We are what our name uphold. Wolves.. During night we find a mental and to some extent also a physical (!) well-being that we most likely are never to find at daytime. The truth is simply that ever time the sun breaks through it has a detrimental effect on us as lycanthropic individuals. It is no consolation that we sometimes have to experience just this to survive our tragically built up society. (Et skogstroll hadde aldri vaaget aa utsette legemet for dagslys... Man lever ikke før avdagsleite...) We have taken our name from the dark, sinister side of Norwegian folklore, and the name describes the mysterious, bewitching and lugubrious (trolsk) atmospheres surrounding superstitious Norwegian traditions and Norwegian nature by personifying them. As in ULVER.....
Garm / Ulver interview, Slayer #10, 1994
ULVER released their blistering classic third album, Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden, on this day in 1997 through Century Media.
...it still blows me away putting Nattens Madrigal on, thinking, 'Fuck, this is gnarly. Did I make this?' It's got that feral drive to it that's sort of amazing to listen to, even now. But it's also very distant to me, I have to admit. Also, objectively speaking, from a more technical, engineering standpoint, those old albums are just so full of flaws. But those flaws are what defines them and makes them special too, I guess. The youth of it.
Kristoffer Rygg / Ulver interview, Decibel, 2016
To an extent both Bergtatt and Kveldssanger were regarded as relatively "beautiful" albums, so there was an internal need to push the envelope after that, to do something more grim and ugly! Whilst I was mainly preoccupied writing riffs, I remember Kris and Erik had a very clear vision of a so-called necro sound. I remember using a super simple setup with just a Boss Metal Zone and a Marshall JCM 800 - all cranked up and dialed hard right. And if that wasn't enough, there was added even more treble in the mastering process.
Håvard Jørgensen / Ulver interview, Invisible Oranges, 2017