Following the 1993 demo releases the demos Rehearsal 1993 and Vargnatt, which have a similar (albeit somewhat rawer) style, the band's first album, 1994's Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, is a folk-themed black metal album. The title Bergtatt literally translates as “mountain-taken”, but is more commonly used to describe someone who is stricken with awe. In Norwegian folk tales the word refers to people who wander off into mountains, lured by trolls or other mythical beings. The narrative of the album’s lyrics follows a woman as she becomes so mountain-taken. The subtitle means “An Adventure in 5 Chapters”. Bergtatt features a melancholic, fully acoustical song “Een Stemme Locker” (“A Voice Beckons”).
1995's Kveldssanger, Ulver’s second album, contrasts with Bergtatt as it uses classical guitars, cello and chamber chants, and completely eschews the black-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.” He later clarified this by saying that the performance was immature, yet the content is strong when their youth is taken into account.
The third album, 1997's Nattens madrigal - Aatte hymne til ulven i manden, was a return to black metal, more ferocious than Bergtatt was, with only one mellow acoustic interlude in the first track. The album is intentionally under-produced, akin to Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger, with buzzing guitars and rather muffled drums. There are rumours surrounding this album and its recording, the most famous being that the band recorded this album in a forest. The band has dismissed this as impossible, although When Bitter Spring Sleeps later would record their albums in a forest. Another and less-known rumor is that the band purposely recorded the album on a four-track cassette recorder and used the money that Century Media gave them for other things, for example Armani suits, haircuts, cocaine, beer, and/or a new car. When questioned about this, Garm said the band did have rather expensive tastes, though he has denied buying a new car, saying there wasn't enough money.
Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, released in 1998, was different from what Ulver, or even any other band, had made before. Tore Ylwizaker, a new composer and sound architect, paired up with 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, industrial music elements, progressive metal and avant-garde rock, adding ambient passages. Lyrically, the album incorporates the entire text of the William Blake's poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and features 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, and Rock Hard. It also ranked very high at many year's best polls that same year.
Ulver's next two releases, the EP Metamorphosis and full-length album Perdition City: Music to an Interior Film, were even more experimental than the “Blake Album”, and a lot more pensive. The Metamorphosis disclaimer reads: “We are as unknown to you as we always were”. The band had moved further away from rock and metal and into a more ethereal style, much like that of Coil. The use of programmed sound and atmospheric style is dominant here, unlike the previous albums. Neo-classical composer and film scorer Craig Armstrong may have been an influence on Ulver as his use of electronics and hip-hop beats over strings and pianos is somewhat reminiscent of Ulver's later works.
The band followed up these two releases with two minimalist/ambient/glitch works, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing. These works featured minimal melodies and often had subtle weird and unnatural noises throughout the song structures; the band also stretched out at length, with "Silence Teaches You How to Sing" being the band's longest composition to date at over twenty-four minutes in length. Due to their individual rarity, they were later released together as Teachings in Silence.
Having proved their proficiency at making atmospheric electronic music, Ulver were hired to make music for cinema films Lyckantropen (whose soundtrack was released as Lyckantropen Themes), Svidd neger, and Uno.
In 2003, Ulver began making more symphonic music. They released A Quick Fix of Melancholy, which kept the minimalist, sparse stylings of their previous albums, while adding a much more expressive, dramatic, symphonic element, with various string sounds (most likely sampled) and various operatic singing styles.
In July 2004, the band finished recording their next album, Blood Inside, which was released on June 6th, 2005. With Blood Inside, the band stepped away from the more minimal styles they had been experimenting with previously. Bringing back more traditional rock instruments like guitar and acoustic drums (since 1998 the band had used primarily digital drums and/or sampled beats), and combining them with real and synthetic classical instruments, brass horns and sound samples, the band created something they had never done before. Managing to fuse genres ranging from rock, classical, minimalism, electronica and vintage progressive rock music with Garm's broad vocal range, Ulver created an album that was far beyond anything anyone has heard in the avant-garde scene.
Ulver have recently collaborated with drone band Sunn O))) on a 15-minute track which appears on Sunn O)))'s WHITEbox box set, released in July of 2006. Additionally, Ulver had announced back in 2002 that they had been working on a string remake of Nattens madrigal, but Garm has stated on the message board of his alternative rock band, Head Control System, that the project "is in a state of total dormancy".
The band's seventh album, Shadows of the Sun, was released on October 1, 2007. Garm called it “our most personal record to date. Low key, dark, and tragic”. The album mostly consists of dark ambient music, with lush symphonic orchestrations backing up the band's mellow material.
The band's eighth album, Wars of the Roses, appeared after nearly four years of silence in April 2011. This time around the band was highly influenced by progressive rock music, also incorporating elements of ambient, post-rock, and spoken word. The same year, the band also released the live album The Norwegian National Opera, a nearly career-spanning performance with the opera cited in the title that featured renditions of material dating from the Blake album to Wars of the Roses.
The band's ninth album, Childhood's End: Lost & Found from the Age of Aquarius, followed in 2012. A long-delayed cover album of material from the '60s psychedelic rock era, the material Ulver chose to cover was mostly quite obscure (with Jefferson Airplane's "Today" being easily the best known track), but further revealed the band's diverse range of influences.
In 2013, Messe I.X-VI.X appeared. A companion piece of sorts to Shadows of the Sun, the music on Messe continues in the same reflective, brooding vein as that album, but contains more influence from post-rock and modern classical music. Most of the tracks were instrumental this time around, and the band stretched out in length, with the longest song exceeding eleven minutes. The same year also saw the release of the live album Live at Roadburn, consisting mainly of live renditions of Childhood's End material (one improvised piece, inspired by and dedicated to the German krautrock band Can, was included as an encore).
2014 found the band's second collaboration with Sunn O))) released, the full-length album Terrestrials. Despite the metal background of the two bands, the material here was mostly subdued drone/dark ambient with little metal influence. The same year also saw the release of the box set Trolsk sortmetall 1993-1997, serving as the definitive retrospective on the band's black metal phase by collecting their 1993 demo Vargnatt, their first three albums, and previously unreleased rehearsal versions of four songs from Nattens madrigal. All material was remastered for this set, with Nattens madrigal seeing substantially more dynamic range and its bass line being clearly audible for the first time.
2016 saw the release of the band's double album ATGCLVLSSCAP, its title an acronym consisting of the signs of the Zodiac. Ulver constructed the material on this album around a series of improvised soundscapes recorded live at twelve different shows, but the studio overdubs create a tightly structured set of compositions, some of which are rearrangements of earlier Ulver songs such as Nowhere/Catastrophe. The material here, which consists of twelve tracks spanning eighty minutes, covers a wide range of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, dark ambient, avant-garde, and post-rock. The end of 2016 also saw the release of the film soundtrack Riverhead.
2017 saw the release of the band's synth pop album The Assassination of Julius Caesar, which marked the band's first album in since 2011 that wasn't: partially recorded live (ATGCLVLSSCAP, Messe I.X-VI.X); a cover album (Childhood's End); a collaboration (Terrestrials and, to a lesser extent, Messe again); or a film soundtrack (Riverhead). Hailed as a return to form (as much as a band like Ulver can have), it received some of the band's most positive reviews in years. The end of the year saw the release of a companion EP, Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus Passes the Glory of the World).
Ulver have established themselves as some of the most remarkable musical chameleons of the twenty-first century, and continue to evolve with each new release.
1993 - Rehearsal 1993 (demo)
1993 - Vargnatt (demo) (Wolf Night)
1994 - Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler (Spellbound - A Fairy Tale in 5 Chapters)
1995 - Kveldssanger (Twilight Hymns)
1997 - Nattens madrigal - Aatte hymne til ulven i manden (The Madrigal of the Night - Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man)
1997 - The Trilogie: Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde (box set)
1998 - Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
1999 - Metamorphosis (EP)
2000 - Perdition City: Music to an Interior FIlm
2001 - Silence Teaches You How to Sing (EP)
2001 - Silencing the Singing (EP)
2002 - Teachings in Silence (compilation of the above two EPs)
2002 - Lyckantropen Themes (soundtrack)
2003 - 1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines (anthology)
2003 - Svidd neger (soundtrack)
2003 - A Quick Fix of Melancholy (EP)
2005 - Blood Inside
2007 - Shadows of the Sun
2011 - Wars of the Roses
2012 - The Norwegian National Opera (live album/video)
2012 - Childhood's End: Lost and Found from the Age of Aquarius
2013 - Oddities and Rarities #1 (anthology)
2013 - Live at Roadburn (live album)
2013 - Messe I.X-VI.X
2014 - Terrestrials (collaboration with Sunn O))))
2014 - Trolsk sortmetall 1993-1997 (Trollish Black Metal 1993-1997 or Bewitching Black Metal 1993-1997; box set)
2016 - ATGCLVLSSCAP
2016 - Riverhead (soundtrack)
2017 - The Assassination of Julius Caesar
2017 - Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus Passes the Glory of the World; EP)
2019 - Drone Activity
2020 - Flowers of Evil
Son of Man
Ulver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heavenly Father
Forgive Me
For I Have Sinned
Against your Word
In Sadness and Joy
In Rainbow Light
And the Dark Woods
The Twilight of my Life
The Heart Stops
Without Warning
The Destruction of the Temple
The Broken Home
Oh Father
We Are Defined
By Our Blood
The Massacre of the Innocents
And the Sacrifice of the Son
What Kind of Choir
Of Angels will Receive us
The lyrics of Ulver's "Son of Man" are a deeply introspective and confessional monologue to a Heavenly Father. The singer begins by asking for forgiveness for their sins against the word of God. They acknowledge their transgressions both in times of joy and sadness, and in both in the bright light of rainbows and the dark recesses of the woods. The haunting imagery of childhood traumas and the onset of old age only adds to the sense of guilt and regret that the singer feels.
The lyrics then take a more somber turn as the singer contemplates the unpredictability of death and the looming presence of destruction in the world. They reflect on the ultimate fragility of life and the suddenness with which it can all come to an end. The imagery of the "destruction of the temple" and the "broken home" further amplifies the idea that everything we hold dear can be destroyed in an instant.
The final lines of the song bring a sense of longing and uncertainty. The singer wonders what kind of choir of angels will receive them after their time on earth has ended. It is unclear whether the singer feels confident in the grace of God or not, but their introspection and willingness to confront their own failures and fears make for a powerful and emotional song.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Father
An appeal to the Heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father
A reference to God as a divine figure in heaven.
Forgive Me
An acknowledgement of sin and a request for forgiveness.
For I Have Sinned
A recognition and confession of wrongdoing.
Against your Word
A plea for forgiveness for violating God's words or commandments.
In Sadness and Joy
Acknowledging that sin can happen in times of both happiness and sadness.
In Rainbow Light
A reference to God's rainbow covenant, perhaps indicating a recognition of breaking promises or covenants.
And the Dark Woods
A metaphor for difficult or trying times, indicating that sin can happen in both good and bad circumstances.
Childhood Haunts
A recognition of past mistakes, perhaps indicating a desire to make amends.
The Twilight of my Life
A recognition of one's own mortality and the fleeting nature of life, indicating a desire for forgiveness before death.
The Heart Stops
A reference to death, indicating a sense of urgency in seeking forgiveness before it's too late.
Without Warning
A recognition that death can come suddenly and unexpectedly.
The Destruction of the Temple
A metaphor for the loss of something sacred or holy, indicating remorse for violating something important.
The Broken Home
A recognition of broken relationships, perhaps indicating a desire to make amends or seek reconciliation.
Oh Father
A repeated appeal for forgiveness and mercy.
We Are Defined
Acknowledging that one's actions define them, and indicating a desire to change for the better.
By Our Blood
A recognition of one's ancestry or family history, perhaps indicating remorse for past actions committed by ancestors.
The Massacre of the Innocents
A reference to King Herod's massacre of young children in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, indicating a recognition of the suffering caused by sin and a desire to seek forgiveness.
And the Sacrifice of the Son
A reference to Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross, indicating a recognition of the importance of redemption and atonement.
What Kind of Choir
A rhetorical question, perhaps indicating a sense of uncertainty or doubt about one's own fate.
Of Angels will Receive us
A reference to the idea of being judged by angels after death, indicating a desire to be welcomed into heaven and a fear of damnation.
Contributed by Bella I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Avsil Nédras
LYRICS
Oh Father
Heavenly Father
Forgive me
For I have sinned
Against your word
In sadness and joy
In rainbow lights
And the dark woods
Childhood haunts
The twilight of my life
The heart stops...
Without warning
Oh Father
Heavenly Father
The destruction of the temple
The broken home
We are defined
By our blood
The massacre of the innocents
And the sacrifice of the son
What kind of choir
Of angels will receive us
Jasbir Singh
one cannot simply comprehend this music without some suffering as all great musicians over the ages have gone through! simply majestic and brilliant!
Avsil Nédras
LYRICS
Oh Father
Heavenly Father
Forgive me
For I have sinned
Against your word
In sadness and joy
In rainbow lights
And the dark woods
Childhood haunts
The twilight of my life
The heart stops...
Without warning
Oh Father
Heavenly Father
The destruction of the temple
The broken home
We are defined
By our blood
The massacre of the innocents
And the sacrifice of the son
What kind of choir
Of angels will receive us
Elizium - Official
Pure beauty, one of the best pieces I've heard in a long time...
Leonardo Lopez
Excelente banda
N M
Brillant !! My fav song to date of thé album
Die Banzekin
MASTERPIECE!
Chris LT
Well, that was powerful.
DXVXDXD SXLF
Perfection ... The song of man ...
william reed
Makes me want to go to Confession or rather this is the anxiety I put myself through when deciding to go give an honest Confession.
Violectus
This would be a great soundtrack for a Deus Ex game.