Ulver: The Norwegian National Opera (2010)

Ulver: The Norwegian National Opera (2010)

Dir. Erlend Gjertsen

If you know Ulver then you'll know they play by their own rules, which is exactly what the live concert film presents a viewer with from the outset. Captured at The Norwegian National Opera on 31/07/10, it begins like some kind of bizarre performance art with the music as accompaniment.

The band members eventually appear in front of a projected screen that displays imagery with a power all of its own, being frequently religious, warring and sexually explicit in nature. It's also occasionally horrific and even somewhat questionable. I unwisely watched it before settling down to sleep.

As a live entity they're impressive, which is something you might not expect from a band that until the previous year had worked solely in the studio since their formation in 1993. And while the full oeuvre of the wolves may not get an airing, their experimental/ambient side certainly does.