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 (04:02)
2. Plate 3 (02:48)
3. Plate 3, Following (01:33)
4. The Voice Of The Devil, Plate 4 (02:49)
5. Plates 5-6 (02:31)
6. A Memorable Fancy, Plates 6-7 (04:26)
Side B
1. Proverbs Of Hell, Plates 7-10 (09:04)
2. Plate 11 (02:01)
3. Intro (03:26)
4. A Memorable Fancy, Plates 12-13 (05:55)
Side C
1. Plate 14 (02:08)
2. A Memorable Fancy, Plate 15 (04:51)
3. Plates 16-17 (03:17)
4. A Memorable Fancy, Plates 17-20 (11:23)
Side D
1. Intro (02:27)
2. Plates 21-22 (03:11)
3. A Memorable Fancy, Plates 22-24 (04:50)
4. Intro (03:59)
5. A Song Of Liberty, Plates 25-27 / Chorus Vocals (06:16)
