Shadows of the Sun is the seventh studio album by the Norwegian experimental electronica band Ulver.

[2][3] Officially announced on 13 July 2007,[2] Shadows of the Sun received critical acclaim on release,[4][5] and was described as "dark and tragic", with "soothing electronics and natural percussion".

The album features contributions from Pamelia Kurstin on theremin, Mathias Eick on trumpet, and Austrian white noise musician Christian Fennesz adding electronics (described as "supplemental shimmer") and helping Ulver to correspond with their vision on the final product.

[6][7] On 30 August Ulver announced a release party for the album to be held at the Europa Night Club in Brooklyn, New York on 20 September 2007 with Kristoffer Rygg and Tore Ylwizaker DJing, while The Austerity Program and Lapdog of Satan were playing live.

[8] On 13 September 2007 Jester Records made it possible to pre-order the album, including a limited vinyl edition, with alternate front cover by David D'Andrea.

[9] The End Records also released a special deal consisting of the CD edition of the album, a T-shirt, and a screen print by Tomi Lahdesmaki in a limited run of 200.

[citation needed] The release of Shadows of the Sun was delayed in Europe and the United States,[10][11] possibly caused by problems with the vinyl manufacturing.

[18] In an interview with Music Information Centre Norway, Ulver member Tore Ylwizaker commented on the album.

Ylwizaker also took a year off to study classical composers and composition techniques, and said he took a particular liking to Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird.

"[20] Commenting in Unrestrained magazine in 2007, Rygg said, "I'm a diagnosed depressive, and should have been trying to focus on living, but instead I've immersed myself in some isolated, dark and paranoid place.

When we did Blood Inside, we'd been holding back with all that minimal stuff for so long — the soundtracks (Lyckantropen Themes and Svidd neger), the Silence EPs and all that.

"[21] Rygg, commenting in Unrestrained magazine, said, "The first song, “Eos,” is an embellishment of a piece that we did for a funeral theme in the movie Uno.

I wonder, where did all the sunshine pop go?”[23] In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Rygg commented on the collaboration with Christian Fennesz: “He remixed a song off Perdition City.

It lacks the fingerspitzengefühl that turn songs like Christian's "Chateau Rouge" or "A Year in a Minute" into something special.

He makes white noise sound like sunlight dappling in the Mediterranean.”[23] Upon release, Shadows of the Sun received generally positive reviews from music critics.

William York, writing for AllMusic, commented, “Shadows of the Sun offers a new slant on the sort of electronic art pop sound that Ulver have been developing off and on since 1999‘s Metamorphosis EP.

Along with 2005's return-to-form Blood Inside, it is one of their stronger efforts this decade, following several years of experimentation with instrumental electronic music.

Whereas on Blood Inside and Perdition City the albums commanded your attention due to their frequent shift from soft to loud sections and their regular use of discordant sounds, Shadows of the Sun will easily fade away from your attention if you don’t give it the awareness it deserves.” Roadrunner Records affiliate website Blabbermouth.net rated the album 8.5 out of 10, commenting, “Shadows of the Sun begins sombrely and remains so throughout, employing more subtle coloration and impeccable placement of impacting (but still low-key) rhythms.

It is the magic that Ulver creates on Shadows of the Sun that seeps through the pores and drowns the soul in melancholic grace.