ULVER - 'themes From William Blake`s The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell (2CD)

Having been known for their more folklore-tinged black metal compositions on early studio releases, in late 1997, mainman Kristoffer Rygg invited keyboardist, sound conceptualist & composer Tore Ylwizaker into the collective & together they devised a plan for their 4th release, The Blake Album; an altogether far more adventurous endeavour than prior releases.



What resulted was a seamless integration of electronic & industrial music, with elements of progressive metal & avantgarde rock, all fused with ambient passages & following Blake's plates as track indexes. A work of deep & personal art, the album, while initially surprising to fans due to its complete shift in genre, has become a classic today & a prime example of the boundary-pushing evolution beyond the confines of genre expectations through the latter part of the 90's. Upon release, 'The Marriage of Heaven & Hell' received widespread acclaim from critics within the rock, metal & alternative music press, being awarded Album of the Month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer & Rock Hard.



The album notably includes guest vocal appearances from Darkthrone's Fenriz, as well as Ihsahn & Samoth; most known for their work in Emperor.