Best Burzum album from both eras

[Larsson]

Whats the deal about Burzum? A confused little boy(that guy cant be an adult mentally) with a guitar and a bad amp trying to make music. Horrible musician to say the least. And I love how neo-nazis look up to a guy who sounds like a girl and sings about orcs, pathetic.

[hibernal_dream]

Originally Posted by Larsson

And I love how neo-nazis look up to a guy who sounds like a girl and sings about orcs, pathetic.

Um...So? Wagner looked like a girl too and wrote music about valkyries

[Larsson]

But wagner didnt suck.

And, correct me if I'm wrong. Looks has little impact on the music hasnt it?

[derbeder]

Originally Posted by The Hubster

PS - in a big change for AliaVox, they have released (wait for it!) a MOZART work ("Mozart - Eine kleine Nachtmusik")! This is a big move for them, as they have always specialised in Early & Baroque Music.

I should check that recording out. The one other Mozart recording by Savall, the Requiem, was mildly disappointing. It is obvious that Savall knows how a performance of the work sounded back in Mozart's day and is trying to capture it here in a way that most conductors can't. Indeed many renditions of the work make it sound like its written in the 19th century. Despite all that, I still prefer other recordings of the Requiem (one by Ricardo Muti directing Berliner Philarmoniker, and there the brass sound very different from anything like the brass in a 18th century orchestra). I am so used to other recordings of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik that I might have a similar reaction to the Savall recording of it. But I will certainly pick it up.
By the way, Savall has a Boccherini recording out from Alia Vox that came out before the Mozart Serenade and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, so it appears that Alia Vox made the move to the classical period a little earlier.


@larsson: nobody said that varg is a good musician by any means. he is a very limited guitarist and drummer, not to mention his abilities on the keyboard. his vocals are extremely effective, but that is very much an acquired taste. however, he has crafted and recorded some of the most powerful music composed for the portrayal of a certain mood (desperation, hate etc.) - at least that's how i take it. it may take a little time for that to sink in though.

[Larsson]

Originally Posted by derbeder

@larsson: nobody said that varg is a good musician by any means. he is a very limited guitarist and drummer, not to mention his abilities on the keyboard. his vocals are extremely effective, but that is very much an acquired taste. however, he has crafted and recorded some of the most powerful music composed for the portrayal of a certain mood (desperation, hate etc.) - at least that's how i take it. it may take a little time for that to sink in though.

Currently listening to Ea, lord of the Depths and the only thing I hear is a awful repetetive music(no wait, he just played a terrible guitar solo, 4 minutes in!) with the pathetic Varg singing on top, but whatever you say.

Maybe you are right in the end but i seriously doubt it. Feels very pale efter listening to a BM classic like In the Nightside Eclipse or Wolf Lair Abyss.

[Hubster]

Originally Posted by Larsson

Currently listening to Ea, lord of the Depths and the only thing I hear is a awful repetetive music(no wait, he just played a terrible guitar solo, 4 minutes in!) with the pathetic Varg singing on top, but whatever you say.

Maybe you are right in the end but i seriously doubt it. Feels very pale efter listening to a BM classic like In the Nightside Eclipse or Wolf Lair Abyss.

(Apologies in advance if I sound elitist, it is merely to hammer home a point by choosing my words as best I can):

derbeder's point is true.

With limited skills, Vikernes created truly powerful, if not the most powerful, Black Metal ever written imo.

Because Vikernes was able to maximise his musical output quality with his skillset, this to me equates to being talented, ie, to make excellent use of the skills you have.

Complexity and skills do not always equate to the best music if you ask me: Vikernes' compositional skills in capturing a mood, and also painting an "aural depiction" of the Black Metal philosophy are perfectly represented through his simple music in ways that almost no one else has been able to parallel with better skills.

Newcomers to Burzum must understand that even down to Vikernes' vocal style, which in itself is rebellion against Metal, the music of Burzum through its repetitive hypnotics achieves its goal through "creating a hold", drawing in the listener to the blackest of shadows and infinite of dark echoes in ways that Death Metal cannot even concieve of. Another thing to keep in mind is that in some ways, Burzum is almost "anti-Black Metal" Black Metal (I hope this makes sense, as it's important for the new Burzum listener to conceive that Burzum is outright rebellion against Metal overall).

The ONLY possible comparison is that of dark classical music (I know you get me on this one derbeder! )

Larsson, if you want to hear what I've just described, get your hands on Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, and listen to "Inn I Slottet Fra Droemmen", and then "Tomhet".

If these songs don't get you, then Burzum may not be for you, or as it did for me, Burzum may take time to grab hold, but once it does and the comprehension dawns, there is NO turning back.

I highly regard Burzum, with all the metal I've listened to so far over the last two decades, to be vastly "superior" to 99% of other Metal. But this is because of what I have described above.

It is not because of skill, technicality or complexity. It is because of the success achieved by painting the darkness correctly and as closely as can be done, and of course, the ability to make one's imagination come to life. This is where the perfection in Burzum comes from. As true a shadow as pitch black is, so is Burzum as honest in it's representation of its goals.

[Hubster]

Originally Posted by derbeder

I should check that recording out. The one other Mozart recording by Savall, the Requiem, was mildly disappointing. It is obvious that Savall knows how a performance of the work sounded back in Mozart's day and is trying to capture it here in a way that most conductors can't. Indeed many renditions of the work make it sound like its written in the 19th century. Despite all that, I still prefer other recordings of the Requiem (one by Ricardo Muti directing Berliner Philarmoniker, and there the brass sound very different from anything like the brass in a 18th century orchestra).

http://www.harmoniamundi.com/benelux...p?album_id=940

An *amazing* recording of Mozart's Requiem, which I proudly own ... and of note, the performance of the soprano's & tenors on this recording is just mindblowing. Definitely one to crank up the volume on, just beautifully executed.

[Pethical]

well said Hub.

[Liquid Diamonds]

I feel very under-educated posting in this thread, as my knowledge of Burzum is quite limited. But I will say that I have been impressed by what I have heard of Varg's BM output. I like 'Filosofem' and 'Det Som Engang Var', although I didn't take to the vocals on the latter.

Didn't like his prison albums, although most of what I heard was from Daudi Baldrs. But I think that his music is clearly important, and should not be dismissed lightly.

[Larsson]

Originally Posted by The Hubster

(Apologies in advance if I sound elitist, it is merely to hammer home a point by choosing my words as best I can)

If anyone sounds like an elitist it's me.

Originally Posted by The Hubster

derbeder's point is true.

With limited skills, Vikernes created truly powerful, if not the most powerful, Black Metal ever written imo.

Because Vikernes was able to maximise his musical output quality with his skillset, this to me equates to being talented, ie, to make excellent use of the skills you have.

Complexity and skills do not always equate to the best music if you ask me: Vikernes' compositional skills in capturing a mood, and also painting an "aural depiction" of the Black Metal philosophy are perfectly represented through his simple music in ways that almost no one else has been able to parallel with better skills.

Newcomers to Burzum must understand that even down to Vikernes' vocal style, which in itself is rebellion against Metal, the music of Burzum through its repetitive hypnotics achieves its goal through "creating a hold", drawing in the listener to the blackest of shadows and infinite of dark echoes in ways that Death Metal cannot even concieve of. Another thing to keep in mind is that in some ways, Burzum is almost "anti-Black Metal" Black Metal (I hope this makes sense, as it's important for the new Burzum listener to conceive that Burzum is outright rebellion against Metal overall).

The ONLY possible comparison is that of dark classical music (I know you get me on this one derbeder! )

Larsson, if you want to hear what I've just described, get your hands on Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, and listen to "Inn I Slottet Fra Droemmen", and then "Tomhet".

If these songs don't get you, then Burzum may not be for you, or as it did for me, Burzum may take time to grab hold, but once it does and the comprehension dawns, there is NO turning back.

I highly regard Burzum, with all the metal I've listened to so far over the last two decades, to be vastly "superior" to 99% of other Metal. But this is because of what I have described above.

It is not because of skill, technicality or complexity. It is because of the success achieved by painting the darkness correctly and as closely as can be done, and of course, the ability to make one's imagination come to life. This is where the perfection in Burzum comes from. As true a shadow as pitch black is, so is Burzum as honest in it's representation of its goals.

Im currently listening to my downloaded copy of Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, which I have had for a long time and never listened too. Im currently listening to the first track and can't still see the ''greatness''. To be honest I cant feel what you described at all but things got really ugly when Varg opened his mouth. Bad vocals rareley irritate me that much, could even tolerate Attilas work on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas(good Vargs horrible basslines where low in the mix on that album btw.). Where Attilas vocals have comic value(''funeraaaaaal fug'') Varg only sounds pathetic. I write so fucking slowly, and do so much in between writing the post that I have arrived at the last track and I couldnt help but laugh at the 4.03 mark in Inn I Slotet Fra Droemmen.

''the blackest of shadows and infinite of dark echoes in ways that Death Metal cannot even concieve''. That make laugh?

FAIL.


I am going to give Burzum another chance, some other time. After everything bad I have said I suspect Burzum might be music to listen to in headphones, in the dark, half asleep. Meay sound dumb but no pun intended.

Prayers to the Welkin at Dusk calls for a listen.