Burzum/Thulean Mysteries/Byelobog Productions/2020 Double CD Review

  Norway's  Burzum  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  showing  him  moving  away  from his  black  metal  style  and  bringing  in  more  of  a  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  dungeon  synth,  electronic  and  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  double  album  "Thulean  Mysteries"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Byelobog  Productions.

  Dark  ambient  style  synths  start off  the  album  and  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  as  well  as  using  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  instrumentals.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  short  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount of  dungeon  synth  elements.

  Programmed  beats  are  also  added  on some  of  the  tracks  while  folk  instruments  are  added  on  some  of  the  tracks.  One  song  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good amount  of  variety  and  also  differing  from  each  other  and  at  times  the  music  also  captures  the  atmosphere  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack.

  One  track  also  adds  in  some  tribal  percussion  and  ritualistic  chants  and  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean pagan vocals  onto  the  album,  At  times  the  music  also  captures  a  very  medieval  and  dark  ages  atmosphere  and  as  the  album  progresses  there  are  also  a  few  songs  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  elements  of  electronic  music  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  Paganism,  Thule  and  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Burzum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  his  dark  ambient  and  dungeon  synth  material  as  well  as  neo-folk  and  electronic  music,  you  should  check  out  this  double  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Thulean  Perspective"  "The  Lord  Of  The  Dwarves"  "The  Road  To  Hel"  and  "The  Loss  Of  Thule".  8  out  of  10.

CD: http://bit.ly/BYE013CD
Clear Vinyl: http://bit.ly/BOBV785LPLTD
Standard Vinyl: http://bit.ly/BOBV646LP  

A Tribute To Burzum/Antichrist Magazine/2018 Compilation Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  compilation  album  where  bands  do   covers  of  Burzum  songs  and  Burzum  is  a  musical  project  from  Norway  that  needs  no  introduction  and  has  had  a  huge  influence  on  the  worldwide  black  metal  scene  and  the  album  will  be  released  on  November  21st  by  Antichrist  Magazine  and  we  will  review  the  songs  one  by  one.

Yaotzin  brings  us  "Hvis  lyset  tar  oss"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  raw  sound  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  song  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  vocals  being  all  grim  black  metal  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Kahld  brings  us  "Jesus  Tod"  which  starts  out  with  an  ambient  influenced  atmospheric  sound  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  song  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction.

  Atra  Mors  brings  us  "Belus  Dod"  which  starts  out  with  some  dark  yet  melodic  guitar  leads  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  high  pitched  yet  depressive  black  metal  screams  as  well as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  song  sticks  to  a  mid  tempo  style.

  Aetranok  brings  us  "A  Lost  Forgotten  Sad  Spirit"  which  starts  out  with  a  mid  tempo  sound  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  while  the  track  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody,  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  song  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  screams  and  demonic  growls  are  also  used  at  times.

  Myrkur  Skogur  brings   us  "Feeble  Screams  From  Forests  unknown"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  raw  sound  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well as  the  riffs  and  solos  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  song  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  spoken words  and  clean  playing  is  also  used  briefly. 

  Wan  beings  us  "Stemmen  fra  taarnat"  which  starts  out with  a  very  heavy  and  old  school  sound  while  the  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  the  music  sticking  to  mostly  a  mid  tempo  direction.

  Dynasty  Of  Darkness  brings  us  "Dunkelheit"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  melodic  sound  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  synths  giving  the  song  more  of  an  ambient  feeling  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams,  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly and  the  songs  sticks  to  a  slower  style.

  Mournful  Winter  brings  us  "My  Journey  To  The  Stars"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  dark and  melodic  sound  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  solos  and  lead  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  tremolo  picking  gives  the  song  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up.

  Colotyphus  brings  us  "Han  som  reiste" which  starts  out  with  some  field  recordings  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  before  adding  in  some  ambient  style  synths  and  the  song  is  an  instrumental  while  also  adding  in  some  heavy  riffing  as  the  track  progresses  and  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.

  Unholy  Baptism  brings  us  "Glemselens  elv"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  while  the  tremolo  picking  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  guitar  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style,  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  and  clean  vocals  are  also  used  at  times.

  Bestia  brings  us  "Bestowing  The  Daughters  Of  Firmament"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  mid tempo  style  while  the  track  is  6  minutes  in  length  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  in  the  background  as  well  as  the  riffs  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  Chaoscraft  brings  us  "War"  which  starts  out  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  before  adding  in  some  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  done  mostly  in  an  old  school  style  and  towards  the  end  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard.

  Thy  Unmasked  brings  us  "Vanvidd"  which  starts  out  with  dark  yet  melodic  riffing  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  deep  growls  adds  a  death  metal  touch  that  was  not  in  the  original  version  but  black  metal  screams  are  still  used  at  times  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Urak-Hai  brings  us  "Hermodr  a  Helferd"  which  starts  out  with  some  dark  soundscapes  and  field  recordings  while  the  track  is  all  instrumental  before  going  into  more  of  an  ambient  and  dungeon  synth  direction.

  Eclipse  Of  The  Sun  brings  us  "Valgaldr  (Song  Of  The  Fallen"  which  starts  out  with  some  dark  yet  heavy  riffing  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  riffs  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  clean  playing  also  being  used  briefly  and  the  vocals  are  done  mostly  in  a  clear  style  with  a  small  amount  of  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  guitar  leads  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Imsar  brings  us  "En  ring  tel  a  herske"  which  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  while  the  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  with  some  clean  singing  and  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  mid  tempo  direction.

  Katarina  Gubanova  closes  the  compilation  with  "Ea,  Lord  Of  The  Depths"  which  starts  out  with  tragic  sounding  pianos  and  the  song  is  very  different  from  the  original  version  with  no  vocals  as  well  as  moving  away  from  a  black  metal  style.

  In  conclusion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  tribute  and  I  would  recommend  this  compilation  to  all  fans  of  Burzum.  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/pC5Cdu4HLbM

Burzum/Umskiptar/Candlelight Records/2012 CD Review

  Burzum are a 1 man band from Norway that is a very well known name in metal with the new album being a concept album about the Nordic creation of the world while retaining the black metal style that was presented on the last 2 recordings while being more experimental and this is a review of their 2012 album "Umskiptar" which was released by Candlelight Records.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats, while the bass playing sounds more stronger on this release then their previous recordings with some heavy riffing that dominates throughout the recording, as for the synths when they are utilized they bring a very dark avant garde edge to the music but are used very rarely with most of the music focusing on guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow to mid paced black metal riffs with a good amount of dark sounding melodies being thrown into the music as well as some more traditional metal influences along with a brief use of clean playing on a few songs in addition the songs are very long will still having some shorter songs and there are little to no guitar solos or leads present on this recording, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized they use full chords and finger picking which brings a folk rock feeling to the music.

Vocals range from spoken word parts, high pitched black metal screams that lack the power of the earlier releases except for maybe a few parts and some clean singing, while the lyrics are written in Norwegian and cover the creation of the world and its end as dictated to Odin, as for the production it has a very dark, raw and primitive sound.

In my opinion this is another great recording from Burzum and while people are going to have mixed reactions due to the fact that it is more experimental than previous releases I still feel this is a great album and I would recommended it to fans of more experimental black metal. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Bloostokkinn" "Alfandanz" "Valgaldr" and "Gullaldr". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Burzum/Fallen/Candlelight Records/2011 CD Review

  Burzum are a 1 man project from Norway that has been around since the early 90's and influenced plenty of black metal bands with his  atmospheric sound and this is a review of their 2011 album "Fallen" which will be released by Candlelight Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats but at most times the playing is very slow and on the last song there is a very pagan/shamanistic percussion being used, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful sound which is very easy to hear at times, as for the other instruments when they are used on the last track, they bring a very dark experimental avant garde feel to the music.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs with the focus being on more of an ambient form of slow black metal with one song having a riff that has a thrash feel to it and there are little to no guitar solos or leads present on the recording.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some clean singing which is the first time Varg has experimented with these kind of vocals and spoken word passages, while the lyrics are written in Norwegian and cover Norse paganism and Existential type of themes, as for the production it has a somewhat raw and primal feel with a good amount of a professional feel being added to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Burzum, and if you are a fan of their previous works, you will not be disappointed with this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Jerg Faller" "Valen" and "Budstikken". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.burzum.org

Burzum/Belus/Byelbog Productions/2010 CD Review

  Burzum are a 1 man band from Norway that needs no introduction at all and this is a review of their comeback album "Belus" which was released by Byelbog Productions.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to occasional fast drumming with only a small amount of some blast beats, while the bass playing has a dark tone which follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars alternate between slow, mid paced to some occasional fast raw black metal guitar riffs with a focus on ambiance and distortion and on a couple of song's there is a thrash feeling to the music, while the lead guitars sound very primal in the guitar solos with some melodies being used at times with a dark sounding distortion.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams, some deep growls that have nothing to do with death metal with some occasional spoken word passages and clean singing, while the lyrics are written in Norwegian and focus on Belus, the Germanic God in his many different forms and relations to other pantheons, as for the production which was recorded at Greighallen Studios in Norway, it is very dark sounding which is perfect for the primal energy coming out of the music.

In my opinion this is a great comeback album from Burzum, which is a lot different than the last few albums since there is no keyboards or synths, with this album you still have the "Filosofem" vibe but with more rawness and less of an ambient sound, if you are a fan of Burzum you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Belus Doed" "Sverddans" and "Morgenroede". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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