Pragmatic avantgarde Ulver have finally unveiled details on their upcoming long-awaited box sets, the ‘Trolsk Sortmetall 1993 – 1997’, which tentatively collects their earlier releases altogether, namely the studio records ‘Bergtatt’ (1994), ‘Kveldssanger’ (1995), and ‘Madrigal Of The Night (Nattens Madrigal)’ (1996), collectively know as ‘The Trilogy – Three Journeys Through The Norwegian Netherworld’, a trilogy which was released under this title as a limited edition of 1,000 copies triple picture vinyl box set in mid 1997.
‘Trolsk Sortmetall 1993 – 1997’ features as bonus Ulver’s ‘Vargnatt’ demo tape from 1993, a rare track which featured on the ‘Synen’ compilation released by Cthulhu Records back in 1997, and a recently unreleased four track rehearsal recording from the initial stages of ‘Madrigal Of The Night (Nattens Madrigal)’.
With the exception of ‘Madrigal Of The Night (Nattens Madrigal)’ that has been slightly remastered by Tom Kvålsvoll at Strype Audio, Oslo, all other material has been considerable remastered directly from analog tapes to digital format by Jaime Gomes Arellano at Orgone Studios, in London, and revisited by Ulver’s mastermind, Kristoffer Rygg. The initial printing of the box set has been approved by Century Media Records, which stated that they were extremely pleased with the way it sounds and looking forth to see the general outcome.
‘Trolsk Sortmetall 1993 – 1997’ will be released as a brazen five CD box set with a canvas-bound slipcase, over one hundred pages long booklet as well as a 4 LP box and rehearsal tape included. The artwork has been created by Metastazis, in Paris, an artist that besides co-working with Ulver in previous releases, also recently took a grand part of the Behemoth’s visual approach. Regarding the art involved, the booklet also includes access to previously unseen stuff from the set.
‘Trolsk Sortmetall 1993 – 1997’ long-run is of almost three hours, a release that transports you back to the elder days of Ulver, carefully documenting their evolutionary progress throughout the years with a strong black metal vibe from the earlier Norwegian scene.
The digital box set holds a hardcover 5 CD box with a 16-page booklet;
- CD: ‘Vargnatt’
- CD: ‘Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler’
- CD: ‘Kveldssanger’
- CD: ‘Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden’
- CD: ‘Nattens Madrigal – 4 Track Rehearsal, Summer 1995’
Also features hardcover book with 104 pages of unpublished paraphernalia compiled with Norwegian written lyricism, accompanied by English translations documented by the band as well as citations from Jon Kistiansen (founder of Head Not Found Records and the main man behind infamous Slayer Magazine, also known as ‘Metallion’), Chris Bruni (Profound Lore Records), Michael Moynihan (author of Lords Of Chaos Magazine), finally Mark Pilkington (from Strange Attractor Press).
The 5 CD box will be limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.
The contents of the LP box set, nevertheless, goes as follows;
- LP: ‘Vargnatt’
- LP: ‘Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler’
- LP: ‘Kveldssanger’
- LP: ‘Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden’
- LP: ‘4 Track Rehearsal, Summer 1995’
It too includes a poster (size 60 x 30 centimeters) and a 32-page booklet in LP size (carrying some content as the CD box set booklets).
The LP box set is restricted to 2,000 copies worldwide and the pressing will be released as follows:
- 1,500 copies on black vinyl
- 400 copies on silver vinyl
- 100 copies on clear vinyl (including a limited art print only available in this version)
The clear vinyl edition will be entirely handled by the CM Distro worldwide, and just one copy per customer will be sold. Pre-sales start on November 20th.
