Ulver - Shadows Of The Sun Review, by LoC

Ulver - Shadows Of The Sun
Review By LoC

Ulver has never been a band to repeat themselves, even back in their Black Metal phase. This of course continued into their Electronic/Avant-garde phase, with no 2 albums sounding alike, and quite often sounding very different from eachother. Ulver's Shadows Of The Sun continues this trend, and offers listeners an intimate and intensely dark piece of art and music.

This album is quite possibly the darkest one Ulver has done since their Black Metal days, and maybe even darker in some ways. To get a picture of this album, you should imagine yourself in a dark candle-lit room during a rainy night. For even better effect, play this record in said conditions, and you will be blown away. Shadows Of The Sun is as depressing as any Doom Metal album you are likely to hear, but also oddly uplifting in parts.

The music is much more minimal and focused than the often schizophrenic pieces found on 2005's Blood Inside, and the entire album works together to form a cohesive whole.

Picking a standout song or 2 is difficult, as they all are excellent in their own right. Special mention must be made of their cover of Black Sabbath's Solitude which actually outdoes the Sabbath original, while also fitting in seamlessly with the overall mood of this album.

Garm's vocals are as strong and passionate as ever, and Shadows contains some of his strongest performances to date.

Do not go into this album expecting anything like Blood Inside or even anything else by Ulver. To understand the beauty of Shadows Of The Sun, you may need to give this album a number of listens before you can fully appreciate it. This is one of Ulver's best albums ever, and just a beautiful piece of work in general.