Nattens Madrigal - Aatte hymn Til Ulven i Manden

Nattens Madrigal - Aatte hymn Til Ulven i Manden
Studio album by Ulver
Publication (s)	1997
Label (s)	Century Media
Format (s)	CD
Title (number)	8th
running time	43:58
occupation	Singing : Garm Guitar : Haavard Guitar: Aismal Bass : Skoll Drums : AiwarikiaR
Studio (s)	Bondi Studios, Asker
chronology Kveldssanger (1996) Nattens Madrigal - Aatte hymn Til Ulven i Manden Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998)

Nattens Madrigal - Aatte hymne Til Ulven i Manden is the third album by the Norwegian band Ulver . It was published by Century Media in 1997 and is the final part of a trilogy about the "dark aspects of Norwegian folklore".

Creation and publication

The music was written by Garm and Haavard and arranged by the band in the first half of 1995. According to a rumor, Natten's Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven i Manden was recorded in a forest and not in a closed room, which is the result of the sound quality. In fact, the recordings took place in Bondi Studios in Asker, Helge Sten mixed it in his Oslo Audio Virus Lab. The cover is again from Tanya "Nacht" Stene .

The album was re-released in 1997 by Century Media with Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler and Kveldssanger in the limited picture disc - box set The Trilogie - Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde , from 2009 further limited LP editions were released. Nattens Madrigal was also part of Trolsk Sortmetall 1993–1997 , a box set released in 2014 by Century Media.

Track list

AiwarikiaR allegedly dressed Garm's lyrics in "archaic Danish", but in fact it is more of an archaic, poetic Norwegian. The band was supported by Jørn Henrik Sværen and Kai Frost with the translations into English . On Century Media's first edition and some later licensed pressings of other labels, the pieces were only numbered with Roman numerals, other Century Media editions had titles.

1. Anthem I: Wolf and Fear - 6:16
2. Hymn II: Wolf and the Devil - 6:21
3. Anthem III: Wolf and Hatred - 4:48
4. Hymn IV: Wolf and Man - 5:21
5. Hymn V: Wolf and the Moon - 5:14
6. Hymn VI: Wolf and Passion - 5:48
7. Anthem VII: Wolf and Destiny - 5:32
8. Hymn VIII: Wolf and the Night - 4:38

Music style and lyrics

After the debut album Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler , on which Ulver mixed black metal and folk influences, and the purely acoustic Neofolk album Kveldssanger , the band switched to a very raw, consistently fast and almost monotonous style with Natten's madrigal , reminiscent of that of Darkthrone .

Akron writes in his review for metal.de that, according to the information on the promo CD, the band is “returning to traditional black metal. You can safely skip the rest of this info, as it is only praise for the band that allegedly is 'breaking new ground' with this long player, although you don't notice much when listening to the CD. We are offered [...] Norwegian [ r] Black Metal in its usual destructive and cold way, based on bands like Darkthrone or Isvind , but without reaching the quality of the former. "The songs are rarely recognizable and" saw their way from the first to the last track without major highlights . Tempo changes, rhythm use or alternation seem to be a foreign word to the band, instead they seem to have chased Nattens madrigal through a distortion - the sound sounds so bad and causes a headache. ”The sound was also made with a lawnmower, a circular saw and compared to a construction site compressor.

In the text accompanying the album, AiwarikiaR stated that in representing the concept it was natural for the band to choose a brutal musical expression, as the idea of lycanthropy embodied much untamed power. While writing these eight songs, the band was "absorbed" by the old belief in werewolves and their relationship to "Brother Wolf" was felt stronger than ever before. Ulver sees the werewolf as an image of the beast in man. The man who transforms himself into a howling wolf and surrenders to the desire to hunt and kill, reflects the triumph of evil , the dark, which is no longer denied but claims its rightful place. The album is about a man who is " blessed by the devil " and turned into a wolf. After a serious conflict in his soul, he gives himself completely to his lonely fate.

reception

Timo Kölling described the change of style as a return “with even more impact”, whereby “the pure anger and pain” are a consequence of the “quintessential lycanthropic texts”. Frank Stöver of Voices from the Darkside sees Ulvers debut Bergtatt as her best work, and although Natten's madrigal is not particularly original, the album has “a certain atmosphere” that “grabs” the soul. According to Akron, the album doesn't match Darkthrone's quality and the sound is causing a headache. "[G] fortunately" is "one [...] not dependent on such bands". The band didn't convince him "in any way, I would definitely recommend a listen to pure Norway fans, everyone else should better keep their distance because this production has neither its own style nor anything that makes it worth buying".

Sebastian from The Metal Observer, on the other hand, sees the album, like the two predecessors, as evidence of the creativity and imagination of Norwegian musicians. Lars Christiansen from The Metal Crypt described it as essential and Wehrmut from Vönger Musikmagazin as “with 'Bergtatt' the best album of the trilogy, if not the best Ulver album ever! Only the shrill sound spoils the listening pleasure, because you can't turn up the system too loud without bursting your head. "

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Mark Pilkington: Animals are What We are . In: Trolsk Sortmetall 1993–1997 . S. 86-93 .
2. ↑ ULVER - HISTORY .
3. ↑ Steve Huey: Nattens Madrigal - Ulver. Allmusic, accessed on September 19, 2012 (English). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Andrew H .: Ulver - Nattens Madrigal. Sputnikmusic, September 2, 2005, accessed September 19, 2012 . 
5. ↑ Carlos Ramirez: 10 Great Black Metal Albums. IGN , January 6, 2009, p. 4 , accessed September 19, 2012 . 
6. ↑ Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven i Manden at Discogs , accessed on February 16, 2013.
7. ↑ ^{a b} ULVER - HISTORY. Retrieved October 6, 2010 : "The beastliness begins with Bergtatt (1994), is balanced with the all acoustic, neo-folk album Kveldssanger (1995), before returning with even more impact on Nattens Madrigal (1996), where the pure anger and anguish is a consequence of the quintessential lycanthropic lyrics. " 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Frank Stöver: Ulver . Natten's madrigal . In: Voices from the Darkside , No. 10, 1997, pp. 34f.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Akron: Ulver - Nattens Madrigal. metal.de, November 24, 1996, accessed November 19, 2012 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b c d} Wehrmut: Ulver # Nattens Madrigal - Åtte Hymne til Ulven i Manden. Vönger Musikmagazin, May 26, 2005, accessed on November 19, 2012 . 
11. ↑ Sebastian: Ulver - Nattens Madrigal-Aatte hymn Til Ulven I Manden. The Metal Observer, September 23, 2008, accessed November 19, 2012 . 
12. ^ Lars Christiansen: Classic Review: Ulver - Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden. The Metal Crypt, August 11, 2007, accessed November 19, 2012 .