic music from the 60's was recorded but remains unreleased.

War of The Roses

On 24 November 2010 the band posted on its official website a note that read: «2011 is the future, a Critical Geography, the new album of Ulver. The anthological presentation we've been hiding behind since Lillehammer is history after Warsaw». However, on 12 February 2011 the band presented the song "February MMX" on their Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 page, from the forthcoming album which was now re-named Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses (album)
-Reception:The album received high praise from Sea of Tranquility webzine. Commented reviewer Murat Batmaz: "it amalgamates musical traits from its predecessors while re-shaping them with a more direct approach."-Credits:...

. The Album was made available in Norwegian stores on Friday April 15, 2011, followed by a U.K. Release on April 25 and a U.S. Release on May 3, 2011.

Full lengths

  • Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler (1995)
  • Kveldssanger
    Kveldssanger
    -Credits:*Garm - performer*Håvard Jørgensen - performer*Erik Olivier Lancelot - performer*Alf Gaaskjønli - cello*Kristian Romsøe - co-producer, engineer, mixing*Craig Morris - mastering*Tanya "Nacht" Stene - album cover design...

    (1996)
  • Nattens madrigal – Aatte hymne til ulven i manden (1997)
  • Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
    Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
    Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is the fourth album by Norwegian experimental band Ulver. It is a musical setting of William Blake's book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, featuring guest vocals...

    (1998)
  • Perdition City
    Perdition City
    Perdition City: Music to an Interior Film is the fifth studio album by Norwegian band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Lost in Moments" – 7:16#"Porn Piece or The Scars of Cold Kisses" – 7:09#*2.1 Piece One - 3:58#*2.2 Piece Two - 3:11...

    (2000)
  • Blood Inside (2005)
  • Shadows of the Sun
    Shadows of the Sun
    Shadows of the Sun is the seventh studio album by the Norwegian experimental band Ulver, released on October 1, 2007 in Europe and on October 2 in the United States. The title was announced on July 13, 2007 and the album was described as "low-key, dark and tragic"...

    (2007)
  • Wars of the Roses
    Wars of the Roses (album)
    -Reception:The album received high praise from Sea of Tranquility webzine. Commented reviewer Murat Batmaz: "it amalgamates musical traits from its predecessors while re-shaping them with a more direct approach."-Credits:...

    (2011)

Other releases

  • Rehearsal demo (1993)
  • Vargnatt demo (1993)
  • split EP with Mysticum (1994)
  • The Trilogie – Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde (1998)
  • Metamorphosis EP (1999)
  • Silence Teaches You How to Sing
    Silence Teaches You How to Sing
    Silence Teaches You How to Sing is an EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

    EP (2001)
  • Silencing the Singing
    Silencing the Singing
    Silencing the Singing is an EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

    EP (2001)
  • Teachings in Silence
    Teachings in Silence
    Teachings in Silence is a compilation by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver. It combines the previous two EPs, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing, back-to-back...

    EP (includes both Silence EPs) (2002)
  • Lyckantropen Themes
    Lyckantropen Themes
    Lyckantropen Themes is the original soundtrack album to the Swedish short film Lyckantropen, composed entirely by Norwegian band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Theme 1" – 1:21#"Theme 2" – 1:37#"Theme 3" – 7:12#"Theme 4" – 2:13#"Theme 5" – 4:48...

    (2002)
  • 1993–2003: 1st Decade in the Machines (2003)
  • A Quick Fix of Melancholy
    A Quick Fix of Melancholy
    A Quick Fix of Melancholy is the fourth studio EP by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:#"Little Blue Bird" – 6:35#"Doom Sticks" – 4:40#"Vowels" – 6:18; lyrics taken from a lipogram poem of the same name by Christian Bök....

    EP (2003)
  • Svidd neger
    Svidd neger (soundtrack)
    Svidd neger is the original soundtrack album to the Norwegian film Svidd neger, composed entirely by Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver.-Track listing:...

    soundtrack (2003)
  • My Own Wolf: A New Approach
    My Own Wolf: A New Approach
    My Own Wolf: A New Approach to Ulver is a tribute album to the Norwegian band Ulver. It features twenty-six different artists from around the world covering material from almost every Ulver release, ranging from the demo Vargnatt up through the album Blood Inside. The album was released for free...

    tribute album (2007)
  • Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings
    Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings
    Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings is a compilation album by various neofolk and metal artists. It was released through Prophecy Productions on October 29, 2010...

    compilation, V/A, (2010)

Contributions and guest appearances

  • FeuersturmCentury Media Records
    Century Media Records
    Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

     compilation (1997) – "Soelen gaaer bag aase need"
  • Souvenirs from Hell – compilation (1997) – "Synen"
  • Ablaze CompilationAblaze Magazine compilation (1998) – "Hymn VIII"
  • Lords of Chaos: The History of the OccultLords of Chaos
    Lords of Chaos
    Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground is a book by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind. The book presents itself as a non-fiction account of the early Norwegian black metal scene, with a focus on the string of church burnings and murders that occurred in the country...

     compilation (2002) – often called "(untitled exclusive track)", but in fact it is a rehearsal of "Hymn VI" from Nattens madrigal
    Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden
    Nattens madrigal - Aatte hymne til ulven i manden is the third album by Norwegian black metal band Ulver. It is a concept album about a man who, through the efforts of Satan, succumbs to lycanthropy and the beast within...

  • Frog Remixed and Revisited
    Frog Remixed And Revisited
    Frog Remixed and Revisited is a double remix album by Japanese noise musician Masami Akita, under the name Merzbow. This album contains reworkings of tracks from Merzbow's previous album Frog+ by Merzbow and other artists such as Sunn O))), Boris, Ulver, and House of Low Culture.-Track listing:...

    Merzbow
    Merzbow
    is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...

     remix compilation (2003) – "Denki No Numa (Frog Voice mix)"
  • The Lotus EatersDead Can Dance
    Dead Can Dance
    Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...

     tribute compilation (2004) – "In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings"
  • Uno
    Uno (film)
    Uno is a 2004 Norwegian drama film, directed by Aksel Hennie, who also stars in the film. The film was hailed by critics, and won Hennie an Amanda Award for Best Director.-Plot:...

    – soundtrack (2004) – "Uno", "Avhør", "Brødre", "Brødre Rev.", "Flukt", "Gravferd", "David til ulvene"
  • Salto, salmiakk og kaffe – soundtrack (2004) – unreleased
  • Gods of ThunderKiss
    KISS (band)
    Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

     tribute compilation (2005) – "Strange Ways"
  • Sunn O)))
    Sunn O)))
    Sunn O))) is an American doom metal band known for its synthesis of diverse genres including drone, ambient, noise, and black metal. Supported by a varying cast of collaborators, the band has two core members: Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson .-History:Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn...

    WHITEbox
    WHITEbox
    -See also:*White1*White2*Live White*Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice...

    (2006) – "CUTWOODeD"
  • ShockadelicaPrince
    Prince (musician)
    Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

     tribute compilation (2008) – "Thieves in the Temple" (feat. Siri Stranger)
  • Agony & IronyAlkaline Trio
    Alkaline Trio
    Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...

     (2008) – strings, programming, vocals on "Lost & Rendered" and "In My Stomach"
  • Pay For It (Single)Mindless Self Indulgence
    Mindless Self Indulgence
    Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...

     – "Pay For It [RMX]"
  • Genghis Tron
    Genghis Tron
    Genghis Tron is a three-piece experimental metal band formed in Poughkeepsie, New York, USA, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York and San Francisco, California. Genghis Tron signed to Relapse Records after releasing two recordings on Crucial Blast. The band is noted for its creative...

    Board Up The House Remixes Volume 3
    Board Up The House Remixes Volume 3
    Board Up The House Remixes Volume 3 is the third of five in the Board Up The House Remix Series by Genghis Tron. It was released by Relapse Records on December 9, 2008. The first 1000 copies are on transparent red with blue splatter vinyl and, as usual, Relapse has a run of 100 copies on clear for...

    – "I Won't Come Back Alive" (Ulver remix)
  • The Wall Re-Built!Pink Floyd
    Pink Floyd
    Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

     – Mojo
    Mojo (magazine)
    MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...

     (December 2009, issue 193) tribute compilation – "Another Brick in the Wall Pt.1"

At the Norwegian Festival of Literature

On May 30, 2009 Ulver performed live for the first time in 15 years, at Maihaugsalen (part of Maihaugen
Maihaugen
Maihaugen is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open air museums and is one of the largest cultural facilities in Norway.-History:The founder, Anders Sandvig, collected from old houses and...

) in Lillehammer, Norway. The concert was a part of the Norwegian Festival of Literature
Norwegian Festival of Literature
The Norwegian Festival of Literature is the biggest literary festival in the Nordic countries taking place in May at Lillehammer every year since 1995...

. The three band members were accompanied by guest musicians: Lars Pedersen (aka When
When (Pedersen)
-Lars Pedersen:Lars Pedersen his father, Tore Pedersen, was a Norwegian musical composer. At an early age, the younger Pedersen performed with his four older sisters and old brother; they were often compared to the Jackson 5 and The Partridge Family, popular bands of the time...

) on drums, Daniel O’Sullivan
Daniel O'Sullivan
Daniel O'Sullivan is a multi-instrumentalist/composer from Manchester, England best known for playing in experimental art-rock bands Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Æthenor, Miracle and Mothlite....

 (also in Æthenor, Guapo
Guapo (band)
Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid 1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson...

, Mothlite) on guitar and bass, Pamelia Kurstin
Pamelia Kurstin
Pamelia Kurstin is a theremin player who has performed and recorded with artists such as David Byrne, Richard Cheese, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and Ulver and has performed on the television show Saturday Night Live...

 playing Theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...

 and Ole Aleksander Halstensgård (from Paperboys
Paperboys
Paperboys is a Norwegian hip hop-duo consisting of rapper Øyvind «Vinni» Sauvik and DJ Ole Aleksander «Pope Dawg» Halstensgård. The duo has released four albums and their debut included Barcelona, a collaboration with Madcon which was a hit in Norway...

).

Subsequent performances

Subsequently the only live appearances outside Norway were held at the Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic on August 7 and at the Gagarin205 club in Athens,Greece (November 16).
More festival appearances in Norway were announced: Øyafestivalen
Øyafestivalen
Øyafestivalen is an annual Norwegian music festival held in Middelalderparken , Oslo. It has grown quickly since its modest start in 1999 with an audience of 1000 people in one day, and has now become one of Norway's biggest festivals....

at Middelalderparken, Oslo (August 11), Møllafestivalen in Gjerstad (August 14), Pstereo'09 at Marinen, Trondheim (August 21) and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall (October 9).

Ulver at the Opera

On July 31, 2010 Ulver performed live at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet is the first fully professional company for opera and ballet in Norway. Its seat is the Oslo Opera House.It was founded in 1957...

 with Christian Fennesz
Christian Fennesz
Christian Fennesz is an Austrian guitarist active in electronic music, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz....

 and the performance artist Ian Johnstone.

Wars of the Roses Tour

From March 22, 2011 to April 21, Ulver played in several European countries to support their 2011 album Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses (album)
-Reception:The album received high praise from Sea of Tranquility webzine. Commented reviewer Murat Batmaz: "it amalgamates musical traits from its predecessors while re-shaping them with a more direct approach."-Credits:...

. On this tour they performed said album in its entirety, and also added some abstract/improvised passages. Zweizz
Zweizz
Zweizz is the primary performing alias of Norwegian musician and composer Svein Egil Hatlevik .Hatlevik started using the Zweizz alias in 2003 after leaving the Norwegian black metal group Dødheimsgard. According to Hatlevik, Zweizz should be considered a one man band, not a solo project...

 acted as support artist.

Current members

  • Kristoffer Rygg
    Kristoffer Rygg
    Kristoffer Rygg , also known as Garm, Trickster G. and recently also God Head is a Spellemannprisen nominated vocalist, musician and producer known as the frontman of Ulver and former vocalist for Arcturus...

     – vocals, additional programming
    Programming (music)
    Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...

  • Jørn H. Sværen – miscellaneous
  • Tore Ylwizaker – programming
    Programming (music)
    Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...

    , keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

  • Daniel O'Sullivan
    Daniel O'Sullivan
    Daniel O'Sullivan is a multi-instrumentalist/composer from Manchester, England best known for playing in experimental art-rock bands Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Æthenor, Miracle and Mothlite....

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , keyboards

Former Members

  • Grellmund – guitar on Vargnatt (committed suicide
    Suicide
    Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

     on 31 Dec 1997)
  • A. Reza – guitar on Vargnatt
  • Robin – bass guitar on Vargnatt
  • Carl-Michael Eide
    Carl-Michael Eide
    Carl-Michael Eide is a Norwegian black metal musician, multi-instrumentalist , and vocalist. He is also known under stage names Aggressor, Czral and Exhurtum. He has played in various black metal and avant-garde metal bands...

     (aka Aggressor; Czral; Exhurtum) – drums on Vargnatt, guest drums on Blood Inside
  • Håvard Jørgensen
    Håvard Jørgensen
    Håvard Jørgensen, also known as Hojo and Lemarchand, is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist who has contributed in several bands and musical projects since the early '90s. Bands to mentioned are Satyricon, Ulver, SCN, C-Systems, Akki & Hojo and the genres span from black metal to pop/rock...

     – guitar (Vargnatt through Themes…), session guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    s on Metamorphosis, Perdition City and Blood Inside
  • Hugh Steven James Mingay (aka Skoll
    Skoll
    In Norse mythology, Sköll is a wolf that chases the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that drag the chariot which contains the sun through the sky every day, trying to eat her. Sköll has a brother, Hati, who chases Máni, the moon...

    ) – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (Bergtatt through Themes…)
  • Erik Olivier Lancelot (aka AiwarikiaR) – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , flute
    Flute
    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

     (Bergtatt through Themes…)
  • Torbjørn Pedersen (aka Aismal; Tykje) – guitar (Bergtatt through Nattens Madrigal)
  • Knut Magne Valle – guitar on Themes…

Session and guest musicians

  • Lill Katherine Stensrud – vocals on Vargnatt and Bergtatt, flute on Bergtatt
  • Steinar Sverd Johnsen
    Steinar Sverd Johnsen
    Steinar Sverd Johnsen is a Norwegian keyboardist and composer, born 1972. Sverd last played keyboards and synthesizers in Arcturus and was also the main composer for the band. He formed the band with Jan Axel Blomberg of Mayhem in 1987, originally under the moniker Mortem...

     (also known as Sverd) – piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     on Vargnatt and Bergtatt
  • Alf Gaaskjønli – cello
    Cello
    The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

     on Kveldssanger
  • Jan Axel Blomberg
    Jan Axel Blomberg
    Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...

     (aka Hellhammer) – drums (on the song "Synen", released on the Souvenirs from Hell compilation)
  • Stine Grytøyr (aka "her") – vocals on Themes…
  • Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen (aka Samoth
    Samoth
    Samoth is a prominent musician and multi-instrumentalist in the Norwegian black metal scene. He was well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formation of the death metal band Zyklon...

    ) – vocals on Themes…
  • Vegard Sverre Tveitan (aka Ihsahn
    Ihsahn
    Ihsahn is a Norwegian composer, guitar, bass, keyboard player and vocalist. He is best known for his work with Norwegian black metal band Emperor. He has appeared in Thou Shalt Suffer, up until March 4, 2006, played in Peccatum with his wife Ihriel , and now devotes himself to his solo project,...

    ) – vocals on Themes…
  • Gylve Nagell (aka Fenriz
    Fenriz
    Leif Gylve Nagell , better known as Fenriz, is the drummer and lyricist of the Norwegian black metal duo Darkthrone...

    ) – vocals on Themes…
  • Rolf Erik Nyström – saxophone
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     on Perdition City
  • Ivar H. Johansen – drums on Perdition City
  • Kåre J. Pedersen
    Euroboys
    Euroboys is a Norwegian band. They were formed in 1990 under the name Kåre And The Cavemen, but changed their name to Euroboys in 1997 for releases outside of Norway...

     – drums on Perdition City
  • Bård G. Eithun
    Bård Faust
    Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun is a Norwegian drummer. He is best known for his work with early black metal band Emperor, especially on the releases As the Shadows Rise and In the Nightside Eclipse...

     – drums on Perdition City
  • Øystein Moe – bass on Perdition City
  • Bosse
    Bosse
    - Surname :* Abraham Bosse , French artist* Chris Bosse , German architect* Harriet Bosse , Swedish actress* Henry Peter Bosse , German American photographer* Malcolm Bosse , American author...

     – guitar solo on Blood Inside
  • Jeff Gauthier – violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

     on Blood Inside
  • Mike Keneally
    Mike Keneally
    Michael Joseph Keneally is an American guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer. Allmusic says: "With his wide-ranging talents and ability to be creative in almost any musical situation, Keneally is the leading progressive rock genius of the post-Zappa era."Born on Long Island, New York, he...

     – guitar on Blood Inside
  • Andreas Mjøs – vibraphone
    Vibraphone
    The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....

     on Blood Inside
  • Maja S. K. Ratkje – choir on Blood Inside
  • Knut Aalefjær – drums and percussion on Blood Inside
  • Mathias Eick
    Mathias Eick
    Mathias Eick is a Norwegian jazz musician born near the town of Eidsfoss in the county of Vestfold, Norway. He is mainly known as a musician on the jazz label ECM Records. His main instrument is the trumpet, but he also plays double bass, vibraphone, piano and guitar.In his lifetime Eick has...

     – trumpet on Shadows of the Sun
  • Christian Fennesz
    Christian Fennesz
    Christian Fennesz is an Austrian guitarist active in electronic music, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz....

     – supplemental shimmer on Shadows of the Sun
  • Espen Jørgensen – acoustic and electric guitar on Shadows of the Sun
  • Pamelia Kurstin
    Pamelia Kurstin
    Pamelia Kurstin is a theremin player who has performed and recorded with artists such as David Byrne, Richard Cheese, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and Ulver and has performed on the television show Saturday Night Live...

     – theremin on Shadows of the Sun
  • Hans Josef Groh – cello on Shadows of the Sun
  • Dorthe Dreier – viola on Shadows of the Sun
  • André Orvik – violin on Shadows of the Sun
  • Vegard Johnsen – violin on Shadows of the Sun

Related bands

  • Arcturus
    Arcturus (band)
    Arcturus is an avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1987. They named it Arcturus , after the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.-Biography:The band has released four official full-length albums...

     – Another project of Ulver members Garm and Skoll, as well as Ulver session members Sverd, Knut Magne Valle, and Hellhammer, which started as symphonic black metal
    Symphonic black metal
    Symphonic black metal is a black metal subgenre that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The genre is known for its symphonic and orchestral elements and is centralized in Europe.-Characteristics:...

     and transitioned into avant-garde metal. Garm left the band in 2003.
  • Borknagar
    Borknagar
    Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...

     – Norwegian folk
    Folk metal
    Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...

    -inspired black metal
    Black metal
    Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

     band that featured Garm on vocals on their first two albums.
  • Coil
    Coil (band)
    Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...

     – Probably the band by which 2000-2002 era Ulver was most inspired, and to which it was most analogous.
  • Guapo
    Guapo (band)
    Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid 1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson...

     – Guitarist/pianist Daniel O’Sullivan's
    Daniel O'Sullivan
    Daniel O'Sullivan is a multi-instrumentalist/composer from Manchester, England best known for playing in experimental art-rock bands Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Æthenor, Miracle and Mothlite....

     progressive/art-rock band.
  • Head Control System
    Head Control System
    Head Control System is a cross-national groove rock/metal band featuring Portuguese Daniel Cardoso and Norwegian Kristoffer Rygg . Head Control System is currently part of North-American The End Records' roster along with bands such as Voivod, The Gathering, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Ulver...

     – a duo of Garm and the Portuguese metal musician Daniel Cardoso
    Daniel Cardoso
    Daniel Cardoso is a multi-instrumentalist, song writer and producer. He was born in the south of Portugal, and is currently a live touring member of British band Anathema...

    .
  • Ved Buens Ende
    Ved Buens Ende
    Ved Buens Ende is a Norwegian heavy metal band. Their sound is diverse with quiet instrumental jazz influenced sections and aggressive black metal blast beats and vocals...

    – Side project of Skoll and Carl-Michael Eide. Since disbanded, reunited and disbanded once more in early 2007.

External links

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