Ulver has announced that their classic 1993 promo-tape will be reissued on Peaceville Records. 2023 marks thirty years since its recording and the record shows Ulver’s black metal rooted background before the band began to evolve outside of the genres confines.
Widely known for high-calibre soundscapes and exquisite experimental and electronic art as part of their continual and ever-shifting evolution, Ulver’s beginnings amalgamated ethereal black metal with delicate folk-inspired passages. Despite the rough edges, the band’s material stands out with its highly unconventional compositions when compared to the more primitive and raw offerings from other fast rising acts in the Norwegian scene at the time.
Vargnatt was Ulver’s first foray into the wilds, and an exceptional debut demo, utilising what was to become a staple on/of their legendary trilogy (Bergtatt, Kveldssanger, and Nattens Madrigal) with acoustic guitar implementation amid melodic and often complex and obtuse arrangements, conjured and delivered with an already advanced degree of musicianship, with eerie vocals of longstanding frontman Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg. This early incarnation of Ulver also notably featured Carl-Michael Eide of Aura Noir / Ved Buens Ende fame on drums, as well as Robin “Mean” Malmberg (from fellow Norwegian pioneers Mysticum) on bass guitar.
The audio included on this record consists of original material sourced from the original DAT. The release also includes a bonus track “Vargnatt” captured live at Bootleg TV in Oslo during 1993 and sourced from the National Library of Norway.
Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg had the following to say regarding the reissue:
“This is the first thing ever recorded as Ulver. Wikipedia says it’s our second demo, but it’s our first and only one. Stovner, Oslo, 1993, two–three days, wham, bam, thank you mam, with very little or no experience. We were kids, 17–19 years old, testing the waters. Vocals and some strange musical choices aside, I have to say I’m way less ashamed of this now than I probably was in the nineties, and I have to smile at the fact that this recording is still a thing 30 years on. It fills me with joy (and some sadness) to listen back to the crazy whims and things we had going on, preserved relatively pristinely. Peaceville, prime purveyor of many of our favourite records back then, is doing a stellar job reissuing some of these old underground tapes. So, after a few limited editions, ‘why the hell not’, right?”
The album will be available on Oxblood vinyl, LP and CD. Preorder here.
