50 euros for five "remastered" CD´s without case and cover and a booklet for lyrics, "comments" and a few pictures in. No thanx.

Good if you don´t already own these albums.

I gotta say, I am a little disappointed that they didn't at least put the album artwork on any of the CD sleeves like most box sets do.

But oh well, I've been wanting to own the Ulver trilogy for a long time now, and I'll take any remastering of Nattens Madrigal that isn't as grating on the ears.

Without a case? There is a separate case for the text book and for the CD's. Text book includes the lyrics, in both norwegian and in english.

And they are actually pretty good remasters. So far only listened to Nattens Madrigal once but it has a lot more dynamics than the original press.

But it's a fraud because it's not what the artist originally intended! That makes it a quick cash grab!

Just kidding. Really the only problem with Nattens Madrigal was GRATING production, made it painful to listen to. Too much treble...

I hear the remaster removes the bass and kick drum entirely. More treble FTW!

Which is bullshit. Bass is more audible than ever on Nattens.

I do. Let's talk by email.

Email answered.

According to Century Media the box set is "temporarily out of stock". Well, fuck.

Theoretically if it is only temporary they should have it again soon but I am very doubtful. Anyway it seems tha it can still purchased on Ebay.

I grew up on a steady diet of this stuff, so I look forward to listening to the rehearsal/remaster material with fresh ears.

I have to admit though, that I am terribly underwhelmed by the packaging and presentation.

Just received the CD box set. First impressions of the CD box set packaging:

'Text' aspect:
Really dig the extra photos and translations.
Appendix/Sources info is nice. However, the first 45 pages of the book are not numbered, so that seems a bit stupid and/or inefficient.
The hardback book in black canvas presentation works ok here.

'Music' aspect:
Hardback book in black canvas is not so cool here.
Paper or digi-file cardboard sleeve style disc housing SUCKS ASS. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I hate sliding CDs out of sleeves like this; new-school CD 'wallet' slash faux LP style bullshit. It makes no sense to have to grab the underside of the discs between my fingers and scrape them in and out of the damn cardboard.

Overall, the hardback book idea for the text aspect is fine; but they just needed to put the actual discs in a nice, sturdy super-jewel case.

You can just hold those Ulver discs by the edge, it won't damage them. They're only 35 to 45 minutes each so the last inch or so of the disc has no information on it.

I always hear so much hatered for digipacks, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes them.

Indeed, I know that there is no information on the edge of the discs. I am just being 'old' and difficult ... it is simply something I have developed a disliking for as packaging trends and methods keep evolving over time. Ha!

I fully recognize (and can also laugh at myself for) the extremely skewed and vitriolic vehemence I have towards digipacks in general. I do not prefer, but can deal with the sort that has the center prongs and traditional resting place. It is the cardboard digi-sleeve slider things that I feel like throwing in the garbage, I hate them so much. I usually end up altering and repackaging those things.
I guess the idea just hearkens back to the time period when everything started to shift to the modern. Case Logic stopped making real CD storage cases and everything switched to those 'wallet' type models, where everyone started removing their CDs from the original packaging/artwork and just throwing them in the travel wallets.
Subconsciously, for me, it must mark the shift towards 'digital', 'disposable' attitudes towards the music. Rambling ...

Anyway, like many of you, this early Ulver material is quite special to me. It played a large role in my perception/life at the time of its original release, and regardless of any minor qualms in packaging etc, it is a treat to be offered a bit more information/material to digest and enjoy now, a little farther down the road.

Hey man, you like what you like, nothing wrong with that. The passion is certainly something I admire!

I'd love to get this. Maybe I can somehow finagle a copy for christmas if there is one available for not too much money.

Although, quite frankly, I'm more of a fan of Ulver's later stuff, as much as I still love their early black metal works.

Cardboard (disc slide in) sleeves are demo era quality ...a demo being as cheap as you can afford just to make a throw away quick 'demo' of your music to spread, and then if interest persists you release a quality and official and proper release.

Ulver has far exceeded the demo era, so what is the deal with this cheap crap?
Oh wait a minute, CD's must mimic the vinyl style now? ...is that it. ...of course ignoring the fact a quality vinyl comes in a padded soft sleeve that should not be abrasive to the play surface.

Of course neither a CD or a LP should mimic the other, after all they are completely different formats. ...but industry does not care, just as long as you/we/us all keep buying it will continue to be released and as cheaply as possible, as cheap as they can get away with... for that is the nature of modern business my friends. (ever buy a car or house lately?) hahaha

It's true, they are cheaper, but I enjoy the paper style. I find artwork tends to look nicer on it and they don't ever seem to get scratched up as much as my plastic jewel cases do. I don't really bother much with physical releases much these days so I really don't care anymore, but I just never saw the jewel case as a vastly superior product. I'm sure the production of paper (especially if it uses recycled materials) digipacks is a more "green" option than the production of all plastic jewel cases, too. But that's my inner hippy coming out, I can understand why some or most people wouldn't care about that.

It is, and that's one reason we go with digipak for most of our releases now unless the artist asks for jewel case. Digisleeve is most green of all as it uses up less resources (see Panopticon CD for example).

As for the theme of the thread, I got both the CD box and the black vinyl box and am really pleased. Biggest reason for getting the CD box was to have it in my car which might be a bit excessive, but early Ulver is IT for me.

My copy arrived yesterday. Everything sounds great, especially Nattens Madrigal. The material that the box is made of is pretty nice as well.

The relatively unexciting sleeves for the CDs is basically my only complaint, but it's such a minuscule detail that it doesn't matter all that much in the end.

Indeed, I completely understand the digi-sleeve as both a more ecologically sustainable and economic format. My logical brain embraces that concept fully. But when I receive the newest Panopticon CD and it completely feels like a cheap, throw-away promo ... I cannot bury the dissatisfaction that it ultimately evokes on a primal level. Regardless of the fact that I understand and respect the statement that such packaging choices make, and how it compliments/represents Panopticon's message/aura/stance ... it unfortunately (for me) severely impacts how I view, digest, and feel about the album overall. Oh well, it is the same with all things over time. Just as my grandfather does not understand the basic quality of the hand-tools that get manufactured today when compared to the things he was used to buying/using in his earlier days ... things change, for one reason or another.

Speaking of change (and back to topic), it has been great to listen to these remastered albums over the weekend. I did not want to do a side by side upon first listen, but rather take these new versions as they are. Now I look forward to digging out my originals for a real comparison over the next few days.

Im a little perplexed as to why you guys would even bother with cds to begin with, especially on a release like this.....

nice presentation,

but a warning about the music section of the box set:

after at a close approximation of 3-5 minutes of looking at the music media section the glue holding KVELD and NATT together has come undone, so that the book opens right down the middle, like if you were to take a skool textbook and open to the center page, apply strong pressure to dislodge the seam in the center so the book could almost lay flat...
disappointingly impractical design,
CM knows consumers would be perusing the pages and removing the CDs from their sleeves?

Please clarify, as I do not prefer to assume.
Thanks.
I 'bother' with CDs all the time.

Ok, for those, like me, mainly interested in the scans of the booklet, I'm finding something in this thread:
http://www.nwnprod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43250

Edit: It seems like those are NOT actual scans of the booklet but...

I got my CD version of the box-set yesterday. The re-mastered "Nattens Madrigal" album sounds terrific. What an improvement. They were able to keep it sounding raw as intended but removed that harsh treble which made the album difficult to listen to.

There should be lyrics for Kveldssanger included too, right?

I wonder about that as well. My only progress on the matter is accidentally finding the source of Ord, in the Norwegian translation of The Fellowship of the Ring. Here is the English one:

[Elrond]: "...let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall."

I have not seen that mentioned elsewhere.