NATTENS MADRIGAL - AATTE HYMNE TIL ULVEN I MANDEN

What does Ulver leave us with before there exploration into experimental territory? The definitive black metal album. From this album Ulver would make perhaps the greatest left turn in music history.

Looking back now let's attempt to analyze what the genius that is Garm did here. The question is why did they make this record, and why the change that is evident in Themes? From even the first release, Bergtatt, it was fairly clear that Ulver had something else in them, no one knew exactly what that was, but it was clear that there was more to this band and some of its members than typical black metal.

It is my theory, that this record was designed to show that Ulver was superior to its black metal peers, that Garm knew he was gifted, and knew that his musical direction would change. However, before he made that change, he wanted to "show-off" his greatness, to put something out there to the black metal genre and say to its cult following, "Beat this record, I dare you." Indeed, Ulver may have produced the CTTE of Black Metal. Not only this, but it helped set up the radical change that Garm wanted to undertake. Think about it, what better way to make the most drastic left turn in the history of music, than to create a record that is the pinnacle of something you do not even care to do anymore, rather than gradually adjusting your sound, but to make a large jolt that would shock people. A great marketing technique actually.

Am I reading too much into this? Quite possibly. For now I'll let the genius that is Garm/Trickster G. guide the way.