Ulver - Shadows Of The Sun review
| Band: | Ulver |
| Album: | Shadows Of The Sun |
| Style: | Electronic Avantgarde |
| Release date: | October 01, 2007 |
| Guest review by: | Spyroid |
01. Eos
02. All The Love
03. Like Music
04. Vigil
05. Shadows Of The Sun
06. Let The Children Go
07. Solitude [Black Sabbath cover]
08. Funebre
09. What Happened?
"We feel it is our most personal record to date. Low-key, dark, and tragic. As we are."
This sentence was the last part in the news update on Ulver's official website just before this album was released. Theese words, particulary "Low-key, dark, and tragic" reflect the atmosphere of this album very well. I would say this album is probably Ulver's best effort so far, and also one of the best atmospheric albums you could find - probably even one of the best albums ever released. And it's all about atmosphere. If 'Blood Inside' made me think of cities and dark factories, 'Shadows Of The Sun' works in the exact opposite way. When I listen to this album I see deserts, moors and other kinds of fields. It all takes place in the very night, and on the sky there is a full moon. And under the moon, wolves gather - just like mentioned in the opening track. This haunting atmosphere is created by a unique combination of instruments like trumpet, strings and theremin, the totally original song structures, one of the best productions I've ever heard - and of course the awesome lyrics and enchanting vocals.
Most people say that this is the first Ulver album where the band doesn't change their style radically from everything else they ever done. I disagree with those poeple, I think 'Shadows Of The Sun' is just as ground breaking as any other Ulver album. Even if you can hear influences from certain artists and styles on this album I haven't heard anything like this - most of the album sounds like a twisted mix of old Black Sabbath tracks like 'Planet Caravan' and of course 'Solitude', and trip hop.
'Shadows Of The Sun' is a masterpiece, there's no denying that. It's one of the most beautiful and tragic albums I've ever heard, and it's one of the few albums I've heard whose lyrics blew me away - I am mostly not a guy who cares about lyrics at all. The only reason that I don't rate it with 10/10 is that there are some tracks I like more, and therefore every track isn't ultra perfect. I'd say the best tracks are the first three, 'Solitude' and 'Funebre'. If you heard and enjoyed any of those tracks, get this album! Maybe not for everyone but it has my warmest recommendations.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Spyroid | 03.10.2008
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 10
Visited by: 206 users
| Stuart MiseryKing Posts: 413  |
Pretty good review for a great album, probably my favourite album from 2007. I still prefer Blood Inside though... although this is slightly darker. My favourite tracks: Funebre, Vigil, Let the Children Go The one thing I would disagree on is despite the actual cover of "Solitude", there is very little of the old chilled out Black Sabbath feel about this album in my opinion. Still yet again this is a solid review on music which is very difficult to write about.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
Written by Stuart on 04.10.2008 at 19:21 I actually wrote another review on this album, and due to a very bad memory I posted both... I was more satisfied with my second one, I think I described the feeling of the sound better there, but since this one got proofreaded first I put up it instead. Of course the Black Sabbath songs I talked about are more retro and Ulver is much more polished, but it still gives me the same feeling of nothingness and some kind of empty sadness. I suppose Ulver creates very different feelings depending on the listener, and considering your comment at my Blood Inside review we get completely different feelings from this band. And I find that really interesting and cool! Thanks for commenting 
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| Silent Creeper Senile Veteran Posts: 301  |
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Silent Creeper on 06.11.2008 at 21:28 Thanks a lot
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| Konrad Mormon Storm Posts: 707  |
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| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
Damn! Masterpiece alert indeed. One of the best from Ulver. ''All the love'' is my favorite 
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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| INÆRIS Posts: 204  |
Every time I listen to this album it emotionally knocks me onto the floor. This album creates feelings... just incredible feelings. Eos is possibly my favorite song of all time. This album has changed my life. This record shows perfectly just what is musically possible in creating something absolutely stunning and beautiful.
---- Still Life, Still Death
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| Tenski Posts: 90  |
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