BURZUM — Hliðskjálf (review)

BURZUM — Hliðskjálf album cover Album · 1999 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
thellama73
This album from Burzum is Black Metal in spirit, if not in sound. It contains no guitars, no drums, and no vocals. It is not shrieking and abrasive, but rather gentle and at times pastoral. Why, you may ask, would celebrated Black Metal noisemaker Burzum create such a record? The answer is that he had no choice. After being imprisoned for the murder of a fellow black metal musician (with a sword) Varg Vikernes, the man behind the band, was generously given a keyboard and laptop to continue creating his music while in prison.

The result is a beautiful, at times disturbing, celebration of Viking paganism rife with military themes and allegorical treatment of the author's anti-Christian worldview. I certainly don't endorse any of these views, but I have to admit the music is compelling. The rich synth palette paints pictures of frigid Norwegian forests filled with shadowy mythical creatures and marching Teutonic warriors, watched over by valkyrie maidens. There are a couple of bad samples that detract from the ambience, but overall it's a unique and imaginative album.
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