| Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Ulver |
| Cover: | Ulver_nattens.JPG |
| Released: | 3 March 1997 |
| Recorded: | 1996 |
| Genre: | Black metal |
| Label: | Century Media |
| Prev Title: | Kveldssanger |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
| Next Title: | The Trilogie - Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden (translated as "Madrigal of the Night – Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man") is the third studio album by Norwegian band Ulver, issued on 3 March 1997 via Century Media. Composed and arranged during the first half of 1995, Nattens is a concept album about wolves, the night, the moon, and the dark side of mankind.[1]
The third and final album in what has become known as Ulver's “Black Metal Trilogie,”[2] Nattens madrigal marked the band's international debut and showcases an abrasive black metal style similar to the darker, heavier tracks on Bergtatt, abandoning acoustic and atmospheric elements with an intentionally underproduced sound. The album has been described as “raw and grim black metal at its blackest.”[3]
An urban legend regarding the album is that the band spent the recording budget on Armani suits, cocaine and a Corvette and recorded the album outdoors in a Norwegian forest on an 8-track.[4] [5] Kristoffer Rygg, however, has stated that this is not true and possibly a rumour started by Century Media.[6] [7]
Metal Injection concluded "Kveldssanger had no electric instruments, Nattens Madrigal had no acoustic instruments, but Bergtatt has both acoustic and electric instruments; it's like they spliced the elements from Bergtatt into two separate albums. If that's the case, then Nattens Madrigal really showcases the black metal prowess of the band. The album answers exactly why people were so angered by Ulver's transition away from black metal, and why people are still bitter at their direction today."[8] Despite this, there is an acoustic interlude in the first track.
Commenting on the rumours surrounding Nattens Madrigal, Rygg said, "Do you really think that Century Media advanced us so much that we could buy a black Corvette? Maybe some suits and drugs; I won't deny that. Or deny that we recorded it cheap. I'll let the myth carry on." Continuing, Adding, "We composed Nattens Madrigal quite quickly after Bergtatt. And while we were rehearsing the Madrigal we recorded Kveldssanger, the second one. So I think that we spent about a year on that record. It was written in '95, recorded in '96, and was finally released early '97."[9]