Ulver keyboardist Tore Ylwizaker dies

Tore Ylziwaker in 2020 — (Image credit: Brian Cliff Olguin)

Ulver keyboardist Tore Ylwizaker has died at the age of 54.

The Norwegian experimental collective, whom Ylwizaker joined in 1997, announced his passing in a social media post today (August 19).

“It is with black holes in our hearts we have to inform you that our brother for over nearly thirty years, Tore Ylvisaker (Ylwizaker), is dead. He passed on in the night of 16 August, his 54th birthday.

“It is all too much to take in at the moment. We will return as soon as we have collected ourselves. Rest in peace, dearest friend. We love you, forever. ULVER”

No cause of death has yet been given.

Ylwizaker joined Ulver shortly before the making of their 1998 album Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell. The album marked the band’s transition from a folk/black metal sound to more avant-garde territory, rooted in prog and industrial music. Ulver would later also experiment with the post-rock, jazz, ambient and synthpop genres, among others.

Ylwizaker stayed with Ulver until his death, making him their second longest-serving member behind frontman and co-founder Kristoffer Rygg. His most recent full-length album with the group was 2021’s Scary Muzak: a collection of synthpop works inspired by and directly covering pieces by filmmaker/musician John Carpenter.

The keyboardist appeared on Ulver’s recent singles Ghost Entry, A City In The Skies, Nocturne #1, Forgive Us and Hollywood Babylon. The songs will eventually be part of the band’s 14th studio album, which is being released track by track.

As well as a keyboard player, Ylwizaker was a producer and mixer. He co-produced multiple Ulver albums, Star Of Ash’s Iter.Viator. (2002) and When’s You Are Silent (2008), among others. He also engineered the vocals on the Ihsahn song Homecoming, taken from the black metal musician’s 2006 debut solo album, The Adversary.

A post shared by Ulver_official (@ulver_official)
A photo posted by on

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.