Ulver – Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell – Vinyl LP

Gatefold Sleeve, Remastered

“THE PARADIGM-SHIFTING FOURTH STUDIO OPUS FROM THE NORWEGIAN PIONEERS. PRESENTED ON DOUBLE GATEFOLD BLACK VINYL FORMAT, INCLUDING A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT THE ALBUM COURTESY OF WRITER JEFF WAGNER.

‘Themes from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ was the fourth studio album by Norwegian experimentalists Ulver. 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 & composer Tore Ylwizaker into the collective & 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 & avantgarde rock, all fused with ambient passages, & following Blake’s plates as track indexes. A work of deep & personal art, the album, while initially surprising to fans due to its complete shift in genre, has become a classic today & 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 & alternative music press, being awarded Album of the Month in several high-profile magazines such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer & Rock Hard.

The album notably includes guest vocal appearances from Darkthrone’s Fenriz, as well as Ihsahn & Samoth; most known for their work in Emperor.

This remastered edition of ‘The Marriage of Heaven & Hell’ is presented on double gatefold black vinyl, including full lyrics/text, plus an article from writer & journalist Jeff Wagner on the background, nature & triumph of such an ambitious release. ”

Side A
1 The Argument, Plate 2
2 Plate 3
3 Plate 3, Following
4 The Voice Of The Devil, Plate 4
5 Plates 5-6
6 A Memorable Fancy, Plates 6-7

Side B
1 Proverbs Of Hell, Plates 7-10
2 Plate 11
3 Intro
4 A Memorable Fancy, Plates 12-13

Side C
1 Plate 14
2 A Memorable Fancy, Plate 15
3 Plates 16-17
4 A Memorable Fancy, Plates 17-20

Side D
1 Intro
2 Plates 21-22
3 A Memorable Fancy, Plates 22-24
4 Intro
5 A Song Of Liberty, Plates 25-27 / Chorus Vocals