Ulver - “Shadows of the Sun”
Ulver. Shadows of the Sun. 2007. 4.5 stars.
A dark, brooding and beautiful album, Shadows of the Sun sees Norway’s Ulver continue on with the reinvention of their sound, opting for symphonic ambiance with black metal and electronic flourishes. The songs here are subtle, tense and mystical, crafting a mournful testament to days and loves long past.
The album as a whole is incredibly cohesive, with each track progressing seamlessly into the next, building from sparse, reverb-drenched sonic landscapes to full-fledged arrangements complete with horns, saxophones and gorgeous piano lines. While Ulver prove their compositional virtuosity with their experimental passages , the album’s moody atmosphere remains consistent and immersing. The vocals are also deep and haunting without the wailing histrionics that made some of Ulver’s past work so divisive.
The only complaint I have against Shadows of the Sun is that it rarely reaches the impenetrable crescendos associated with the band, as it strives toward tranquility rather than pure apocalyptic transcendence. Still, as an ambient metal record, Shadows of the Sun is remarkable for its originality, its restrained intensity and its melancholic imagery - a masterful work of art that defies genre conventions.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Brilliantly bang-on and beautifully descriptive review, Damien! I’m almost as impressed with your write up as I am with the album itself. I’m getting the album, by the way. Thanks so much!!