Customer Reviews

Perdition City

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This is probably the best electronic based album I've heard. No cheesy steady beats and barely-changing extremely repetitive tones present in so much techno/trance stuff today. But if you're reading this chances are you aren't one who's into that. While this certainly isn't Ulver's most experimental, (That goes to "Themes from William Blake's...") it remains their most solid work to date. This is much different from "Themes" Very melodic and calm songs, but not too calm to be labeled "Ambiant" like some of their other releases. Even though some parts are ambiant. There is a lot of electonic rhythms but they are never repetitive.

The CD kicks off with "Lost in Moments" a nice beat which suddenly turns into a soft piano and saxophone harmony and keeps switching and mixing back and forth. When you hear the word Saxophone you might think it is incredibly cheesy, but Ulver know how to make it anything except that. This song also has some vocals, most of them near the end. They aren't very common, probably half the songs have vocals.

Most songs have piano, a lot of electronic beats and a significant amount of real drumming, and a lot of melodic and not-so-melodic electronic sounds that drift in and out and in between the songs. Sometimes real guitars are used too. Some parts are just so groovy you cant help but tap your fingers... especially the last minute or so of "Porn Piece or the Scars of Cold Kisses." Songs change a lot and keep flowing brilliantly and most songs have an awesome climax somewhere.

Some songs are a bit different. "We are the Dead" is a very eerie and slow with Garm whispering into your ear overlapping the subtle distorted radio frequencies. Following that is "Dead City Centres," the first part is the most ambiant on the CD with high frequency beeps and distant sounds. The second half is a freaky narration of some sort with crazy saxophones... kind of hard to explain, then fades out into a beautiful uplifting piano melody for a few seconds. The last song, "Nowhere/Catastrophe" is where the most vocals are found.

While listening to this I always picture walking around in a big city with lots of neon lights at night. I should actually try to do that sometime, but I'd probably look like a moron and start taking steps in synch with the rhythm. I think of going into subways, glass buildings, all sorts of things. The photos inside kind of help that imagery along.

This album probably makes the best introduction to Ulver's electronic works. It is experimental in its own way but not compared to a lot of their other stuff, and shouldnt be that hard if you have an open mind...

For my conclusion I will quote the back of the cd case. "This is music for the stations before and after sleep. Headphones and darkness recommended." This is very true, if you listen to it with these two conditions it is more worthwhile.

One night two summer's ago I wanted to go for a ride in the middle of the night. It was raining and that was perfect. I grabbed Perdition City. I turned my car on and put the album in. I left. I drove around downtown and let the rain accumulate before wiping it away with my wipers each time and with the music playing it gave it this sort of surreal feel. I didn't feel like I was apart of the world. It was odd. The lights had a different meaning as they were skewed both by the droplets of water on my windows, but also with my aural senses. It was a night I won't soon forget. I drove around and around and around, the greens the reds the yellows all filtering in so bright so alive. Ulver _Perdition City_ is the album to listen to while driving on a rainy night. It's epic and dark. Evil and uplifting. Free and concise. Everything is meticulously placed yet not forced. Imaginative. This is a masterpiece of modern music and highly recommended.

Treading new ground in new music is like a dark room. The dark room is always there. You either open the door and move on in or you dont. There's no two ways about it. If the dark room scares you or intimidates you you wont discover what might be in it.
Ulver have gone in.
What have they found? They've found "more" music. Huh? What's that? It's what i said: more music.
While people are desperately (and increasingly) looking into the electronic scene to find some musical oxygen to breathe they tend to look into the wrong places. Massive Attack. Dj Krush. Bohren and the Club of Gore. But they miss out on people like Ulver.
"Perdition" is nothing short of a monumental album. It doesnt matter how "experienced" your ears are with music and it doesnt matter how perceptive you are or openminded. You will find that listening to this album will take a while for it to reveal to you all its secrets and all its angles. It's that rich. The catch? It's rich while being subtle.
Ulver dont shove their sounds down anybody's throats by being pompous or overproduced. When they used effects it's not because they're trying to disguise the nakedness of their music but to enhance it. When they use vocals it's not because they "have to" but to add mystification. And when they make their choices on instruments it's not based on what's "acceptable" but on what serves their puprose.
I've bought this album some months now and i'm still discovering it. I'm thinking that it could very well be one of the most undiscovered LPs of the pst 5 years if the term "most undiscovered" is accurate.
How is it then musically: well, it's one of those where it may be vain to try and describe it in words. It doesnt have any orthodoxy about it. It moves effortlessly like water from one scape to another. It's elecronic but it has classical elements. It's that but it's experimental. It's experimental but also mental. It's mental but also accesible if you let access you.
And once you allow it to access you you are bound to treasure it.

To clear up any possibly confusion this is not a metal album, such as Ulver's earlier works ("Bergtatt", "Nattens Madrigal"). "Perdition City" is one of Ulver's electronic based albums, such as the most recent piece of work, "Blood Inside".

Ulver are simply a great band. Whether they are playing metal, folk or electronica, they create some wonderful music, and this is no exception. Even if you were directed to Ulver by their metal fame, I recommend trying this, as they create the same dark and menacing atmospheres found in their earlier releases, just without the instrumentation of metal.

Unlike most electronic music I have heard, "Perdition City" is not repetitive, monotonous, and doesn't contain silly robotic noises that become ultimately annoying. This album is something wholly different. With its dark and creepy atmospheres it is instantly engulfing and a thoroughly pleasurable experience (especially when following the instructions on the cover to listen with `darkness and headphones'). Generally the music is slow to mid-tempo, often minimalist, washing over the listener with a trance-like quality, only to be hit by perfectly executed climaxes. "Lost In Moments" is a fine opener, mostly consisting of soothing drum and saxophone playing. The song weaves in and out of solos and calming atmospherics until it breaks down into an eerie spoken section by singer Garm, followed by a huge climax with tasteful operatic vocals and crashing drums. "Porn Piece or the Scars of Cold Kisses" follows a similar pattern, its highlight being a wonderful vocal section in which Garm soothingly describes a cold, dark city. Such vocal style is visited again, but at its pinnacle with "We Are the Dead", a chilling piece consisting of Garm whispering about spirits and voices in dark desolation.

Most of the songs follow the progressive styling I mentioned earlier, and other solid album tracks include the somewhat trippy "Future Sound of Music" and the ethereal "Hallways of Always", both evolving around piano/synth themes that are constantly varied and progressed, eventually reaching climatic finishes full of lush drum loops and seemingly endless texturing.

This is not the usual electronic piece of work. For those that are new to Ulver, and were unaware of their electronic works, I strongly recommend this. Ulver can play many types of music sprawling various genres, but every album they put out contains their crucial atmosphere.

I have to admit that I have a strong obsession with any band that Garm is involved in, but Ulver is definately my favorite. Every album that Ulver has released has been a reinvention of themselves; I praise these few who dare to achieve what they want to do musically, and not just to satisfy the listener. Listening to Ulver is like taking a trip to a destination that you have absoulutely no idea where it will end. This album holds a very special quality to it. It is extremely atmospheric and it enables me to visualize many different scenarios in life and dreams. In fact, the lyrics to Nowhere/Catastrophe come across as if Garm is describing some kind of lucid dreaming experience. The album gives me a chilling sensation every time I hear it, and it is extremely relaxing. For the most part, the album is instrumental. There is only occasional vocals by Garm, and most of them consist within the final song, Nowhere/Catastophe. This is one of top ten favorite albums of all time.

At this point, it truly does seem like good music is dying. All the greats have either disbanded or grown stale, and very few new musicians are stepping up to take their place. It also seems as if musicians are running out of ground to experiment on. It seems that just about everything has been done before.

Not Ulver.

Perdition City is something fresh, exciting, and unlike anything I have ever heard before. The songs start out simply, and get more and more complex as the song builds up towards a dramatic climax. The music here is slow, mature, abstract, atmospheric, and absolutely breathtaking. This is perfection; It is something that has to be heard to be believed.

This is also one of the most diverse albums I have heard. Perdition City combines elements of ambient, electronica, noise, jazz, trip hop, classical, rock, experimental, and industrial to create this masterful piece of art.

Perdition City is without a doubt the best album of the year 2001, and definitely a candidate for the best albums of all time.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, even if you've never heard of Ulver before. If you listen with an open mind, Perditon City has something in it for everyone, no matter what kind of music you normally listen to. Highly recommended.

I recommend this album to everyone who REALLY loves music. Whether it is metal, electronic, classical, or country, it does not matter. If you love good music and like to hear music mixed and done to perfection, this is a good album to invest in.

Everything on this album is perfectly flowed together.

From beginning to end, this musical masterpiece shows how much a metal band can evolve(who is still evolving far beyond this). There is NOTHING resembling metal anywhere on this album. However, being a huge fan of black metal (especially Norwegian), I can say that this is one of my favorite CD's.

Not having ever heard much electronic or ambient music I cannot compare it to anything or anyone else. It's better than ambient Burzum and the William Blake CD. Really, the only thing I like more than this is the Teachings in Silence album.

I recommend it for anyone who ever finds themselves looking for the perfect soundtrack to a late night drive through a busy city or something to make the pencil flow across the paper a little easier. It's great to hear while clicking away your life on a computer or just to have on while having a conversation. It will not distract you from what you are doing, but if you do find yourself sitting alone with headphones on in a dark room (as is recommended on the CD itself) you will be pleasntly surprised and amazed at what you hear.

The sound Ulver achieves is both one of simplicity and complexity. The overriding keyboards or beat box drumming on some songs may be all you hear the first couple of times, but when you really listen and hear the way everything is masterfully flowed together, you will (hopefully) appreciate the music for all that it can give you.

Those familiar with Ulver's output will certainly realize that they have mastered any path upon which they have embarked. From flowing, depressing metal dreariness, to accoustic folk songs that choke the listener with their simple beauty, to scathing black metal assault, to their top-notch electronic excursions, Ulver (normally directed by the brilliant Garm [Kris, Trickster G., etc..]) has always been highly skilled at drawing an undeniable atmosphere; sometimes mournful, sometimes malicious, at times pleasant... but there is always the feeling of being transported to an entirely new place.
Such is the case with "Perdition City", quite possibly the best release of 2001 (the copyright says 2000, but the disc wasn't actually available until spring of last year). This time around, the tricksters have released us into the dank, gritty urban stage... where introspection and outrospection happen whether you know it or not. Case in point, on the first track, "Lost In Moments", deceptively simple beats open and then give way to piano and sultry saxophone with G's half-audible lament draped over top. Beats and sax then do a tipsy dance, lulling you furthur into the city's centre. Towards the end of the track, ambience dies down to reveal the sounds of a metropolis still seething at night, radios blasting from passing cars and all, then....rapture.
This is more than just a trip-hop record (and it's not even really trip-hop), it really is a film poured into an album as a work of art. This will have you changing your breathing to match the speed at which it breathes. And make no mistake, "Perdition City" definately breathes.

So, I found this CD at a local store a few months back after having enjoyed Themes... quite a bit. I checked the CD out, liked it a lot, so I bought it. The thing about this sort of music, even though its not part of the genre I usually enjoy the most, its really very enthralling. The music itself is great, but it seems to create an ominous atmosphere when being played, but as ominous as it is, it's somehow pleasant. The best word to describe what the music would be subtle. It's mellow, mostly electronic sounds. The thing thats really remarkable about almost all of the songs is the dynamics. Without fail, especially among the instrumental tracks, there is a fantastic climax to the songs. While Ulver has become a mostly electronic band, straying far from their black metal roots, this cd has elements of jazz and rock scattered throughout. Some of the passages are more experimental than others, some closer to the sound of Themes, and some closer to the even stranger Silence ep. This disc, as it says on the back of the album, is best enjoyed with a good pair of headphones in complete darkness.

The first time I heard this album I couldn't believe my ears. Electronic music composed with such simplicity but also with immense talent that creates an amazing soundscape. I was convinced of Garm's genius after hearing Ulver's previous album and his work with Arcturus but with this he has proven that he can master any kind of music. Words cannot really describe how amazing this album is. This, as the title implies,is a soundtrack to an interior film and as so it should be viewed to totally comprehend its beauty. Very recommended album!!!