Issue #52: Burzum – Burzum

Released:  March, 1992

Recorded:  January, 1992

Genre:  Black Metal

Record Label:  Deathlike Silence

Duration:  46:07

Producers:  Pytten, Count Grishnackh, Euronymous

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Burzum is One of My Favorites

From the overt and sometimes extreme leftism found in Skinny Puppy’s music last issue (and in a lot of industrial in general), we move to the other side of the spectrum, to the extreme right-wing tendencies found in the first wave of black metal that came out of Norway in the early 1990’s.  The one man act Burzum, founded by Varg Vikernes, exemplifies this era of music perfectly with his eponymous debut from 1992.

These grimy, muddy recordings that are often cited as the pinnacle of black metal are difficult for me to fully get into, but somewhere in my attempts to understand and appreciate all (or most) types of music, I found myself liking much of Burzum.  These early practitioners of black metal were possessed by an ideology that was/is most embraced Varg.  The problem is that it was an ideology that led nowhere and seemed more determined to offend than anything else.  Varg (along with many other musicians in the scene) has made disparaging comments about the mixing of races, the European Union, has been connected with skinhead movements and survivalism extremists, burned a half dozen or more churches to the ground as “revenge” for some Viking shit that occurred 800 years ago, and worst of all, murdered Euronymous.  Yep, he killed the guy that helped him record guitar for his album; Varg in turn assisted Euronymous’ band Mayhem record bass for their black metal classic De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

But then again, when former Mayhem lead singer Dead killed himself, Euronymous was the first to find the body and called his other bandmates to say something close to, “Hey guys, Dead just did the coolest thing!  He killed himself!”  Dead himself left a note beginning with “Excuse all the blood,” clearly demonstrating disregard for his own life.  Before calling the police, Euronymous took pictures (you can see one of these pictures on the cover of the Dawn of the Black Hearts bootleg) and collected pieces of the Dead’s skull, made necklaces, and gave them to other black metal musicians he deemed worthy.  And so the cycle of complete fucked-up-ness continued.  It’s easy to villainize these people but what I find most tragic is that so many people got caught up in this way of thinking.

When listening to Burzum, it’s easy to get carried away with all this controversy.  Once Varg went to jail, things began to settle down, mostly because his trial (which also included the matter of several church burnings) brought this activity to light and the black metal community suffered severe scrutiny.  But with the release of Burzum right at the peak of it all, it’s an enlightening snapshot of a time where bands were very seriously competing to see who could be “more evil.”

Is Burzum evil?  That’s up to the individual listener.  What is certain is that Varg definitely believes himself to be “evil” in some sense of the word, and you can hear his attempt at lashing out against any and all things “normal” in both the music and the words.  A lot of “shock rock” bands have been against organized religion and spoken out against Christianity and used offensive imagery and lyrics to provoke, but these bands open decry violence and advocate for a more free-thinking world, not a malicious one.  Black metal sought to forcefully tear down these institutions and impress their own beliefs upon the world.

To be perfectly clear, I advocate almost nothing that these black metal band stand for.  I think their views are intensely narrow minded, I believe they ignore centuries of scientific advancement in favor of ancient texts with dubious origins, and I think they disregard basic human emotions in defense of a supposed functional society…sounds a lot like the criticisms aimed at organized religion, doesn’t it?  At any rate, what I do admire is the conviction on Burzum’s first album.  It’s not easy to stick to principles like “evilness,” even if they are absurd.  There is a will and a drive on this album that makes it compelling.

The sound is lo-fi and tinny.  Drums are little more than “blips” and the bass may as well be non-existent because the levels are turned so low.  What’s crazy about it is that this isn’t totally a result of being amateur or not having the money for decent equipment (although these were clandestine recordings), but the lack of quality is intentional and even sought after by Varg.  He wanted this particular sound, for better or worse, and high production values would become a huge point of contention in the black metal scene.  Aside fro the quality, the music itself isn’t too terrible.  The drumming is full of rapid blast beats and the lead guitar work is awesome most of the time.  Varg’s vocals are the real standout; his absolutely hellish shrieking sounds about as dark and evil as vocals can sound, and in a way, the distant, murky, lo-fi nature enhances the spooky, even frightening effect.

Lyrically, Varg draws on standard “evil” stuff, like monsters, dungeons, fantasy, and an older, primordial earth ruled by gods and demons.  Norse mythology and Viking folklore also work their way into the music in both overt and abstract ways, and Burzum’s connection of earthly horrors to the emptiness of space would become more apparent on later albums.

“Ea, Lord of the Depths” (sometimes misspelled as “Ea, Lord of the Deeps“) is all about a sea monster.  I know it sounds kind of silly, but as I let myself slip down into Varg’s sinister world, this beast truly comes alive.  The opening vocals are a prolonged shriek, and as the words begin, the first line of “The head / is the head of a serpent” are shouted in suck a crackled and broken manner that I’m instantly hooked.  As the closing guitar solo kicks in, it’s easy to imagine this monstrosity crushing a ship…and sinking beneath the waves….

“Black Spell of Destruction” is completely mesmerizing.  The slow, rhythmic riff always lulls me into a sort of a daze, and Varg’s unholy screeches fade in and out of the mix, like the tortured souls of a forgotten dungeon.  “Channeling the Power of Souls into a New God” is pure dark ambient, foreshadowing where Varg would take his music after his imprisonment.  “War” is a great song that almost has a “fun” sound to it, featuring an impeccable guitar solo from Varg’s future victim Euronymous at the end.

The tracks all have a similar sound, but I’d actually consider them much more distinct from each other than many of these other early black metal releases; I think this is one reason why I can actually get into Burzum and enjoy it so much more than comparable records.  Despite the opinions of Varg and others, I think great production values, or at least better production values would’ve really pushed this into awesomeness.  (Well, it’s already regarded as a classic I suppose.)  There are some blazing drum beats and hard hitting guitar riffs happening on the album that deserve better presentation, not to mention that balancing out the higher frequencies with some bass would give it a boost as well.

But even after all my complaints and even after the truly dark times that bore an album like Burzum, I still think it’s a great record and I love to give it a listen every now and then.  It’s ferocious and full of convictions and ideals that are frankly beyond my comprehension.  Why would anyone choose this life?  What benefit do they see in these sorts of beliefs?  I do not know, but it makes for a listening experience unlike any other.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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