Ulver -- Themes From William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell -- Jester Records, 1998. [Last Sigh Magazine]

Track Listing

The Argument
The Voice of The Devil
A Memoarable Fancy
Proverbs of Hell
A Memorable Fancy
A Memorable Fancy
A Memorable Fancy
A Memorable Fancy
A Song of Liberty

    Since 1992, Ulver has been one of the more controversial Norwegian black metal bands on the market. They have been accused by the Scandinavian media for promoting satanic and other less than savory practices in years past, and surprisingly have been derided by their own fans for inconsistency's in their musical style. Ulver (which means wolves in norwegian) has created a strange persona of being sort of an artistically focused black metal band by constantly changing the style of their material, with no two albums sounding alike.
    Now before you go off and say "Well, I don't like anything attached to the word metal", know that this is not specifically a straight metal album.
It has some undertones of the black metal influence, and several songs are straight out of that genre, but overall, it has a much lighter, almost atmospheric feel to it. The sound can be sometimes beautiful, especially at the beginning of the album, with various female vocals drifting over the lush ethereal background, while at other times, it's metal roots, shine blazingly through, and you're left wondering what the guitars were all about.
    This is a very interesting album though, all of the words come straight from William Blake's the marriage of heaven and hell, set to music and sung with a strange kind of passion that makes it a pleasure to listen to.
    Overall, not bad, the metal overtones give it a slightly industrial edge, while the subject matter lend it a heavenly spin, making it something truly unique and different. A must for any fan of classical literature, or even those you feel could benefit from some.