Essential Bands – BURZUM
Varg Vikernes is a controversial figure, to say the least, but this is strictly about his music.
And he sure has made some great music in his time.
The first four Burzum albums (pictured above) are black metal at its finest.
They were all recorded between 1991 and 1993.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with them, you will find one track from each album below...
'Spell of Destruction', from Burzum (Deathlike Silence, 1992):
'En Ring Til Å Herske', from Det Som Engang Var (Cymophane, 1993):
'Det Som Engang Var', from Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (Misanthropy/Cymophane, 1994):
Soon after recording the last of those albums, Vikernes went to prison for fifteen years.
There he would record two ambient/'dungeon synth' albums - Dauði Baldrs (Misanthropy/Cymophane, 1997); and Hliðskjálf (Misanthropy/Cymophane, 1999), which is probably the stronger of the pair:
Out of prison, and reunited with his guitars, Varg recorded the excellent Belus (Byelobog, 2010):
There have been other albums since too, all of which are well worth checking; the stand-out among them being the entirely-ambient Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan (Byelobog, 2013):
The word "burzum" means "darkness", in the fictional language of Mordor (from J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings).
