''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler'' (translated as "''Spellbound – A Fairy Tale in 5 Chapters''") is the debut studio album by the Norwegian band

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...

, issued in February 1995 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

in November and December 1994 with Kristian Romsøe as engineer and co-producer. The album was praised for its production atmosphere and was described as "mysterious, melancholic, eerie, and oddly tranquil". The archaic

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...

lyrics were influenced by Scandinavian folktales and inspired by Baroque poets such as

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...

and the hymn-writer

Thomas Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymnwriter born in Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. Early life and education His parents were Hans ...

Background

''Bergtatt'', the first part of what has become known as "''

The Trilogie – Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''", was released during the rise of the

Norwegian black metal Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and ...

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in the early 1990s. Separated from the more straightforward

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

sound of their contemporaries, Ulver incorporated elements of Norwegian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, utilizing

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s, droning low choirs, flutes, melody-focused songwriting and clean vocals together with fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

blast beat A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal, death metal and their respective subgenres,Adam MacGregor, '' PCP Torpedo'' ...

drumming, raw (

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

) recording and unconventional

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common piece-level musical forms for vocal music include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus ...

s. ''Bergtatt'' is notable in that its lyrical content deviates substantially from that of other second-wave

albums. While it is heavily rooted in Norwegian

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, it features no anti-Christian themes, unlike the music of many of Ulver's contemporaries, particularly

Burzum Burzum (; ) is a Norwegian music project founded by former Mayhem member Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a staple of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most infl ...

and

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band hailing from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991, Darkthrone transitioned to a black metal style influenced by Bathory (band), Bathory and Celtic Frost and ...

. The folk-like acoustic elements of ''Bergtatt'' were isolated and expanded upon for their second album ''

Kveldssanger ''Kveldssanger'' (translated as ''"Twilight Songs"'') is the second studio album by Norwegian band Ulver, issued in March 1996 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio, Oslo, Norway in the summer and autumn of 1995, with Kr ...

'', incorporating

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and choral chamber chants overlaid with subtle orchestral landscapes. The band's third album, '' Nattens madrigal'', abandoned these acoustic and atmospheric elements, and was recorded with an intentionally underproduced, "raw and grim black metal" sound. In an interview with Rob Hughes for ''Unrestrained Magazine'' in 2007,

Kristoffer Rygg Kristoffer Rygg (born 9 September 1976), also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a Norwegian vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar. Biography Kristoffer Rygg was born ...

reflected, "We were influenced by a period known as the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway (1536–1814)—the language and literature of that era combined with the superstition and folklore of the Middle Ages. It was the kind of stuff we were learning about in school at the time. When it comes to music, we were already listening to a whole slew of other things, and already had our two next records in mind, so by the time '' Nattens madrigal'' (1997) was released, we had developed a strong urge to explore something else. We had also acquired the knowledge of how to do so in the meantime."

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised the album, writing, "''Bergtatt'' is not the heaviest or most aggressive black metal around by a long shot; nor is it the most evil or blasphemous. What makes the album stand out, along with the varied vocal styles and the excellent songwriting, is its unique atmosphere—mysterious, melancholic, eerie and oddly tranquil." Angry Metal Guy stated: "Musically, the album is focused on melody and atmosphere, it blends black metal with acoustics, reverb, and gorgeous, melancholic songwriting. It even eschews Satanism in text and imagery. Except Ulver was right there when it all went down; outsiders to a scene of outsiders." Going on to acknowledge ''Bergtatt''s influence on

Agalloch Agalloch () is an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video a ...

, Cormorant,

Alcest Alcest () is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige (musician), Neige (Stéphane Paut). It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the ...

and October Falls, the reviewer goes on to reflect "''Bergtatt'' is the work of kids. These guys weren't old, they weren't seasoned; they were 16 and 17 when they started this band, and 18/19 when ''Bergtatt'' dropped on the famous Head Not Found label 2 years later. They were—from Garm's own mouth—not super mature or sophisticated."

Track listing

Personnel

;Ulver *

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

* Håvard Jørgensen -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Torbjørn Heimen Pedersen (Aismal) - guitar *

Hugh Mingay Hugh Steven James Mingay (born 12 December 1974), also known by his stage name Skoll, is a Norwegian bassist. Career He became a member of the Norwegian band Arcturus from 1995 to 2000 for the recording of the album '' Aspera Hiems Symfonia ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Erik Olivier "AiwarikiaR" Lancelot -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

;Additional Musicians * Sverd - piano *Lill Kathrine Stensrud - additional vocals, flute ;Other Credits *Kristian Romsøe - co-producer, engineer, mixing *Craig Morris - mastering * Tania "Nacht" Stene - album cover design

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler Ulver albums 1995 debut albums Head Not Found albums