Ulver - The Assassination Of Julius Caesar review
| Band: | Ulver |
| Album: | The Assassination Of Julius Caesar |
| Style: | Synthpop |
| Release date: | April 07, 2017 |
| A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. Nemoralia
02. Rolling Stone
03. So Falls The World
04. Southern Gothic
05. Angelus Novus
06. Transverberation
07. 1969
08. Coming Home
If Ulver were one of the X Men characters, they'd easily be Mystique. Ever changing, always in a state of flux, and able to morph their identity with incredible ease. When we last left off, Ulver dropped that "Zodiac Album" with the unpronounceable title. Highly psychedelic, jammy, and meditative, if you know the band and what they're all about by now, you know there's only one thing you can ever expect next out of them: the unexpected.
And indeed, considering their previous effort, for Ulver The Assassination Of Julius Caesar is a pretty big curveball. Musically this album is about as far removed from the Zodiac Album as could possibly be. Instead of that sound, here listeners are treated to a bright, synth-driven pop type landscape, held up, unquestionably, by the absolutely amazing vocals of Kristoffer Rygg. Here you get what is no doubt one of Ulver's best Rygg-centric albums to date, and I don't mean "Rygg centric" like Shadows Of The Sun or Wars Of The Roses, albums where his vocal presence was there, but in a very hushed, whisper-like delivery. Here he is the commander of this ship, offering up a soaring delivery and epic lyrics that do indeed revolve around themes of Rome, the Caesars, and relating subjects. My, oh my, just give "Nemoralia" or "Southern Gothic" a listen and let it melt your heart. This is one of the very few guys out there I'd legitimately go gay for because of his voice.
An increased presence for Rygg's vocals inevitably means a lower presence for instrumentation, or, to put it better, that the instrumentation here isn't really as crazy and all over the place as it was on their previous effort. This may come as a downer for some who really enjoyed that Zodiac Album, but it's testament to the fact that Ulver have a seemingly infinite number of ways of changing their style and still making it work. The music here is often pretty simplistic and reminiscent of basic pop song structures, but somehow it still carries a distinct "Ulver flair" in the fact that it's still very hypnotizing, relaxing, and spiritually uplifting. This is the real joy of The Assassination, this feeling that Ulver did go for a more conventionalized musical style here, but that they still totally owned it and made it their own. And goddamn, does it work oh so deliciously. Just give "So Falls The World" a listen if you want to see what I mean.
On The Assassination Of Julius Caesar, it's really Rygg who carries the weight of the music with his vocals and drives everything to its destination with his forward momentum. But that's OK, it's perfectly fine, because with this approach, one really can't complain and say that it means Ulver are a band that can't make good music without Rygg's powerful vocals at the helm, as this simply isn't the case. All this album is is an alteration for Ulver, what the band are all about really, one that goes from the extended, jammy instrumentation they've recently been playing with into a more restrained, poppy instrumentation dominated by the beautiful pipes of Kristoffer Rygg. Is it better? Is it worse? You decide. All I know is that as a total effin' sucker for both synthwave and Rygg's vocals, this is hands down my favorite Ulver release in years, and one that could easily become my favorite period with a few more listens. Yes, it's seriously that good.
The terrified cry of "Et tu, Brute?" has never sounded this beautiful.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | 18.04.2017
Comments
Comments: 66
Visited by: 537 users
| Lanthros Posts: 587 |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by Lanthros on 18.04.2017 at 01:35 Very few, that's for damn sure 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1421  |
I second Lanthros. Great album, great review. The point about this being similar in structure and sound to synthpop, but still being completely not lame or obvious like that genre almost always is, is especially correct. Also, there's this really small text under one of the passages of the review. It is too small to read, so I can only assume that's your signature confirming that you'd really go gay for Rygg. 
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 18.04.2017 at 01:41 Eh, maybe more of an 8, but it deserves to be up there because as I said in the review, this type of music might not be too original in and of itself, but the spin Ulver put on it definitely is. Synth driven pop is nothing new, but this sound here is definitely their own. And I wouldn't say it's too much like Perdition City either, that album was a little more electronic and actually got pretty droney at some points too. This one, not so much. You're not gonna find anything like this here, for instance. But it's still a gorgeous release
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Metren on 18.04.2017 at 01:47 Yeah I originally put "for future reference, I never said that" under that line in small font, but I took that off. You're goddamn right I'd go gay for that man Really though, what a performer and talented musician all around (not just vocals). He's definitely to be admired and commended
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1421 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.04.2017 at 01:49 Yeah, absolutely. I think bands that change their sound and style significantly (Anathema, Opeth for example) often end up cheapening their legacy a bit. When I discovered Anathema (new albums first) I liked them enough, but my attitude towards checking out their older stuff was "I hope it's better". I am now going on a journey to discover Ulver's discography and my feeling is completely different, it's more like "Jeez, how great might the older stuff also be?" And thanks, for hyping this and getting me interested in Ulver! 
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Metren on 18.04.2017 at 01:56 My pleasure dude. They are definitely one of the finest examples of a band that have changed a ton of times over the years with very few (if any) failures. I think the idea you suggested of listening to their albums in reverse order is a good one by the way. Do that and you're going to get a pretty strong impression of "damn, these guys have come a LONG way!"
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Jiri Posts: 710  |
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7606  |
Even though slightly overrated, I think the review is spot on and I really don't care much about numbers in reviews anyway (btw 10 for production is totally justified). I have exactly the same feeling as you when you say that "Ulver did go for a more conventionalized musical style here, but they still totally owned it and made it their own". It's a very enjoyable album in a genre that is generally not original at all, but the way they do it is as original as it gets. Their ability to change and still produce high quality music every single time is totally unique. I don't know any other band that can achieve this so consistently.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by nikarg on 18.04.2017 at 15:23 Yep, that's the main point and the most enjoyable feature of this album for me. You're right, it's hard to think of many bands that are so consistent and that reinvent themselves so flawlessly over and over again, except perhaps Blut Aus Nord or The Meads Of Asphodel. But even those two are more grounded in one particular style than Ulver, and you can relatively predict what's coming next from them. With Ulver you really just never know, but you do know there's a 99% chance it'll be totally awesome 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7606 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.04.2017 at 15:29 I am not very familiar with The Meads Of Asphodel, but I absolutely agree with you on BAN. I have to say that I secretly hope for just one more black metal influenced release by Ulver, not in the style of Bergtatt or Nattens of course, but in whatever form they would go for.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by nikarg on 18.04.2017 at 15:40 For the Meads, well.... here ya go bro  Total fanboy for that band so it was only a matter of time til I wrote an article on them like that. I too have sometimes wondered what an Ulver album would sound like that's essentially a fusion of their early BM days with their modern electronic antics. But you may have your answer in Netra, a super cool BM band that some of my friends have been hyping up lately as basically just that: BM Ulver + electronic craziness. I haven't actually gotten around to listening to them yet, so if you check that album or any others let me know how it is
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7606 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.04.2017 at 17:07 Thanks mate, I'll read the article and check them out! For the rest, I'll pm you cause we're going off topic 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Good for what the album does... Being a Dpeche Mode clonish thing. But hence no MS awards material 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15310  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.04.2017 at 01:23 DM clone? haven't checked them in a while, but not in the same postal code. Really like this album (and review), but not MS material, agree there.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.04.2017 at 01:23 This is the main comparison I've heard with this one and while I'll agree there's a similarity, that band and this album are two entirely different beasts. Ulver clone no one
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6127  |
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
I feel like I should listen to this, simply because I've been listening to electronic a lot lately.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by BloodTears on 19.04.2017 at 13:02 You most definitely should, I can see you enjoying it a lot given some of the other stuff you're into. Love it when our tastes manage to align, Ana 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62443  |
This band has done after chapters ...basically nothing to do whit metal, but those old are essential, I am open mindet somehow into music in last 5 years but this is way below my level. Nothing to do whit metal and anything, just rubbish as brits like to say.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62443 |
Written by BloodTears on 19.04.2017 at 13:02 its sad because you use to listen doom like 10 years ago and write an awesome poetry ....
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die" I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| 3rdWorld China was a neat Posts: 4367  |
Written by Bad English on 19.04.2017 at 17:39 Its sad you are unable to see the obvious and enjoy this absolute treat of an album. Ulver has never been metal for nearly a decade and its not smart to expect it to be.
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| 3rdWorld China was a neat Posts: 4367 |
Nice review Che, you are getting pretty good at writing about music from what I remember about your old reviews. Also what an album this, incredibly addictive and sexy as fuck. Good choice giving this a 10 for production, its as masterful as it gets.
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1421 |
So true about production, it is the definition of perfection for this genre. The best example for me is how in the line "Lions among the men", the "men" fades and becomes ever so slightly more processed (I hope my ears aren't deceiving me on this) before completely disappearing. That's perfection right there, such attention to detail.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62443 |
Written by 3rdWorld on 19.04.2017 at 21:47 yes but many bands turn away and still were good, ok Sentenced if they would be DM band they would sucked, they were not and was awesome but this s way I don't know, rubish
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die" I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5269  |
Written by BitterCOld on 19.04.2017 at 03:08 I'm sure we could find a home for it, no?
---- rekt
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1421 |
Written by tea[m]ster on 19.04.2017 at 22:37 I think it would be interesting to have a sort of "metal legacy" award, for the best release by a band that used to play metal but moved on to other genres. If there was such a reward, Ulver would have it in the bag for 2017, I think
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by tea[m]ster on 19.04.2017 at 22:37 I think he might have meant more so that it's not really material for the MS Awards, which I would have to agree with honestly. No idea where it'd even go. Not Ambient/Drone, as it's far less so than their album from last year. And not really industrial either. It's just an enjoyable synthpop album, albeit done the Ulver way
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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