ULVER "Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven & Hell" Gatefold 2 LP

The paradigm-shifting fourth studio opus from Norwegian pioneers, Ulver. 

 

Limited red vinyl in gatefold with full lyrics/text, plus a new article from writer and journalist Jeff Wagner on the background, nature and triumph of such this ambitious release.

 

Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven & Hell includes guest vocal appearances from Darkthrone’s Fenriz, and Ihsahn and Samoth (Emperor).

 

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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, and composer Tore Ylwizaker into the collective, and together they devised a plan for 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 & avant-garde rock, all fused with ambient passages, & following Blake's plates as track indexes. A work of deep and personal art, the album, while initially surprising to fans due to its complete shift in genre, has become a classic today, and a prime example of the boundary-pushing evolution beyond the confines of genre expectations through the latter part of the 90s. 

Upon release, ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ received widespread acclaim from critics within the rock, metal and alternative music press, being awarded Album of the Month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and Rock Hard.