Search - Ulver :: 1st Decade in the Machines

Wolves Evolve.

IcemanJ | Ohio, USA | 08/30/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This Ulver "tribute" or "remix" album is quite an experience. I'm going to tell you straight out, that 99% of people who buy this will only like a select few songs. None of the songs sound anything like the original songs, more like the artists take a few clips out of them or even just the melody, and add their totally own thing. However, a lot of them are still done pretty well and are very interesting to listen for the pieces of the original songs, or just the new songs as they are.There is actually one new Ulver song done by Ulver themselves, "Crack Bug." It is pretty interesting but doesn't live up to most Ulver material. ALEXANDER RISHAUG: "A Little Wiser than the Monkey, Much Wiser than Seven Men" is very annoying and contains high-pitched screeching. INFORMATION: "Track Slow Snow" is interesting but not one of my favorites. THE THIRD EYE FOUNDATION: "Lyckantropen Remix" Is quite good and makes use of some of the very boring parts on Lyckantropen. UPLAND: "Lost in Moments Remix" is quite annoying to me, it is really a huge mess of loud and strange sounding beats, but other people could like it, and it doesn't sound anything like "Lost in Moments" whatsoever.BOGDAN RACZYNSKI: "Bog's Basil & Curry Powder Potatoes Recipe" is probably my favorite song on the album. It contains the most interesting synth textures and tones, which make amazing layers of melodies, with intricate rhythms finding their way into the mix. The song keeps shifting and changing throughout its 5 minute duration, every second being very enjoyable, at least to me. It sounds tremendously similar to 80's and early 90's video game music, without the monotonous, 8-bit beeps, and with a lot more variety and layers.MARTIN HORNTVETH: "Der Alte" is the violin melody from the end of "Speak Dead Speaker" off "Silencing the Singing," repeated underneath voices of old German guys talking. At some parts the rhythm picks up, and there is an extra harmonization to this already brilliant melody. This actually turned out to be one of my favorites. NEOTROPIC: "He Said, She Said" is that repeating bell melody from "Not Saved," with a lot of extra sounds and melodies, and then turning into something totally unique but still very good. It's another one of the best tracks, if you ask me.A. WILTZIE vs. STARS OF THE LID: "I Love you, but I Prefer Trondheim" is probably my second favorite track. It starts off with a brilliant, orchestrated violin melody that sounds like music at emotional climax of a great movie, and transforms into a soft, eerie melody with a soft pulsing beat. The violins reappear to enhance the aurally pleasing waves of sound entering your ear lobe. This melody fades out into a delicate, relaxing keyboard section that is not in a hurry to go anywhere, which then slowly fades out.FENNESZ: "Only the Poor Have to Travel" is just a big incoherent mess of sections from different songs of Perdition City, mangled around and sloppily pasted together. PITA: "Ulvrmxsw5" is a bunch of random screeching noises, JAZZKAMMER: "Wolf Rotorvator" I find extremely annoying, V/VM: "The Descent of Men" is more random annoying junk, and then finally, MERZBOW: "Vow Me Ibrzu" is a little interesting, but sounds a lot like the two songs before it.All in all... A lot of songs on this CD need a true second chance; most will simply not pull your attention right away. This CD is mostly for hardcore Ulver fans that are just looking for something extra in their collection, or just need to get it to complete their collection. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, especially if you are new to Ulver. This CD would leave a horrible impression of the band, especially since it's all other artists."

Not exactly a utopian enterprise

Paul Simon Hansen | Norway, Europe | 04/29/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the past Ulver has shown great skill at morphing from one musical expression to another. Though some have raised their voices in disapproval of their break with the black metal-scene, it gave Ulver the oppurtunity to discover new and more exciting ways to express themselves musically.Given their latest releases, "1993-2003: 1st Decade in the machines" will not come as the stylistically great surprise to the listener familiar with the band's development since their black metal days. So what do we have here then? A bunch of artists I know little of. A bunch of songs I once knew, chopped, fried and glued into something a little bit different. And without getting into too much detail, i must say that most of the remixes on this celebration of Ulvers ten-year anniversary are average to good. And a few are really good. With contributors ranging from The Third Eye Foundation to Upland to Aleksander Rishaug to V/Vm to Merzbow, the focus is on modern electronic music. The remixes come in the shape of glitch, beats, some ambient pieces, and for the grand finale, noise. A little remark on noise: I am not to fond of it myself, but the mixes makes for an interesting listen nonetheless (especially the intermezzo on Merzbow's "Vov me lbrzu", which noise-purists probably will dismiss as noise). But you are probably more interested in being told if this album is worth owning or not, than in anything else. So here goes. Yes, it is. For the fan of Ulver and for those into the whole modern electronic music-scene, whatever that might mean. It is not, however, a great stand-alone piece, such as Perdtion City or the Silence... ep's. The album lacks an over-all focus, but as far as tributes and remix-albums goes, this is a good one."

Not just for Ulver fans

Bailey | Texas | 01/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is excellent. You cannot really call it an Ulver album though because it is so much more than that. Ulver fans may find themselves getting this just to add to their collection.With that being said, let me just say that these are some of the best remixes I have ever heard. Each artist puts their own spin of origanality to the songs. If they wanted them to sound like Ulver songs, it would have been a cover album, not a remix one. I have not heard of every artist that was featured on this album, but if this is a taste of what they do I have a few more albums to get. What I got most from this album was a sense of relief that there are other acts out there as original as Ulver. If these are their manipulations of someone elses music, I can only imagine what they do for themselves.This is a worthy addition to anyone's Ulver CD collection or any fan of electronic/ noise/ ambient music. It took me a couple of times to really appreciate it for all it had to offer so don't give up on it right away."