Burzum

Burzum/Aske   Turning the focus of death metal and nascent black metal from extremity to focus on narrative and poetic aspects of song development the one-man battleteam Burzum unleashes dissonant yet darkly sensible harmonies, winding melodic discernment and epic adventure in song. "To awaken fantasy in mortals..." SAMPLE: Ea, Lord of the Depths [ MP3 ] (312k)

Det Som Engang Var   Dividing his album between an onslaught of black metal and experimentation in ambient black sound, the evil Count uses masterful yet minimalist guitar technique to merge melodies into a wave of sound. Presaging the faster work on the album to follow, the black metal portion of this work is aggressive and fast. SAMPLE: Lost Wisdom [ MP3 ] (272k)

Hvis Lyset Tar Oss   Grown suddenly into epic, the first track on this album is the primary piece and is served by two longer but fast textures of mutating detail creating a multidirectional impression of the whole. Keyboards, layers of sawing riffs, and a range of vocal techniques within a shriek flow merging into atmospheres of darkness and heroism. SAMPLE: Inn i slottet fra droemmen [ MP3 ] (295k)

Filosofem   The most accessible album from Burzum opens with raw guitar in which blending melodies like smoke in an empty room recombine and change. These first four tunes rip through moods of emptiness and desire for life, and the album concludes with two ambient guitar and keyboard pieces bookending a 25-minute ambient minimalist odyssey. Listen at night. SAMPLE: Jesus' Tød [ MP3 ] (405k)

Daudi Baldrs   From the glow of a computer screen in a Norwegian cell comes this restatement of familiar Burzum themes and newer explorations in minimalist neoclassical synth music, this album is rendered in a single set of keyboard voices, making it sound cheap to many. Appreciate the development of harmonic definition through change across layers of detail in theme, and you will understand this nihilist synthpop. SAMPLE: Balferd Baldrs [ MP3 ] (360k)

Hlidskjalf   Once violent hypnotic black metal, Burzum is now gentle symphonies of electronic sound designed to invoke ancient pagan and mystical feeling. The music underneath is the same, paced with exploration in dynamic and executed in lush layers of keyboard meld. A retelling of the loss of hope conceptualizes this highly conceived and precise music. SAMPLE: Friios goldene Tranen [ MP3 ] (265k)