Ulvik wasn’t a name I was too familiar with prior to this year’s full-length Cascades, but the Vancouver based duo has been putting out material for over a decade now. In recent years they’ve been quite busy, releasing the appropriately titled Volume One & Volume Two (bundled together as a single release in 2019), as well as last year’s Isolation Motifs which explored atmospheric black metal, dark folk, and a slew of other genres. Cascades pivots back towards a more dense and hypnotic black metal focus, though some of the additional elements have been woven in for an even more compact experience.
When it comes to atmospheric leaning black metal, particularly that of Pacific Northwest origin, the tendency is for bands to sprawl outwards towards much longer track lengths and rely on repetitive and pummeling build-ups to reach their peaks. This is where Ulvik initially drew me in, as while they employ the same hypnotic and aggressive layers that capture the raging and sometimes unpredictable qualities of nature, the material peaks much quicker and offer a much more condensed listen at just over a half hour in length. The instrumentals pack quite a bit of substance into that period of time too, with periods of calm where darker melodies still create a sense of unease and tension helping to break up the rush of blasting drums and furious guitar leads. Ulvik accomplishes this through the use of the bouzouki and violin, creating melodies that have a more mysterious tone to them, encouraging listeners to peel back the layers and start to discover everything these five songs have to offer. Cascades splits its time fairly evenly between dreamier soundscapes and more aggressive, and unnerving ones, bringing to mind some of the softer ambiance of genres like dark folk and post rock before the black metal kicks back into full gear. Admittedly while the duo makes effective use of these additional instruments to create a tone that’s a bit different from the norm for atmospheric black metal, I did find that the material didn’t fully hit its peak until the last two songs. “Allmächtiger Gott! Lössch’ Aus” and “Salt of the Earth” is where Ulvik finds that perfect balance between the dreamlike and the nightmarish and fully capitalize on acoustic and softer passages, and while the album as a whole is consistent it’s the ebb and flow of these two songs I’ve found myself returning to the most.
Both members contribute vocals throughout Cascades, providing some slightly different pitches throughout the album while remaining firmly rooted in harsh screams. As you might expect from a black metal release of this type, Ulvik has opted to bury their vocals in the mix rather than making them the most prominent element. This works to their advantage, as it makes each burst seem like it’s just barely breaking through the dense layers of instrumentation before getting swallowed back up. The approach is familiar, but the overwhelming sense of emotion matches some of the better acts in the genre. You do get some Gregorian chants towards the end of “Allmächtiger Gott! Lössch’ Aus” that breaks up the attack ever so slightly, but the remainder of the album is firmly focused on screams and growls that rarely let up.
Compared to the stereotypical “Cascadian black metal” term that gets thrown around, Ulvik has a more distinctive approach and vision that goes for a more concise attack with periods of ethereal and dark melodies. At times it reminds me a bit sonically of bands like Wolvserpent, and while the group doesn’t fully hit that truly magical and haunting level for me until the last two songs Cascades remains an album that’s continued to find its way into my rotation. Given how quickly they’ve been releasing material the last few years, I think this duo could have a truly monumental effort in them and they are certainly edging closer with this effort. Cascades is available from Avantgarde Music.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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