BURZUM — Burzum (review)

Album · 1992 · Black Metal

2.5/5 · 2021-01-25
siLLy puPPy

Much like Mayhem’s shenanigans, BURZUM is inextricably linked to his heinous crimes which resulted in a lengthy prison sentence not only for murdering Euronymous, guitarist of Mayhem but for countless church burnings which earned black metal the distinct honor of being the most feared musical genre of the 1990s. Of course BURZUM was the one-man project of Varg Vikernes born in Bergen, Norway and one of the instrumental creators of what would come to be known as atmospheric black metal with his innovative ambient black metal approach on “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss” and “Filosofem” but in the beginning Vikiernes started out as Kalashnikov followed by Uruk-Hai showing an affinity for hideous creatures from the J.R.R. Tolkien universe before changing his project moniker to BURZUM which itself means “black speech” in a Tolkien created language.

While the soap opera drama and musical influences of BURZUM would soon come to pass, his first album was actually self-titled and was released as early as March 1992 when Vikernes joined the classic second wave of black metal along with other Norwegian bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Immortal, Emperor, Satyricon and Gorgoroth. While those bands were more in the league of crafting technically challenging composiitons that implemented the classic second wave attributes such as fast tempos, shrieking vocals, tremolo picking and buzzsaw guitar distortion with emphasis on somewhat technically demanding workouts at least in terms of physical dexterity, BURZUM began as one of the lesser talented acts in this second wave and although Vikernes would compensate for these shortcomings by crafting a unique dark ambient fusion, his lack of actual musical talent is more apparent on this eponymously titled first offering.

In contrast to “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss” and future releases, this self-titled BURZUM album is much more in the vein of early lo-fi second wave black metal only a lot sloppier although Vikernes’ intent of channeling the world of atmospheric ambience was already taking form as evidenced on the non-metal track “Channelling the Power of Souls into a New God” however for the most part this debut album sounds very amateurish with OK but hardly extraordinary guitar riffs, lazy drumming for the most part as the percussive role is merely to keep the beat. Forget blastbeats or any frenetic mind-numbing virtuosity and what really makes this one a difficult listen for most are the pissed cat and i got my testicles caught up in the paper shredder vocals that find Vikernes screaming like a mother fucker although the lyrics supposedly are inspired by more Tolkien themes and Norse mythology which in Vikernes’ case a form of hatred towards just about everything. His alias Count Grishnackh only makes it more hilarious.

The track “War” shows how Vikernes was in many ways still operating in the concepts of the first wave of black metal as this track showcases a thrash metal riff that doesn’t sound too far removed from something Metallica was performing on its 1984 debut “Kill Em All.” Sorry Vik, your retardation showed your limitations here and why you had to resort to violence to make a name for yourself. Ironically Euronymous, who Vikernes murdered plays the guitar solo as he does the gong on the non-metal “Dungeons Of Darkness.” Tracks like “Journey To The Stars” are much more interesting with a keen sense of comprehension of the role of the guitar riffing in relation to the overall atmospheric big picture and actually captures the essence of second wave black metal much in the vein of Darkthrone. Yeah those vocals haven’t improved much but the compositional fortitude certainly has. The closing “Dungeons And Darkness” portends Vik’s future as it focuses on a bleak darkened apocalyptic sonicscape in dark ambient mode.

BURZUM’s debut album is certainly a mixed bag and showcases his lack of crafting sophisticated compositions as a musician but does display his heightened ability to juxtapose disparate elements together in an effective way. While his brain may have had a few pistons on strike possibly due to some sort of childhood abuse (often violent behavior originates in childhood horrors), Vikernes did showcase a few of his talents on this first album that for in retrospect would be nurtured and brought to fruition on future releases however on the album simply known as BURZUM, i find this more annoying than enjoyable. At least on “Hvis Lyset” and “Filosoefem” i can zone out and enjoy the ride. On this one it’s abrasive enough to demand your attention but weak enough to garner your pity. It’s OK but really i prefer just about every other black metal band of this era of this psychologically deficient miscreant.