Ulver - The Assassination of Julius Caesar

To talk about another Ulver album at this point in their career probably rustles the jimmies of plenty of metalheads because the band continues to dash any exclusively metal fans’ hopes of the group returning to the early trilogy of black metal days. But Ulver’s undying ambition and audacity to venture not only out of black metal, but all around the non-black territory of music with their incredible knack for making dark, haunting music of just about any type. I, personally have only recently gotten into Ulver, and I am sure wishing I had sooner because their catalog is more of an enigma than the inner mechanisms of the mind of Patrick Star. Consequently, my thoughts on their new album come with a level of background knowledge lower than what I would usually like to have while discussing an album by such a historic and long-standing musical group. However, upon hearing their new album, I felt compelled to give a discussion of its qualities at least a meager try.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar is Ulver’s crossing of the borders of electronic, synthwave music into territory long held under the uneasy rule of the inconsistent Depeche Mode, who displayed another lapse of creative dry-firing with their new studio release a month ago. Ulver, in a manner stealthy enough it seems to justify the name of their album, on the other hand, have come in to fill the void that Depeche Mode’s inability to satisfy has left. Their new project is not exactly enough to label them as Depeche Mode contemporaries, but a similar atmosphere to the British band’s more well-received albums is definitely present.

“Nemoralia” starts the album with the most familiar style and some beautiful sustained vocal melodies that I can’t at all find a complaint with. The band follows this with the epic “Rolling Stone” whose bass-heavy rhythm and high-pitched drums (bongos? Are they bongos?) lead into some gloriously soulful choir harmonies that fill the song magnificently as synthesizers sparkle in the background of the quieter parts of the song. I’ll try not to give too much away about what’s so cool about the album and where various notable moments show up, so I’ll keep from delving too deeply into each and every song. But I’ll say that each song is a highlight and no single part of the track-list is significantly weak next to the rest of the album, even as each of the songs play for different individual purposes. While the songs on the album are indeed diverse, they hold together a stable, relaxing, but attention-grabbing atmosphere that many bands for whom this music is their comfort zone struggle to cultivate, and that Depeche Mode haven’t managed to achieve since Violator. The songs flow with the smoothness of a freshly groomed cat without destroying the individuality of the 8 songs, which all make their own mark by the time the album’s 43 minutes are over. All throughout, the playing is kept from anything extraneous or self-serving at any expense of the music, and Kristoffer Rygg’s singing is absolutely beautiful and levitating from start to finish, with songs like “Angelus Norvus” showcasing the sweetness of his mid-upper register with a transcendent vocal melody. Nothing on the album is overblown, overstayed, overplayed, or underwhelming, and, as much as this word is overused in so many types of writing, I am truly amazed with Ulver’s work on this record.

Considering how all-over-the-place Ulver’s releases are stylistically, I’d say this is as good a starting point as any, and certainly one of the stronger albums in their discography that I’m sure long-time fans can thoroughly enjoy, even if they want a return to the decades-old black metal that is becoming more and more of a distant memory.  Whether Ulver linger around in this territory or not is anyone’s guess, and if they don’t, this record has certainly left their mark honorably. Should they expand on The Assassination of Julius Caesar, I’m sure they can continue to impress within these borders Justas they have within the borders of many other musical lands.