Ulver
Bergtatt

The true debut of Ulver (leaving aside their first EP "Vargnatt" and the split with Mysticum "Ulverytternes Kamp") is the reviewed here "Bergtatt", released in 1995. The line-up is the historic one of Ulver, with Kristoffer Rygg (Garm) on vocals, Erik Lancelot (AiwarikiaR) on drums, Håvard Jørgensen (Havard) and Torbjørn Pedersen (Aismal) on guitars, and Hugh Stephen James Mingay (Skoll) on bass. This album was one of the first of the folk-black subgenre, where black metal merges with traditional sounds, without (or almost without) harsh and cacophonic sounds, with many parts sung with a regular voice, alongside the typical "torture in progress" scream, and a wide use of classical instruments (flutes, acoustic guitars).

The album's subtitle, "Et Eeventyr i 5 capitler" (a legend in 5 parts) explains that this album is also a concept: inspired by an ancient Norwegian legend, the 5 songs narrate the story of a young girl who, lost in winter in the forest, wanders aimlessly until she hears an enchanting voice that leads her into the mountain, where she will be forever a prisoner of the creatures that inhabit it. At least, that's what I understood from the translations available online, since the entire album is sung in Norwegian.

The snare drum introduces "I Troldskog faren vild" (Lost in the Dark Forest), which sounds anything but a typical black metal track: clean vocals in multiple harmonies, distorted but melodic guitars, the bass (no joke, you can really hear it!) creating delicate arpeggios in the background, and acoustic guitar inserts in the finale framing the poetic lyrics: "They awaited the girl's return/She was lost in the dark forest/Her only friend/The path that led her home/Hidden by spreading snow". Hold on tight because this is only the calm before the storm…

A minute of flute and acoustic guitar introduces "Soelen gaaer bag Aase need" (The Sun Sets Behind the Rocks); then finally comes the black metal outburst. However, unlike other bands like Mayhem, Satyricon and Immortal, Ulver's sound, even in the more intense parts, is almost never so dirty as to obscure the instruments, and the more paced parts and frequent choirs significantly ease the listening. The lyrics splendidly showcase the girl's growing fear: "A tear fell from her cheek/A tear of longing for home/How she longed to hold on and be protected/And from the pain rose her indescribable sorrow". A Gregorian-chant-like singing opens "Graablick blev hun vaer" (She Perceives Grey Eyes), which resolves into another intense black metal song. The central part is surprising, reproducing the girl's flight through the forest, against a backdrop of just piano played by Sverd of Arcturus. The girl realizes with horror that something is following her: "I feel cold eyes/What creatures are near?/Quickly, I must flee far from here/Or by their magic forces will I be caught".

The magic the girl speaks of is represented by the ethereal voices that dominate "Een Stemme locker" (A Voice Calls Her), a completely acoustic track that, instead of easing the tension, multiplies it tenfold. It closes with "Bergtatt - ind i Fjeldkamrene" (Taken by the Mountain - In the Mountain Chambers), a track that sums up the atmospheres of the other tracks and adds an extra touch of despair, both in the scream and in the choirs and melancholic acoustic intermissions, because the girl is now inside the mountain, and the evil creatures that inhabit it "Did with her what they wanted/And not kindly".

A genuine masterpiece by one of the best black metal bands of all time.

RATING = 9 and 1/2