Ulver's first three albums are seen by many fans as their 'black metal trilogy'. One has to wonder why, considering that the centerpiece of the trilogy,
Kveldssanger was an entirely acoustic Norse folk album.
Bergtatt, Ulver's first album is a blending of the two styles seen on
Nattens Madrigal and
Kveldssanger.
Nattens Madrigal is am extremely raw black metal album.
Ulver
Garm - Vocals
Lead Guitar/Acoustic Guitar - Haavard
Aismal - Rhythm Guitar
Skoll - Bass
Aiwarikiar - Drums
Allegedly recorded in a forest, Ulver's third album is not the easiest listen. The production causes the vocals to be mixed lower than the guitars, the drums to be hard to pick out and the bass to be literally impossible to hear. With all of this in mind,
Nattens Madrigal is very possibly the greatest black metal album ever recorded. It's rawness, for black metal fans is an added bonus, while for non black metal fans, is an annoyance. The album opens up with a raw tremolo picked riff. Just 30 seconds into the first track, we hear a raw and very speedy guitar solo. This is the sound that is present throughout virtually the whole album. The whole disc, aside from a few short (and incredible) breaks, is raw and grim black metal at it's blackest. So what makes it so special? In every song, there are some incredible and beautiful melodies, sometimes pushed into the background of the sound and sometimes being a huge part of the sound. One of the best parts of the album is
Hymn I. About 1 minute into the track, the instruments drop out to leave harmonising acoustic guitars picking folk melodies. This displays the early sound of Ulver and unfortunatly, this is the only taste of Ulver's folk sound on the album. The ends of songs are followed by ambient parts, hinting at the future of Ulver.
Nattens Madrigal is a concept album written about a man who immerses himself in 'evil spirits' and becomes a werewolf.
Nattens Madrigal translates to 'Madrigal of the night' and the sound of the music would certainly reflect the title.
Hymn VI, a major highlight of
Nattens Madrigal is a surprise and a completely unique black metal track. The opening riff is incredibly happy and switches between furious black metal and the happy riff. Not only is it unique, but it is a brilliant song. The songs on
Nattens Madrigal have plenty of diversity for a black metal album, certainly much more than your average Darkthrone or Gorgoroth album. They even pull out a piano for
Hymn VIII. Really, the problem with
Nattens Madrigal is it's production, which, for a good portion of it's listeners, isn't a problem at all.
Nattens Madrigal, despite it's production, is a strong contender for greatest black metal album ever. Like Emperor before them, Ulver inject something into black metal which is impossible for most bands: beauty.
Pros
Incredible riffs and melodies
Garm is a great vocalist
Crazy drumming
Cons
The production is terrible for anyone but a black metal fan
Not so easy to listen to in one go
Bad production
Reccomended Tracks
Hymn I (Wolf and Fear)
Hymn VI (Wolf and Passion)
Hymn VIII (Wolf and the Night)
FINAL RATING: 4.5/5
