Varg Vikernes has recently revealed details about a new Burzum album to be released around summer this year. It will be titled Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan (which translates to "East of the Sun, West of the Moon"). The album will be instrumental and the tracklist has already been unveiled.

Explanations from Vikernes: "Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan will feature ≈58 minutes of instrumental electronic music, that can best be described as relaxing, slow-paced, contemplative and very much original. You have not heard anything like this before, although we can compare it to other electronic music, such as Tangerine Dream and I guess to old electronic Burzum music as well."

"Much of the skaldic music of this album is used as a soundtrack for the ForeBears film that my wife has now finished. In this film there will also be a few tracks not to be found on the next album, and that I will instead simply make available as free and downloadable tracks, or possibly as YouTube videos or something like that. They are not in the same style as the rest of the tracks on Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan one is even a 'fairly acoustic guitar & bass track' so they didn't fit in, and I see no reason for me not to give some music away for free as well. I will probably be able to feed my family nevertheless, and hopefully even have money for butter and salt as well."

"Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan is, just like the other three so-called post-prison Burzum albums were, a concept album. I have still not been able to leave behind the Pagan religious-spiritual concept of a descent into darkness and the following ascend back into the light; the Pagan initiation, the elevation of man to the divine, the enlightenment of the mind, the feeding of the elven light in man. Nor have I been able to leave behind the Old Norwegian (i. e. Norse) language, although, since the album is instrumental, it is used only for track titles this time."

"Being an instrumental album, and a purely electronic album too, Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan is naturally very different from e. g. Umskiptar, my latest metal album. Yet again I have left behind the metal genre and have chosen a different path - but for no other reason than me following my Pagan spirit willingly to wherever it takes me. This time it kindly took me to East of the Sun and West of the Moon."

The tracklist for Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan:

01. Sôl austan ("East of the Sun")
02. Rûnar munt þû finna ("You shall find Secrets")
03. Sôlarrâs ("Sun-journey")
04. Haugaeldr ("Burial Mound Fire")
05. Feðrahellir ("Forebear-Cave")
06. Sôlarguði ("Sun-god")
07. Ganga at sôlu ("Deasil")
08. Hîð ("Bear's Lair")
09. Heljarmyrkr ("Death's Darkness")
10. Mâni vestan ("West of the Moon")
11. Sôlbjörg ("Sunset")

Source:	burzum.org
Band profile:	Burzum