1. Bracelets of fingers (4:49)
2. In the past (3:03)
3. Can you travel in the dark alone? (5:00)
4. Soon there’ll be thunder (2:27)
5. Today (3:50)
6. Velvet sunsets (4:04)
7. Street song (5:57)
8. 66-5-4-3-2-1 (3:48)
9. I had too much to dream (last night) (3:27)
10. Magic hollow (5:17)
11. Impromptu performance (dedicated to Can) (11:19)

Line-Up:
Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg - vocals
Tore Ylwizaker - programming
Jørn H. Sværen - drums
Daniel O'Sullivan – guitar

Recorded live at Roadburn festival, the Netherlands, in 2012. The performance is entitled "Eulogy for the Late Sixties". It was Ulver's pre-release party for the commemorative album "Childhood’s End", which they had just finished (but not released) at the time. --- metal-archives.com

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01. Little Blue Bird 
02. Doom Sticks 			play
03. Vowels 
04. Eitttlane

Musicians:
    Kristoffer Rygg – vocals, additional programming
    Jørn H. Sværen – miscellaneous
    Tore Ylwizaker – programming, keyboards
    Daniel O'Sullivan – guitar, bass, keyboards

Ulver is a band best known for their ability to keep their fans on their toes. You can never be too sure of what you're going to get with each subsequent release. Just look at the first trilogy they released. The first album, Bergtatt, is a combination of folk and black metal, while the next album, Kveldssanger, is straight up folk, and lastly, Nattens Madrigal, is an all-out black metal assault. After that, they pretty much dropped any form of black metal from their music and instead chose to embrace electronica. In doing so, they may have alienated many fans, but also brought in many new ones. By maintaining their ability to craft an amazing song through these changes, even though I didn't dig Ulver's new direction as much, I always respected what the band had to offer. Hot on the heels of their Norwegian Grammy-nominated soundtrack release Lyckantropen Themes, they have released the EP A Quick Fix of Melancholy. Once again mixing things up quite a bit, Ulver has something original to offer to the masses, and I for one really enjoy it. Using Trixter G's amazing vokill range and the bands ability to create some stunning atmospheric music, A Quick Fix of Melancholy is sure to please fans of this band. Leading you through a mix of keys, horns, strings, and sometimes just noise, Ulver is able to evoke so many different emotions with each track. Although Ulver is not a band for everyone, they are truly a band that can create stunning music. If you have an open mind, definitely look into checking out this release. Although it's only a mere four tracks (three new ones and a remix from the Kveldssanger album), what's offered is filled with atmospheric splendor and should not be passed up. --- Ryan Plunkett, metalreview.com

ULVER is a mysterious beast. I am told that their history is rooted in Black Metal, but one certainly wouldn't know it by listening to "A Quick Fix Of Melancholy". Being the relative ULVER neophyte that I am, I have managed to come to this release with a partially clean slate upon which I have heaped no expectations. In reading through the reviews here and elsewhere, it seems that there is a divisive split among the bands' fans between those who love the new direction the band has taken, and those who prefer the older material. Why this might be I refuse to comment on, as I have not yet explored said material, however after hearing "A Quick Fix…" I definitely plan on doing so.

A minimalistic recording whose tracks slowly build from simple, disjointed melodies and ideas into atmospheric soundscapes, the feeling on "A Quick Fix…" is one of anticipation. The staccato sound of strings breaks the empty calm of the "Little Blue Bird". Percussion is largely absent; the pulsating rhythm of these repeating string flourishes is more than enough to keep time. The song almost sounds as though the listener is sitting at one end of a tunnel, but can hear the echoes of a string quartet off in the distance playing the same repetitions continually. Reverb-laden male vocals slip into the atmosphere and are soon joined by a thumping heartbeat whose rhythm is intertwined with the strings. As the soundscape grows to include buzzing electronics reminiscent of RADIOHEAD's most recent outing, suddenly it all fades away into nothingness as the listener is left alone, waiting for the next track. Yes, Metal fans, I have managed to commit the gravest of possible reviewer sins. I have mentioned RADIOHEAD in a review for a Metal website. As far as I am concerned, the shoe certainly fits, and ULVER wears it well.

The second and third tracks are so closely related that it almost seems as if they were two movements of a single composition. Beginning with a simple electronic melody that gradually morphs into a lullaby as throbbing waves of sound flow through and wash over your senses; a muffled percussion is introduced that transports the listener from the hollow tunnels and caverns of track one to the mind of a child hiding from his nightmares beneath a pillow. Strings are plucked, and the ethereal soundscape is built up into a beautiful orchestration around which electronic drums crash and fill relentlessly. Finally, "Eitttlane" (which I have read elsewhere is a remix of a previous song, "Nattleite", with a humourous remix of the song's name included in the current tracklisting) welcomes the return of the electronic drums, and for the first time on this recording actual percussion is used to keep time. Haunting male vocals also reappear, but remain in the background as simply another layer of the dreamy atmosphere.

ULVER is an orchestra without conventional instruments. The brooding passages of "A Quick Fix…" are somewhat similar to the music of the Canadian Post-Rock band A SILVER MT. ZION (who themselves are simply a pared-down version of GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR). I read on the ULVER website that they have been doing soundtrack work recently, and it definitely shows with this recording. The music almost seems to tell a story of its own, and of course that story will be different for all listeners. Your mileage may vary, but if you are interested in listening to something a little (or a lot, depending on your listening history) different, it can't hurt to give ULVER's "A Quick Fix Of Melancholy" a try. --- Dan Pritchard, metal-observer.com

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1.	Capitel I : I Troldskog Faren Vild 	     07:51
2.	Capitel II : Soelen Gaaer Bag Aase Need	 06:34
3.	Capitel III : Graablick Blev Hun Vaer	 07:45
4.	Capitel IV : Een Stemme Locker	         04:01			play
5.	Capitel V : Bergtatt - Ind I Fjeldkamrene	 08:06

Personnel:
Garm 	- Vocals
Haavard - Guitar
Aismal 	- Guitar
Skoll - Bass
AiwarikiaR – Drums.

“Bergtatt” is the first album by Norwegian black metal band, Ulver. It is the first installment of their astonishing black metal trilogy. And in all honesty, it could be one of the best albums of all time.

The album is well written and well executed. It combines clean vocals, folk acoustic guitars, flutes and really aggressive black metal. And the result is fucking beautiful!

The vocals on “Bergtatt” are performed by Garm. As we all know, Garm is a very classy vocalist. Everything the man touches turns to gold and “Bergtatt” is no exception. If you have heard all of his works, you know he uses a different style of vocals on every release. Here, he uses both clean vocals and blackened screams. His clean vocals on “Bergtatt” are probably his weakest singing he has recorded. However, this does not stop the singing from being absolutely gorgeous. He sings atmospherically here, with no Garm-like power that he usually does. He sounds like an innocent young man that would not hurt a fly. Unusual for black metal, huh? But here, it works. It works so well that Garm gets a whole song to sing. “I Troldskogg Faren Vild” is a masterpiece song with no harsh vocals whatsoever. It contains pure atmospheric singing with less aggressive black metal music. A masterful performance. Garm also uses black shrieks. They are not quite Garm’s venomous vocals from Arcturus’ “Aspera” or Borknagar’s “Borknagar”, but they get the job done.

Guitars are simply astounding. Guitarist Aismal is a very talented man. He plays beautifully and handles all the distorted guitars. Some of his leads and solos on “I Troldskogg Faren Vild” are fucking stunning. Along with beauty, Aismal applies anger into his riffs. Nasty, aggressive guitars run rampant in “Graablick Blev Hun Vaer” and “Soelen Gaaer Bag Aase Need”. Some of the most amazing guitar work I have ever heard. Aismal shares the stage with Haavard, the acoustic guitarist. He is equally as good as Aismal in his respective position. He is utilized on “Bergtatt” nicely adding a classical and folk feel. Haavard is like the less violent side of the guitars. He is there to balance out the aggression offering a more tranquil sound. He also gets his own song with the acoustic instrumental, “Een Stemme Locker”. This is a nice, repetitive song with spine-chilling female vocals in the background.

AiwarkiaR is the man behind the drum set. He is definitely one of black metal’s most underrated drummers. His performance here is his personal best; and an incredible effort for all drummers in general. AiwarkiaR performs three of the four standard time signatures of black metal on “Bergtatt”. 12/8, 4/4, 6/8 and blast beats. The only one I don’t hear on this album is 6/8. His 12/8 and 4/4 are nothing spectacular, but AiwarkiaR really shines when it comes to blast beats. His violent, fanatical drumming is what gives “Bergtatt” a hostile sounding environment. The man really knew how to make his drums sound terribly ugly and raw. This sound is perfect for “Bergtatt”.

While AiwarkiaR, Aismal, and Garm contribute to the vicious side of “Bergtatt”, there are lighter sides as well. Of course Garm shows up here with his light clean vocals and Haavard contributes his unruffled melodies, but there are a few session musicians that supply relaxing segments to the album as well. I mentioned a female singer earlier, but did not say that she provides the flute on this album as well. “Soelen Gaaer Bag Aase Need” has an amazing opening that features her magnificent flute skills. The flute is intertwined with Haavard’s acoustic guitar and it sounds so peaceful. Of course this unflustered moment is mangled by aggressive guitars and blast beats. But a very beautiful moment indeed. Another session musician is Sverd of fellow Norwegian band, Arcturus. As always, Sverd performs masterfully and is used during the ambient break in “Graablick Blev Hun Vaer”.

Every song is a highlight on “Bergtatt”. There are virtually no flaws. The only blemish about the album is the length. It is way too short. Only running about 35 minutes, this album could have added at least one more eight minute song. But what can you do, huh? Overall, “Bergtatt” is a masterpiece. It is well worth the $15 that most go for. I highly recommend! --- Jiri777, metal-archives.com

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1.Dressed In Black
2.For The Love Of God
3.Christmas					play
4.Blinded By Blood
5.It Is Not Sound
6.The Truth
7.In The Red				play
8.Your Call
9.Operator

Personnel:
Kristoffer G. Rygg (aka Garm) - vocals; 
Jørn H. Sværen – drums; 
Tore Ylwizaker – programming;
 + 
Bosse - guitar (2); 
Czral - drums (9); 
Jeff Gauthier - violin (8); 
Havard Jorgensen (aka Haavard) - guitar (1, 2 & 8); 
Mike Keneally - guitar (3 & 9); 
Andreas Mjos - vibraphone (4 & 7); 
Maja S.K. Ratkje - choir (8); 
Knut Aalefjaer - drums, percussion (2, 3, & 9)

Ulver described 2000’s Perdition City as “music to an interior film.” Blood Inside, the Norwegian trio’s first proper album in five years, could just as well be described as “music to an interior passion play.” From the cover’s Red Cross logo to song titles like “For the Love of God,” “Christmas” and “Blinded by Blood,” the album is infused with heavyweight Christian imagery. The lyrics describe, from various angles, the cycle of birth and death and all the suffering in between.

To dramatize this play, Ulver creates a personal sacred music. Racks of synthesizers become 21st century church organs and heavily layered vocals majestic choirs. Maja Ratke adds her own chorus to “Your Call,” helping transform the piece into a kind of a radio play. An overture of strings, violent violin squiggles, a guitar, footsteps and Ratke’s chorus all swirl around an incessant ring-tone with Kristoffer G. Rygg’s vocal couplets.

Ulver deploys this highly developed collage technique throughout. They finely integrate a host of keyboard effects, sampling, tape manipulation, heavy doses of live and synthesized percussion, guitar and violin. “In the Red” turns itself inside out as jagged strings and a sample of swing-band horns runs backward, forward, then backward again, speeding up and slowing down. “Dressed in Black,” “For the Love of God,” “Christmas” and “Operator” use the technique to fuel their manic paces and create a helter-skelter energy rife with mental crisis.

Picking up on the medical allusions of the Red Cross, Rygg declaims on the album closer “Operator” that ”Truth is a hospital,” a place where we go not only to heal our sick bodies, but to experience the most mysterious acts of our life: birth and death. As a band, Ulver has also experienced its own cycles of birth and death, evolving from the black metal of its first three albums to ambient explorations to film scores. William Blake, a band favorite, gets quoted here, but more tellingly, “Christmas” features a text by the Gnostic Pessoa. The song closes with the line ”Don’t seek and don’t trust, for all is mystery.”

The line neatly limns Ulver’s development to date, and unfortunately crosses the line into pretentiousness, as it somehow gives the band permission to deploy all sorts of hackneyed effects as they evoke their “mystery.” The synthesizer coda of “It is Not Sound” is Bach, and Ulver uses plenty of pitch-bending to produce a passage that belongs on one of those collections where classical pieces are played on synthesizers. The effect is more kitschy than mysterious. “Blinded by Blood” utilizes a sample of what sounds to be a black man singing about Jesus, a trick Moby burned down long ago.

Vocal echo is used to numbing extreme, and always on the really big, important words, like on “In the Red.” In other pieces they ask such profound questions as ”Is a vampire in the mirror eternal?” and ”What is it all about?” This is teenage poetry masquerading as modern Gnostic insight.

The real question here is how interesting is it to listen to someone else trumpeting grandiose internal spiritual beliefs. Megalomania makes equal the chances of succeeding mightily and failing spectacularly. Blood Inside’s successes do not, unfortunately, support the pretentious weight of its failures. ---Matthew Wuethrich, dustedmagazine.com

Ulver to zespół znany i ceniony na całym świecie. Dowodem na to mogą być nagrody Grammy jakie grupa zdobywała. Ekipa dowodzona przez Garma zaczynała od black metalu a teraz jest w momencie jaki możemy nazwać czystą awangardą. Ulver otarł się ponadto o muzykę filmową będąc autorem kilku ścieżek dźwiękowych. Skupmy się jednak na najnowszym dokonaniu Norwegów.

Blood Inside to płyta niesamowicie mroczna, wprost idealna do słuchania w nocy, wtedy odbieramy ją pełniej i bardziej szczegółowo. Każda kompozycja zawarta na Blood Inside posiada własną duszę, każdy dźwięk znajdujący się na tym albumie żyje własnym życiem. I to jest w tym najpiękniejsze... Garm i spółka zadbali również o świetne melodie ("For The Love Of God"), które wnoszą odrobinę światła do tej krainy cieni.

Kiedy słuchamy "Krwi..." zamieniamy się w odkrywców. Każdy utwór to nowy ląd leżący na tym samym morzu. To morze to jeden charakterystyczny dla wszystkich numerów klimat. Najbardziej w tym odkrywaniu zachwyca to jak muzycy potrafią bawić się nastrojem i kontrastami. Taki "Blinded By Blood" to utwór wolny, przytłaczający, wręcz depresyjny zaś następny "It Is Not Sound" posiada niezwykłą wprost dynamikę opartą min. na różnorakich sprzężeniach i tym podobnych dźwiękach. Podobnie rzecz ma się z porywającym swoim "połamanym" rytmem "The Truth", który od maksymalnego rozpędu i wręcz transowych bitów przeradza się w spokojną falę z przepiękną rozmarzoną gitarą tylko po to aby za chwilę ponownie zmienić się w sztorm. --- Dominik [Nehamod], metal.pl

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1. 	Hymn I - Wolf and Fear 		06:16 	  
2. 	Hymn II - Wolf and the Devil 	06:21 	  
3. 	Hymn III - Wolf and Hatred 	04:48 				play
4. 	Hymn IV - Wolf and Man 	05:21 	  
5. 	Hymn V - Wolf and the Moon 	05:14 	  
6. 	Hymn VI - Wolf and Passion 	05:48 	  
7. 	Hymn VII - Wolf and Destiny 	05:32 	  
8. 	Hymn VIII - Wolf and the Night 	04:38			play

Garm - Vocals
Aismal 	- Guitars
Haavard - Guitars
Skoll - Bass
AiwarikiaR – Drums

Well, here we have one of my favorite black metal albums ever. It took a good few months and a lot of perseverance to get to that status, but once it finally reached that plateau, I can't ever see it being toppled from my own personal top ten. I think the thing that stopped it from being an immediate classic for me upon the first few listens was the super raw production - if you think Darkthrone's 'Under a Funeral Moon' had a harsh production, you obviously haven't heard this album. This is black metal 4-track hell, so if you're expecting some kind of dubious multi-faceted symphony filled Dimmu-like affair, please move on now before your eardrums are severely assaulted with treble, treble and some more treble to top it off. Of course, the terrible production adds to the whole vibe greatly for me now, and it's nowhere near as extreme as a lot of efforts released since I first heard this (Striborg's album productions for example, make this sound like it was produced by Bob Rock in comparison).

However, at the time, this was undoubtedly a contender for the 'most acerbic production of 1996' award, with the riffs flaying, filleting and slicing the ear drums with hissing blistering riff after riff, all belted out at top speed. Behind these, Garm's ultra throaty snarl coats the album with unmatched vitriol and animalistic rage, with the relentless drum blastage merely acting as a backdrop for the carnage being brought forth by the destructive vocal and guitar combination. The best way I can describe the album as a whole, is that it acts in a similar way as a pissed off Cobra would if you were poking it with a stick, viciously attacking and biting at your face, spraying its venom to leave you dazed before going for the throat. The thing that shines through on this album is the riffs, although vicious and unrelenting, there is a lot of melody to them which brings similarities to a faster, angrier early Satryicon. Surprisingly, there is a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' part which utilizes Acoustic guitar, though it's merely used as a short break between songs, which coupled with a few tiny ambient sections between songs, hardly affects the overall hateful scorching tone of the album as a whole.

So yeah, for the un-initiated, Ulver actually used to be a great band before they turned into… well… a crappy dance band. This is a prime example of primitive black metal brilliance, full of spite, disdain, pedal to the metal aural violation and of course, a ton of fucking face biting acidity which fizzes and burns in the face of commercialism and polished productions everywhere. Essential. --- Lars Christiansen, metalcrypt.com

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