Album Rating: 5.0

The Lugubrious Library Loft and Eptaceros are excellent.

The Assassination would probably be shocking it if they hadn't made Childhood's End before. Yeah William is amazing. I remember buying it on CD and reading the lyrics while listening to the album the first few times, I was really in awe. glorious times

I'd say A Quick Fix of Melancholy is most underrated Ulver and is the peak of the electronic orientated albums (excluding Blood Inside). I use to swear by Perdition City but its growing off me after listening to more Coil, Future Sounds of London, Portishead etc.

"The Assassination would probably be shocking it if they hadn't made Childhood's End before." ya but that one sucked more. I recall liking ATGCLVLSSCAP the most out of the last 3. More krautrock

I like some parts of ATGCLVLSSCAP, but overall it wasn't good enough for me. The only Ulver records I like after The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell are Blood Inside and Shadows of the Sun. I haven't listened to A Quick Fix of Melancholy though.

Album Rating: 5.0

Ulver sharing They are the Shield on Twitter is cool.

Album Rating: 4.5

Blood Inside is such a good album

Album Rating: 5.0

I've always thought the death metal sections were pretty weak and always brought the package down

Album Rating: 4.0

I don’t listen to this for the DM, despite loving the genre on the whole.

Album Rating: 5.0

Yea but for example I find Birth Pains of Astral Projection to work better overall as just a prog rock song, like Girl With a Watering Can already is, without the really heavy sections.

I think what I'm most proud of in terms of editing this album is making They Aren't All Beautiful instrumental. It's so stoppy-start already that it still sounds seamless, and almost like a Blotted Science song or something.

Toby if you happen to read this, which you won't, but if you do I love all this music I just like having the alternate versions as options and to be able to show the band to more people.

Album Rating: 4.0

I don’t think this would’ve had as strong an initial impact on me if the DM wasn’t there, but now that isn’t the reason I return semi-regularly. I guess it was a great way of introducing me to the album and it’s genre splicing ways without alienating me with a barrage of prog rock (and other related lighter moments). The contrast is striking and immediately satisfying, therefore it had my attention. I was like... how?



I don’t know if this makes sense, just putting my random thoughts into words with little moderation tbh.

The dm elements of this are its weakness and strengths yes. Without them this would be closer to many jazz fusion and post rocks acts of the 90s and wouldnt seem anywhere near as unique. But with the dm comes the pitfalls of death metal cliches.

Also TD Swears by the idea that he ripped off tiamat here but despite a few melodic references I rarely see it.

Album Rating: 5.0

What 90s acts are you referring to? Godspeed and Bark Psychosis and Tortoise? I sort of get what you mean if so, but still this is really unique with or without the metal parts imo.

No. Check some of the other slint era bands e.g https://youtu.be/zplBqBmqh8I

But ye I can see some tortoise in them perhaps. But I dont see the crescendo language of gybe in any of their music. Would be surprised if Driver wasnt a fan though

Album Rating: 5.0

I hear some Godspeed and Bark Psychosis influences on Part the Second, Choirs, and his recent solo albums. Talk Talk too a bit. The first three maudlin albums don’t have much post-rock to them, they’re mainly jazzy progressive rock and metal with some pastoral folk parts here and there.

Ye, Post rock would only appear overtly on KD.
What did you think of the link I posted and what characteristics of GYBEs sound do you hear?

Album Rating: 5.0

The song was only 2 minutes long but I heard a slight similarity with the beginning of Heaven and Weak. Kind of sounded like Slint or Low.

The only characteristics of Godspeed I really hear in Toby’s music is some of the epic build-ups and crescendoes, and instrumentation in Choirs and Dowsing.

I dont really see the link. Gybe didnt invent the focus on overt dynamics in rock music. I see their utilisation of dynamics (bare in mind im mainly thinking of choirs and dowsing) as closer to the way slint etc do. The only overt -' we are building tension only to explode with a crescendo' song I can think of atm is the clarinet solo in manifold curiosity.

There is a lot of chamber post rock bands (only similar instrumentation not style) that have existed before and after gybe so its not like they are unique enough in regards to instrumentation.

Also that track I posted has Brian McMahan of Slint so you would be right (:.

Album Rating: 5.0

Choirs and Dowsing have build ups and crescendoes in a post-rock fashion with mournful chamber music, which is where I see the connections to early Godspeed more than a band like Slint. I never said they sound similar or anything beyond those elements, but it’s more likely, as chamber post-rock is very niche. Godspeed would be considered the most influential of that world I’d think.

The biggest influences I hear on maudlin are King Crimson and metal bands like Tiamat and Opeth and My Dying Bride. King Crimson influence follows Toby’s whole career in a cool way.