Early Black Metal was conceptualised as an "anti-aesthetic", hence the gritty sound, amongst others. And it had a strong DIY mentality, like Punk. So a lot of Black Metal sounds like it was recorded, mixed, and mastered on a 4 track recorder in someones basement. Because it most likely was.
Bergtatt used to be a literal term (in folklore), but still persists today meaning to be romantically enthralled by someone. It follows a trend of our fairytales being based in warnings, and thus being so dark. Don't stretch for the waterlilly, don't step into the waterfall, don't go into the waves (nøkken, fossegrimen, draugen) etc etc. Everything from tolls to temptresses fits into this pattern. Allure vs Danger. Oh, and Berg = mountain, tatt = taken.
For sure. I'm a huge fan of imperfection, something I've mentioned in several videos. I totally understand wanting to make the music that's in your head, and that's usually a perfect rendition of it, but as humans we aren't perfect and I really enjoy hearing those human elements show up in recordings.
This whole thing is the fifth and last part of the album - "Capitel V: Bergtatt - Ind i fjeldkamren" - and so including the album name in the title. And it is one of the precursors to atmospheric black metal.
I would pay good money for a full album reaction haha. This has been one of my most special favorite albums for over a decade now, and it's interesting to re-listen through fresh critical eyes.
To me, i don't know if it's really true, but i feel like this album has been important for the modern blackgaze wave. This is a concept album. From wiki: The album's title, Bergtatt, translates as Spellbound; in Norwegian folklore the word refers to people who wander off into forests and mountains, lured by trolls or other mythical creatures. The album's overarching narrative follows a young maiden who is pursued, lured and killed by these creatures, her spirit becoming "one with the mountain".
You're entirely correct, yeah, most bands that went on to that shoegaze sound were heavily inspired by Ulver. In fact this album was the starting point for a lot of genres. Bands like Alcest, or even Agalloch owe a lot of their sound to this.
For those interested, the literal translation would be "Mountain-taken" (as in "Taken into the mountain"). And while "bergtatt" has the transferred meaning of "spellbound" in general today, I'd assume that Ulver went for the original folkloristic meaning here. In other words, the title translates to something more like "Abducted by supernatural beings", although I do realize that's not very catchy. 🙂
Wow, never clicked a like button this hard. This is the first BM record I bought. This song is as others said the last part of a 5 chapter folklore tale about a young woman walking in the forest and getting lost and captured by evil spirits and taken into the mountain. The acoustic outro kinda sets the mood for their next album from the BM period which is exclusively played in this classical guitar style and it is very relaxing to listen to (Kveldssanger). The third album in this their "BM trilogie" is even much much harsher BM style than the track in todays video, they even recorded the plugs being plugged and unplugged into guitars etc. All the releases by Ulver are different and I really recommend you should sample a bit from each when you have the time. Not going to reveal anything but you will be in for a several surprises, and it will be interesting time spent.
the whole album´s vocals are written in 1800 fashioned norwegian, when we were in a union with Denmark. In modern norwegian (bokmål) it would be Inn i fjellkammerne.
Ulver is one of my favorite bands, both old and new. This was a really unique album for its time. Even their 1993 demo, prior to this, was really unique. Going forward, just remember that the lead singer is the only constant member of the band.
To be fair, with Ulver, you'd have to do a week or so and try songs from 5 albums, the changes they underwent are huge, and each album is quite different from the other. Can't wait to see what newer song you'll be listening to today :)
Agreed, there are too much variations in all their different albums to dive into and be excited about. I think they have an album for everyone's taste.. But since I first got into them in the Bergtatt period, their albums from this time remains special to me. I was slightly put off by their change in style after this and fell off for a bit, but later on returned to them and gave them a few more spins and learned to like these albums as much as the first ones, and they all have a different mood. But I think lately they been focusing too much on one style, TAOJC was great but FOE still didn't give me much IMO. Drone Activity got stuck in the car CD player two days after I got it because the CD player died and the disc has been in there ever since. I also recommend checking out another rather unknown norwegian band called "The Third and The Mortal", they also evolved and underwent huge changes for each album they released, and you'd never know what style their next album would be and they always surprised. Their debut album was "Sorrow", followed by "Tears Laid in Earth", both from '94.
I love this album, there is a very special feeling there, some call it medieval (having studied a bit of it I can tell it isn't, but there's an old kinda nostalgia that is unique to this album & band) & the folk choirs & clean vocals are amazing (I prefer then 10 times to what he does now that's way more pop for me). There is some audible bass at moment though even in this song...The album really deserves a full listen, and first track for instance is mandatory imho...This is raw but like a diamond waiting to be carved, a bit like you felt in fact saying it has "potential". A freshness I don't find often. Also, they did very different things, Brian, after that, alternating a very folky acoustic album called "Kveldssanger" with then a super brutal album with even a dirtier & narrower sound almost totally high-pitched ("Nattens Madrigal") then more prog/indus/ambient albums such as "Themes from William Blake's 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" featuring the lead singer Garm doing a more pop/ambient/modern non metal vocal style...while later on, an album like "Shadows of the Sun" (2007) features some of the band's more beautiful melodies ("'Eos", for instance), in a style some qualify as "Dark Ambient" (nothing harsh there). Another thing to note, the singer is also involved in other bands/projects, and for instance the famous Prog/Black Metal band called ARCTURUS (check out for instance their album "The Sham Mirrors", 2002 & the song "Kinetic" or "Collapse Generation" or "Star Crossed". I'm less a fan of what they do in more modern times, both in ULVER & ARCTURUS (except for instant the collaboration with SUNN O))) for the album "Terrestrials" which was a great cross over of styles (check out "Let there be light" or "Eternal Return" for instance).
I really wouldn't call it "medieval". Rather, it's heavily influenced by the sentiments of 19ths century Romanticism, imho. It's all about mood, nature, sentiment... I'd say "Bergtatt" is-for me, at least-the quintessential Black Metal album. If anybody were to ask me "What is, for you, what draws you to Black Metal?" I would have them listen to the album from start to finish. Either you get it-or you don't.
You are amazing. I really am fascinated by the way you memorize a whole song after only the first listen. An not only memorize, but analyze and comment! Your reviews are amazing and captivating, not once have i got bored on videos of yours! Inspiring! Love your work! Cheers!🍻
Thanks! I can finally say that all those drills I had to do in school are finally paying off. And as a bonus I'm speaking to people who actually care; which is quite a bit better than annoying my friends and family about "this one awesome moment 15 minutes into a 25 minute epic" 😅
Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and Nattens Madrigal are norvegian black metal cult albums. I would always remember when I got into these albums for the 1st time in early 1998. In that time, black metal was an underground thing in my area.
In the first season of Sopranos, AJ has a poster of Ulver in his room. Pretty strange that he had that as a kid, but when he grew up he had more Nu-metal stuff. Ulver (wolves in Norwegian) is pronounced [ool-vehr] (if that makes any sense). That old Ulver track reminds me of another Norwegian progressive black metal band that changed a lot over the years: LENGSEL. Compare "Stille Dualisme" with "The Pale People". Because of the change in style, they later formed the band Mantric, which is also very cool, progressive metal with hardcore influences.
Hello! Just dropping by... I don't know if, like, this thematic weeks can be extended or something lol, but just whenever you can check out Mysitifier, cuz like seriously listen to their old stuff sounds completely different to their latest album, it still rips though
Check out Shining's album entitled "Redefining Darkness". It's production and compositions were pretty different to what was expected of a black metal band and there's plenty of soft parts with acoustic guitar and clean singing aswell as other experimental elements in there. I think you'd find it an interesting listen.
You should try the Gathering, from the first album "King for a Day" and from the last "Heroes for Ghosts". You can listen both from the TG25 anniversary live show.
Hi great reaction to early 90's Black Metal! I used to like early Ulver before they changed their sound. How do you get a band reacted to on his channel is there a patreon you have to go through or is there another way to get a band on this channel?? Cheers!!! Pete.
The best way to ensure your specific suggestion gets put on the channel is through Special Seleciton. You can find the submission section for that in the LinkTree link in the description of this video.
Bergtatt is one of the most beatuiful Blackmetal records ever created. Its a bit sad, Ulver follows the path they have chosen after this, but nevertheless their later stuff is still fantastic.
Ulver's a band I explored when I first got into BM. While I liked the music of their first few albums the production really turned me off. It was so bad that there was a myth that their third album was recorded in a forest on an 8-track. Myth isn't true, but it sounds like it could be! They definitely had a remarkable evolution after that, though I kinda lost track of them after Perdition City. I should probably give their newer albums a listen one of these days. Black metal is, indeed, essentially metal's version of punk. The origins of black metal extend back to Motorhead, who were the original metal/punk hybrid band, through Venom, and eventually to Bathory before it gets to the Norwegion Second Wave of BM in the 90s.
I respect your opinion, but I'd say that anything that characterizes Ulver as the "[something] of black metal" is bound to miss the mark. Two (some would say three) of 15+ albums are black metal, and they haven't touched the genre in almost 25 year.
@@perlundgren7797 Fair enough. However, Opeth hasn't done real death metal since 1999,and they haven't done any albums using harsh vocals since 2008..See the resemblance?
This record gives me that "alone in the cabin on the root of the mountain" feel. Unique.
For that reason, it is one of my favorite albums of all time. Incredible to listen on a cold mountain night under a starry sky
Early Black Metal was conceptualised as an "anti-aesthetic", hence the gritty sound, amongst others. And it had a strong DIY mentality, like Punk. So a lot of Black Metal sounds like it was recorded, mixed, and mastered on a 4 track recorder in someones basement. Because it most likely was.
Bergtatt used to be a literal term (in folklore), but still persists today meaning to be romantically enthralled by someone. It follows a trend of our fairytales being based in warnings, and thus being so dark. Don't stretch for the waterlilly, don't step into the waterfall, don't go into the waves (nøkken, fossegrimen, draugen) etc etc. Everything from tolls to temptresses fits into this pattern. Allure vs Danger.
Oh, and Berg = mountain, tatt = taken.
Thanks for the info. That's fascinating.
I think the little imperfections add a lot of charm and character to the overall atmosphere, personally.
For sure. I'm a huge fan of imperfection, something I've mentioned in several videos. I totally understand wanting to make the music that's in your head, and that's usually a perfect rendition of it, but as humans we aren't perfect and I really enjoy hearing those human elements show up in recordings.
Fun Fact: Tony Soprano’s son randomly had an Ulver poster in his bedroom which doesn’t make much sense.
This whole thing is the fifth and last part of the album - "Capitel V: Bergtatt - Ind i fjeldkamren" - and so including the album name in the title. And it is one of the precursors to atmospheric black metal.
I think that's interesting that they were a part of the "atmospheric" Black Metal, given what I said about their newer stuff in tomorrow's video.
@@CriticalReactions Looking forward to hearing your thoughts tomorrow then.
I would pay good money for a full album reaction haha. This has been one of my most special favorite albums for over a decade now, and it's interesting to re-listen through fresh critical eyes.
To me, i don't know if it's really true, but i feel like this album has been important for the modern blackgaze wave.
This is a concept album. From wiki:
The album's title, Bergtatt, translates as Spellbound; in Norwegian folklore the word refers to people who wander off into forests and mountains, lured by trolls or other mythical creatures. The album's overarching narrative follows a young maiden who is pursued, lured and killed by these creatures, her spirit becoming "one with the mountain".
You're entirely correct, yeah, most bands that went on to that shoegaze sound were heavily inspired by Ulver. In fact this album was the starting point for a lot of genres. Bands like Alcest, or even Agalloch owe a lot of their sound to this.
For those interested, the literal translation would be "Mountain-taken" (as in "Taken into the mountain"). And while "bergtatt" has the transferred meaning of "spellbound" in general today, I'd assume that Ulver went for the original folkloristic meaning here. In other words, the title translates to something more like "Abducted by supernatural beings", although I do realize that's not very catchy. 🙂
Fun fact about Ulver - Bergtatt: the band members were aged between 15yo and 16yo when they recorded this album.
Really?? Fuck, what am I doing with my life
Cool story, but completely inaccurate. They were young but obviously not that young.
@@radicalstanza3614 Oh, you prefer 16-17yo?
Oh yeah, "obviously not that young". LOL
@@ChuckyDoll79 No, I prefer accuracy. You're still wrong.
@@radicalstanza3614 "No, I prefer accuracy." I think that was your GF told you when you droped your pants infront of her for the 1st time. LOL
Wow, never clicked a like button this hard. This is the first BM record I bought.
This song is as others said the last part of a 5 chapter folklore tale about a young woman walking in the forest and getting lost and captured by evil spirits and taken into the mountain.
The acoustic outro kinda sets the mood for their next album from the BM period which is exclusively played in this classical guitar style and it is very relaxing to listen to (Kveldssanger).
The third album in this their "BM trilogie" is even much much harsher BM style than the track in todays video, they even recorded the plugs being plugged and unplugged into guitars etc.
All the releases by Ulver are different and I really recommend you should sample a bit from each when you have the time.
Not going to reveal anything but you will be in for a several surprises, and it will be interesting time spent.
the whole album´s vocals are written in 1800 fashioned norwegian, when we were in a union with Denmark. In modern norwegian (bokmål) it would be Inn i fjellkammerne.
Ulver is one of my favorite bands, both old and new. This was a really unique album for its time. Even their 1993 demo, prior to this, was really unique.
Going forward, just remember that the lead singer is the only constant member of the band.
Oh that's interesting. Sometimes that leads to good stuff and sometimes it doesn't. We'll have to see how that affected Ulver's writing tomorrow.
same here, was not much into black metal and even now its not my fav but bergtatt is one of my fav metal albums of all time
Garm's vocals are pure gold.
This album was one of the albums that got me into Black Metal, brilliant stuff.
To be fair, with Ulver, you'd have to do a week or so and try songs from 5 albums, the changes they underwent are huge, and each album is quite different from the other.
Can't wait to see what newer song you'll be listening to today :)
Agreed, there are too much variations in all their different albums to dive into and be excited about. I think they have an album for everyone's taste..
But since I first got into them in the Bergtatt period, their albums from this time remains special to me.
I was slightly put off by their change in style after this and fell off for a bit, but later on returned to them and gave them a few more spins and learned to like these albums as much as the first ones, and they all have a different mood. But I think lately they been focusing too much on one style, TAOJC was great but FOE still didn't give me much IMO.
Drone Activity got stuck in the car CD player two days after I got it because the CD player died and the disc has been in there ever since.
I also recommend checking out another rather unknown norwegian band called "The Third and The Mortal", they also evolved and underwent huge changes for each album they released, and you'd never know what style their next album would be and they always surprised. Their debut album was "Sorrow", followed by "Tears Laid in Earth", both from '94.
I love this album, there is a very special feeling there, some call it medieval (having studied a bit of it I can tell it isn't, but there's an old kinda nostalgia that is unique to this album & band) & the folk choirs & clean vocals are amazing (I prefer then 10 times to what he does now that's way more pop for me). There is some audible bass at moment though even in this song...The album really deserves a full listen, and first track for instance is mandatory imho...This is raw but like a diamond waiting to be carved, a bit like you felt in fact saying it has "potential". A freshness I don't find often. Also, they did very different things, Brian, after that, alternating a very folky acoustic album called "Kveldssanger" with then a super brutal album with even a dirtier & narrower sound almost totally high-pitched ("Nattens Madrigal") then more prog/indus/ambient albums such as "Themes from William Blake's 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" featuring the lead singer Garm doing a more pop/ambient/modern non metal vocal style...while later on, an album like "Shadows of the Sun" (2007) features some of the band's more beautiful melodies ("'Eos", for instance), in a style some qualify as "Dark Ambient" (nothing harsh there). Another thing to note, the singer is also involved in other bands/projects, and for instance the famous Prog/Black Metal band called ARCTURUS (check out for instance their album "The Sham Mirrors", 2002 & the song "Kinetic" or "Collapse Generation" or "Star Crossed". I'm less a fan of what they do in more modern times, both in ULVER & ARCTURUS (except for instant the collaboration with SUNN O))) for the album "Terrestrials" which was a great cross over of styles (check out "Let there be light" or "Eternal Return" for instance).
I really wouldn't call it "medieval". Rather, it's heavily influenced by the sentiments of 19ths century Romanticism, imho. It's all about mood, nature, sentiment...
I'd say "Bergtatt" is-for me, at least-the quintessential Black Metal album. If anybody were to ask me "What is, for you, what draws you to Black Metal?" I would have them listen to the album from start to finish. Either you get it-or you don't.
If this is rough to you, you need to listen to Nattens Madrigal. That one is really extreme.
Maybe we'll do an extreme week and really push my boundaries 😅
That's a perfect band to do an old/new comparison review.
You are amazing. I really am fascinated by the way you memorize a whole song after only the first listen. An not only memorize, but analyze and comment! Your reviews are amazing and captivating, not once have i got bored on videos of yours! Inspiring! Love your work! Cheers!🍻
Thanks! I can finally say that all those drills I had to do in school are finally paying off. And as a bonus I'm speaking to people who actually care; which is quite a bit better than annoying my friends and family about "this one awesome moment 15 minutes into a 25 minute epic" 😅
@@CriticalReactions Happy for you! Keep going!
You did it... The first yet to view this masterpiece :)
oohlvehr is the most englishfied way i could write ulver (wolves). I LOOOOVED this album nearly 20 years ago.
Fortsatt magisk, eller hur? 😊
Hope no one will spoil for Bryan going into the "new"....
You could not possible be more correct 👌 I was thinking the same thing...
Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and Nattens Madrigal are norvegian black metal cult albums. I would always remember when I got into these albums for the 1st time in early 1998. In that time, black metal was an underground thing in my area.
They’ve changed A LOT
Been listening to this album for a month now and i'm loving it
Considering the story, the short acoustic passage at the end is extremely sad
Garm is amazing with his vocal range listen to Capitel I: I Troldskog Faren Vild--epic solos best in BM
Old recording style of black metal is superior. Even if you don't get it
In the first season of Sopranos, AJ has a poster of Ulver in his room. Pretty strange that he had that as a kid, but when he grew up he had more Nu-metal stuff.
Ulver (wolves in Norwegian) is pronounced [ool-vehr] (if that makes any sense).
That old Ulver track reminds me of another Norwegian progressive black metal band that changed a lot over the years: LENGSEL. Compare "Stille Dualisme" with "The Pale People".
Because of the change in style, they later formed the band Mantric, which is also very cool, progressive metal with hardcore influences.
Sopranos is a great show
Hello! Just dropping by... I don't know if, like, this thematic weeks can be extended or something lol, but just whenever you can check out Mysitifier, cuz like seriously listen to their old stuff sounds completely different to their latest album, it still rips though
Check out Shining's album entitled "Redefining Darkness". It's production and compositions were pretty different to what was expected of a black metal band and there's plenty of soft parts with acoustic guitar and clean singing aswell as other experimental elements in there. I think you'd find it an interesting listen.
You should try the Gathering, from the first album "King for a Day" and from the last "Heroes for Ghosts". You can listen both from the TG25 anniversary live show.
And speaking of vocal performance, you should check Peste Noire - Dueil Angoisseus.
Ulver capitel 1 will blow ur mind dude
if you wanna go for a trip listen to "In The Red" from their album "Blood Inside" it's wild lol
Ulver is so amazing. I think you would like better their more recent albums. Try Eos, Nemoralia or Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers!
Tomorrow I'll be looking at one of the songs off of the Flowers of Evil album.
Great! I'm sure it will be a pleasant and surprising experience.
check out "blood inside" one of the most complex albums ever...
If you liked the calm guitar parts of this song you would probably like the one man band WEH. It`s calm music with only guitar and vocals.
Hi great reaction to early 90's Black Metal! I used to like early Ulver before they changed their sound. How do you get a band reacted to on his channel is there a patreon you have to go through or is there another way to get a band on this channel??
Cheers!!!
Pete.
The best way to ensure your specific suggestion gets put on the channel is through Special Seleciton. You can find the submission section for that in the LinkTree link in the description of this video.
Bergtatt is one of the most beatuiful Blackmetal records ever created. Its a bit sad, Ulver follows the path they have chosen after this, but nevertheless their later stuff is still fantastic.
Ulver's a band I explored when I first got into BM. While I liked the music of their first few albums the production really turned me off. It was so bad that there was a myth that their third album was recorded in a forest on an 8-track. Myth isn't true, but it sounds like it could be! They definitely had a remarkable evolution after that, though I kinda lost track of them after Perdition City. I should probably give their newer albums a listen one of these days. Black metal is, indeed, essentially metal's version of punk. The origins of black metal extend back to Motorhead, who were the original metal/punk hybrid band, through Venom, and eventually to Bathory before it gets to the Norwegion Second Wave of BM in the 90s.
I think these guys are the "Opeth of Black Metal" in a way...
I respect your opinion, but I'd say that anything that characterizes Ulver as the "[something] of black metal" is bound to miss the mark. Two (some would say three) of 15+ albums are black metal, and they haven't touched the genre in almost 25 year.
@@perlundgren7797 Fair enough. However, Opeth hasn't done real death metal since 1999,and they haven't done any albums using harsh vocals since 2008..See the resemblance?
@@pascalg16 Enslaved would be the Opeth of black metal imo
@@MrFoo1000 That's true! I have thought of that.
You should check out Vemod! I think you'd like it.