I was very conflicted about included Burzum. Given my personal beliefs, when I originally set out to make this website, I decided no neo-Nazi, Fascist, or racist metal bands would grace these pages. Well, I knew that this would preclude alot of important black metal groups from being on here. So, I decided to let this section of my web page be a compromise section: I will review the albums of any black metal bands that are important to the development of the style, regardless of beliefs. I have decided, however, to exclude any bands whose name is Nazi-esque or offends me personally (so no Aryan Tormentor, Bergen-Belsen, etc., reviews).
Burzum arose from the ashes of Varg Vikernes' previous project Uruk-Hai. Despite all the hoopla surrounding Varg and his questionable beliefs, he really is a brilliant musician. Some of the best black metal in history was written and recorded by this man. Recording as Burzum (which is, I believe, the Orcish word for "darkness" from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series), Vikernes (aka Count Grishnakh, or whatever he wants to be called) played all the instruments and vocalized all the screams for every Burzum release (except the bass on Aske--that was Samoth from Emperor). Upon listening to Burzum's self-titled release, one can hear some riffing which is emulated by almost every so-called "underground" black metal band on both sides of the Atlantic. I have to say that of all the early stuff from the Norwegian scene, this is some of the most primitive black metal, with minimalist production and completely tortured screams. In fact, Varg's voice is the reason I chose not to give this 5 stars. His vocalizations on "War" especially leave something to be desired. Any true black metal fan needs this album.
Another primitive release from Grishnackh. This one is on par with the self-titled release, but I would say that in some ways this one is better. On Burzum, there were several moments where the vocals really seemed to be too raw, too untamed--and I found that it seriously detracted from the listening experience. I also was not incredibly impressed with some of the more melodic moments, where Varg delved into a sound that was almost ambient at times, less metal. Aske remedies both of those problems. None of the vocals on here are tortured to the point of being bad, and all of the songs are 100 percent solid black metal. Burzum does specialize in the more primitve style of black metal--using trebly, droning guitars to acheive an almost hypnotic (yet at the same time, incredibly evil-sounding) effect. And this particular style may not appeal to everyone. Special note: the picture on the cover is of one of the many churches Varg and his "Inner Circle" buddies burnt down in the early nineties.
Absolutely outstanding. It seems as if Burzum approaches each album with a grand vision. And on the self-titled album,, it felt like there were moments which did not fit with the overall vision. Fear not, for there are no such moments on this release. With a title that means "what once was" in Norwegian, this album runs the full spectrum of the black metal style. From dark, brooding ambient intros to fast chaotic metal to droning, black metal dirges, Varg Vikernes really has all his bases covered. And there was not a single moment where I got bored. This slab of primitive, old-school black metal needs to be heard.
