Burzum

Burzum
Varg Vikernes in 2009
Background information
Also known as	Count Grishnackh
Origin	Bergen, Norway
Genres	Black metal dark ambient neo-medieval music
Years active	1991–1999, 2009–present
Labels	Deathlike Silence Cymophane Misanthropy Byelobog
Associated acts	Mayhem Old Funeral Darkthrone
Website	burzum.org
Members	Varg Vikernes

Burzum (/ˈbɜːrzəm/; Norwegian: [ˈbʉrtsʉm]) is a musical project of Norwegian musician and writer Varg Vikernes. Vikernes began making music in 1988, but it was not until 1991 that he recorded his first demos as Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a fictional language crafted by Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. The project became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is one of the most influential acts in black metal.

Vikernes recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993. However, the releases were spread out, with many months between the recording and the release of each album. In May 1994, Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of three churches.

While imprisoned, Vikernes recorded two dark ambient albums using only synthesizers, as he did not have access to drums, guitar or bass. Since his release from prison in 2009, he has recorded three further black metal albums and several ambient/electronic albums.

Although Vikernes is known for his white nationalist political views, he does not use Burzum to promote those views, and his lyrics are non-political. Burzum has never performed live and Vikernes says he has no intention of doing so.

History

Early years (1988–1992)

The Burzum logo used in 1991

Vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band Kalashnikov. The following year, the name was changed to Uruk-Hai, after the creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In 1990 and 1991, Vikernes played guitar for the death metal band Old Funeral, which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He appears on the Old Funeral EP Devoured Carcass. Vikernes left Old Funeral in 1991 to concentrate on creating his own musical visions. He had a short lived project called Satanel, along Abbath Doom Occulta. He then began a solo project under the name Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech; a language crafted by Tolkien. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became part of the Norwegian black metal scene. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Vikernes ―under the pseudonym of Count Grishnackh―, began to record Burzum’s 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, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.

The Burzum logo used between 1991 and 1993

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 appearing 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 (1993–2009)

The Burzum logo used between 1994 and 2009

15 May 1994 saw the release of Hvis lyset tar oss, a new album of previously recorded material from 1992. Burzum remained 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, Vikernes released his next album, titled Filosofem, on 1 January 1996. Recorded in March 1993, Filosofem was the last recording Vikernes made before his imprisonment. Burzum / Aske, a compilation comprising the Burzum album and Aske EP, was released in 1995. While imprisoned, Vikernes managed to record two other albums in a dark ambient style. They were released as Dauði Baldrs (1997) and Hliðskjálf (1999).

In 1998, all Burzum albums released up to that point were re-released as vinyl picture discs in a special box set called 1992–1997; however the Filosofem album didn't contain "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" due to its length. The regular vinyl issue of Filosofem on Misanthropy had tracks 1–4 plus "Decrepitude II" on side 1 and "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" on side 2.

Post-imprisonment (2009–present)

The Burzum logo used on the 2010 album Belus, set in the typeface Ruritania

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' recounts, 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 (byelobog is the transliteration of "белобог" in Slavic languages, meaning "white god") on 8 March 2010. It was also announced that a movie would be released in 2010, based on Varg Vikernes' life in the early 1990s. The movie would mainly draw inspiration from the book Lords of Chaos, with the film being of the same name. Vikernes expressed his contempt towards both the movie and the book upon which it is based.

A second new album of original Burzum material, Fallen, was released on 7 March 2011, followed by a compilation album, From the Depths of Darkness, containing re-recordings of tracks from Burzum's self-titled album and Det som engang var, on 28 November 2011. A third new studio album of original material, titled Umskiptar, was released in May 2012. Sôl austan, Mâni vestan ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon"), Burzum's first electronic album since 1999, was released in May 2013. On April 27, 2013, a song was posted on the official YouTube channel of Vikernes, titled "Back to the Shadows." In a blog post, Vikernes stated that "Back to the Shadows" will be the last metal track released by Burzum.

The album The Ways of Yore was released on June 2, 2014.

Nothing is currently known about the progress of the next Burzum album.

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 blast beat techniques in the drumming. Earlier Burzum albums feature very low production quality, which has improved in albums created after Vikernes' release from prison. Burzum's early music shows heavy Tolkien influence; for example, Vikernes' early moniker "Count Grishnackh" is taken from an orc character called Grishnákh in Tolkien's works. The choice of the name for the project reflects both this influence and the desire for anonymity: Burzum is a word of the Black Speech of Mordor meaning "darkness" (though Vikernes views what Christians consider "darkness" as "light"), and is one of those found on the Ring-inscription of the One Ring (the final part of the Ring inscription being "...agh burzum-ishi krimpatul", or "...and in the darkness bind them").

Musically, Burzum has progressed from 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. Each album, he claims, was designed as a kind of "spell" in itself, with each beginning song intending to make the listener more susceptible to "magic", the following songs to inspire a "trance-like state of mind", and the last song to carry the listener into a "world of fantasy" (dreams, for the listener would fall asleep—Burzum was supposed to have been evening music). Vikernes claims the intent to create this fantasy world came from dissatisfaction with the real world. He has stated the "message" of Burzum can be found in the lyrics of the first song of the first album ("Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown").

Discography

Main releases

Title	Recorded	Released	Notes
Burzum	October 1991	March 1992
Det som engang var	April 1992	August 1993
Hvis lyset tar oss	September 1992	April 1994
Filosofem	March 1993	January 1996
Dauði Baldrs	1994–1995 (in prison)	October 1997	Dark ambient album
Hliðskjálf	1998 (in prison)	April 1999	Neofolk/ambient album
Belus	2009–2010	March 2010
Fallen	2010	March 2011
Umskiptar	September 2011	May 2012
Sôl austan, Mâni vestan	2012	May 2013	Dark ambient album
The Ways of Yore	2013–2014	June 2014	Dark ambient album

EPs

• Aske (1993)

Singles

• Mythic Dawn (2015)
• Forgotten Realms (2015)
• Thulean Mysteries (2015)

Demos/promos

• Reh/Demo '91 (1991)
• Burzum Promo (1992)

Music videos

• Dunkelheit (1996)

Compilation albums

• Burzum / Aske (1995)
• 1992–1997 (1998)
• Anthology (2002) (bootleg)
• Draugen – Rarities (2005) (bootleg)
• Anthology (2008)
• From the Depths of Darkness (2011)

Other appearances

• Presumed Guilty (1998) (contributed "Et hvitt lys over skogen")
• Gummo soundtrack (1998) (contributed "Rundtgång Av Den Transcendentale Egenhetens 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)
• Forsvunnet Filosofem: A Tribute to Burzum (2012)

Members

• Varg Vikernes – vocals, lyrics, rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, synthesizer (1991–present)

Guests

• Samoth (Tomas Haugen) – bass guitar on Aske (1992)
• Euronymous (Øystein Aarseth) – guitar solo on "War", gong on "Dungeons of Darkness" (both from Burzum)

External links

• Official website