Burzum

Name	Burzum
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Bergen, Norway
Genre	Black metal, dark ambient
Years active	1991–19992009–present
Label	Deathlike Silence, Cymophane, Misanthropy, Byelobog
Associated acts	Mayhem, Old Funeral, Darkthrone, Immortal, Uruk-Hai, Satanael
Url	burzum.org
Current members	Varg Vikernes

Burzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes (originally under the pseudonym "Count Grishnackh"). It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene. During 1992 and 1993, Burzum recorded four albums; however, in 1994 Vikernes was convicted and imprisoned for the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of several churches. While imprisoned, Vikernes recorded two studio albums in the dark ambient style, using only synthesized instruments, as he was not given access to drums, guitar, or bass. Burzum is one of the most influential acts in black metal.

History

===Early years (1991–1993)=== From 1989, Vikernes had been playing in the short lived band Old Funeral which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He played guitar in the band until 1991 when he left to form his one man band, Burzum. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became very involved with the Norwegian black metal scene, being both interested in its music and the ideology. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Burzum began to record for his self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), though still make it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being the second album released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous of Mayhem, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.

Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it so Samoth of Emperor joined the band as their bassist though only appeared on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show. Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore". Therefore, Samoth and Lancelot had parted ways with Burzum. Det som engang var was released as Burzum's second album in 1993, recorded in 1992.

===Imprisonment (1994–2009)=== May 15, 1994, saw the release of Hvis lyset tar oss, a new album of previously recorded material from 1992. Burzum stayed as a solo project until 1994, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway. During his time in prison, on January 1, 1996, his next album got released, titled Filosofem it was recorded in March 1993 and was the last recording before Varg Vikernes' imprisonment. Vikernes, while imprisoned, managed to record two other albums in a dark ambient style. They were released as Dauði Baldrs (1997) and Hliðskjálf (1999).

Post-imprisonment (2009–present)

Soon after being released Vikernes started writing new tracks, nine metal tracks and an ambient intro and outro, for an upcoming Burzum album. According to Vikernes mentions, several record companies were interested in releasing his first album in eleven years. He stated about the new album, "I want to take my time, and make it the way I want it. It will be metal, and the fans can expect genuine Burzum."

The album was going to be originally titled "Den hvite guden" (The White God), but he later decided to change it to Belus, which was released by "Byelobog productions" on the 8th of March 2010. It has also been announced that a movie will be released in 2010, based on Varg Vikernes' life in the early 1990s. The movie is mainly drawing inspiration from the book "Lords of Chaos", with the film being of the same name. Vikernes expressed his deep contempt towards both the movie and the book it is based upon.

The newest Burzum album, "Fallen" was released on March 7, 2011.

Musical style

Burzum's music features characteristics common in black metal, including distorted, tremolo-picked guitar riffs, harsh vocals, and the use of Double bass techniques in the drumming. All of the band's albums feature low production quality. The band's early music shows heavy Tolkien influence; for example, the name "Count Grishnackh" is taken from an orc character called Grishnákh in Tolkien's works. Some of Burzum's early songs featured titles like "En ring til å herske" ("One Ring to Rule"); however, Vikernes later explained this to be a reference to the Rheingold of Norse mythology rather than to Tolkien's works . As he continued to release albums, Vikernes' attraction to Norse mythology and Pagan beliefs became more and more apparent . Much of Burzum's later music focuses on Norse legends, especially his two ambient albums: Dauði Baldrs deals exclusively with the legend of the death of Baldr and Hliðskjálf recounts the death of Wotan and the approach of Ragnarök .

Musically, Burzum has progressed from primitive, raw black metal to classical-influenced ambient music characterised by minimalist tendencies and dark atmospheres. Vikernes' music is characterised by hypnotic repetition and simple yet profound song structures; this trademark sound has been present on Burzum's black metal and electronic albums alike. Vikernes has described Burzum as a kind of "spell" or recreation of an imaginary world tied in with Pagan history. |- |Fallen||November 2010||March 2011 |}

Demos/promos

Burzum Demo I (1991)

Burzum Demo II (1991)

Burzum Promo (1992)

Videos

Dunkelheit (1996)

Until The Light Takes Us (2008)

Compilation albums

Burzum / Aske (1995)

1992-1997 (1998)

Anthology (2002)

Draugen - Rarities (2005)

Anthology (2008)

Other appearances

Presumed Guilty (1998) (contributed "Et hvitt lys over skogen")

Gummo soundtrack (1998) (contributed "Rundtgåing Av Den Transcendentale Egenbetens Støtte")

Fenriz Presents... The Best of Old-School Black Metal (2004) (contributed "Ea, Lord of the Depths")

Tributes to Burzum

Visions: A Tribute to Burzum (2002)

A Man, A Band, A Symbol (2003)

Wotan Mit Uns! (2003)

The Tribute (2005)

Burzum Tribute Attakk (2005)

Triumph und Wille (2006)

Lost Freedom (2007)

A Hungarian Tribute to Burzum: Life Has New Meaning (2008)

Tribute to Burzum: When the Night Falls - Bethlehem Struluckt (2009)

A Tribute To Varg Vikernes: Born To Be White (2010)

Members

;Current members

Varg Vikernes – vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers (1991–present)

;Guests

Samoth (Tomas Haugen) – bass guitar on Aske (1992)

Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) – guitar solo on "War" and gong on "Dungeons of Darkness" (both from Burzum)

Notes

External links

Official website

Official myspace

Category:Norwegian black metal musical groups Category:Dark ambient Category:Middle-earth music Category:Musical groups established in 1991 Category:1990s music groups