Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler | ||||
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Studio album by Ulver | ||||
Released | February 1995 | |||
Recorded | November and December 1994 | |||
Genre | Black metal, folk metal, atmospheric black metal | |||
Length | 34:17 | |||
Label | Head Not Found | |||
Producer | Ulver and Kristian Romsøe | |||
Ulver chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Pitchfork Media | (8.7/10) |
Sputnikmusic | (5/5) |
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, issued on February, 1995 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio in Oslo in November and December 1994 with Kristian Romsøe as engineer and co-producer.
The album was praised for its unique atmosphere and was described as “mysterious, melancholic, eerie, and oddly tranquil.” The archaic Dano-Norwegian lyrics were greatly influenced by Scandinavian folktales and inspired by Baroque poets such as Ludvig Holberg and the hymn-writer Thomas Kingo.
Debut album, Bergtatt, the first part of what has become known as Ulver’s “Black Metal Trilogie,” was released during the rise of the Norwegian black metal subculture in Norway during the early 1990s. Separated from the more straightforward black metal of their contemporaries, Ulver incorporated elements of Norwegian folk music, utilizing acoustic guitars, droning low choirs, flutes, melody-focused songwriting and clean vocals together with fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars, blast beat drumming, raw (lo-fi) recording and unconventional song structures. This earned them the label “folk metal.”