Written by Daniell on 28.09.2011 at 23:07

Sticking cult status on albums like Burzum's releases is wishful thinking driven by desire to have one's own personal shrine wherein to keep "untouchable" albums. And then vehemently defending them, even though these albums have next to zero things that would make them worth defending. If you check how I rated Burzum albums, you will see that I do see the band's role in black metal, but I have no illusions about their musical quality.

How a about a different explanation, one that doesn't assume I'm in love with Varg, or that I have no need for "personal shrines"?
I propose one which is called: "I just love those albums, regardless of how bad they might sound to you, and hold them in higher regard than most from the genre".
Key word being "most". I've no untouchable albums, and will have no qualms about saying I like an album from band X more than Burzum's stuff if I really do.

Written by ANGEL REAPER on 28.09.2011 at 23:19

well before that guys polished it,it was a genre intentionally raw and terribly produced.

Not it wasn't. Where are you getting your info? Burzum site? They sounded shitty, and played shitty, because that was all they could do. Don't believe a black metal musician telling you that he knew how he wanted to sound at the age of 15. Exceptions like Satyr or Ivar Bjornson only confirm the rule: teenage musical output isn't a conscious manifestation of one's talent, it's just a spontaneous outburst that was most probably financed by their parents who were surprised to see thier sons with white make up

Written by Slayer666 on 28.09.2011 at 23:23

How a about a different explanation, one that doesn't assume I'm in love with Varg, or that I have no need for "personal shrines"?
I propose one which is called: "I just love those albums, regardless of how bad they might sound to you, and hold them in higher regard than most from the genre".
Key word being "most". I've no untouchable albums, and will have no qualms about saying I like an album from band X more than Burzum's stuff if I really do.

Hey man, don't take it personal, I wasn't describing you

Written by Daniell on 28.09.2011 at 23:25

Written by ANGEL REAPER on 28.09.2011 at 23:19

well before that guys polished it,it was a genre intentionally raw and terribly produced.

Not it wasn't. Where are you getting your info? Burzum site? They sounded shitty, and played shitty, because that was all they could do. Don't believe a black metal musician telling you that he knew how he wanted to sound at the age of 15. Exceptions like Satyr or Iver Blornson only confirm the rule: teenage musical output isn't a conscious manifestation of one's talent, it's just a spontaneous outburst that was most probably financed by their parents who were surprised to see thier sons with white make up

i have just agreed with you there.I guess you didnt understood me: i agreed with you on that one, just i didnt wanted to state the obvious(i mean come on man we all know that )

*rerecording stuff* Sigh. What a waste of time and money...

Haters gonna hate Daniell. Old Burzum is more than satisfactory for a large quantity of black metal fans.

I'm glad the original albums are raw and produced "improperly" and that Varg didn't know what he was doing in the recording studio and that his mom was just surprised he was wearing make-up. Because all of those things combined to inspire him to create some pretty awesome music, impulsive action or not.

RERECORDINGS IST KRIEG.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 29.09.2011 at 01:35

Haters gonna hate Daniell. Old Burzum is more than satisfactory for a large quantity of black metal fans.

I'm glad the original albums are raw and produced "improperly" and that Varg didn't know what he was doing in the recording studio and that his mom was just surprised he was wearing make-up. Because all of those things combined to inspire him to create some pretty awesome music, impulsive action or not.

Nice paraphrasing Troy
And no, I don't hate Burzum. I just happen to think that the cult status that it has is mostly undeserved.

Will it sound anything like this?



I wonder if he'll make a habit of these re-recordings like Maiden and Priest have with compilations.

Written by BitterCOld on 28.09.2011 at 22:35

Written by Slayer666 on 28.09.2011 at 22:11

Written by BitterCOld on 28.09.2011 at 20:24

Written by jazar94 on 28.09.2011 at 19:04

Essentially what he is doing is taking those old albums and creating a compilation with them. He doesn't need the money, seeing as all the other albums are $20 a piece, so my guess is it's going to be changed up a bit or something. Fuck, I don't know, maybe it's a Jewish conspiracy to make money under the name of Burzum.

wow. this is perhaps the most absurd post of the month. Varg? In on a "Jewish conspiracy"?

Unless I interpreted it falsely, that was obviously a sarcastic/joking remark. Another proof we need sarcasm tags on MS, ASAP.

And yeah, re-recording those albums is beyond stupid. The production and playing style fit perfectly. Unless the whole thing is basically a remake, like what you suggested, I won't even bother checking it out.

touche'. some users i know well enough to catch it... others i don't. (and have seen a lot of non-sarcastic absurdity 'round these parts.)

'Twas sarcasm, ma'am/sir.

I guess that rap album he made didn't make him enough money?

I highly doubt this is going to be anything noteworthy.... Would like to see what he does with the sick screams at the song Spell of Destruction.

Written by ANGEL REAPER on 28.09.2011 at 14:46

i am afraid that he will ruin the old versions of the songs and piss over his own legacy.

This is almost always what happens when bands re-record old songs.
However, in Burzum's case, the old albums sounded like utter crap, so it can hardly get worse.

Written by Daniell on 28.09.2011 at 22:32

Varg could hardly play any instrument in the 90's and it's blatantly obvious all the time. He can't play a guitar, he can't play keyboards and, above all, he has no fucking clue about playing drums. His early albums are so ridiculously sloppy, that they could be used as examples of how NOT to play rock music.

And even if you turn a blind eye on all of the above and look at compositions alone, you will also see that most of the time they're not good at all.

I'm a huge Black Metal fan but I share this opinion about Burzum. Imo, it's the most overrated BM band of all time. Mediocre music that only manges to sound like shit.

Have to say I'm with Slayer 666 + Troy on this one regarding Burzum and production. Frankly I find it difficult how any black metal fan could dislike Det Som Engang Var, an album which has had a bit of a resurgence in my playlists in recent times. Burzum has a lot of crap music associated with it but also some seminal and exceptional work that exemplifies the nature of what black metal once was. Proof that musicianship and production is not vital for making good music. It's quite a bizarre attitude to consider oneself a fully fledged BM fan and not have malleable views regarding production. There's nothing worse in the world of metal, not just black metal, than too much polish and sheen. If you can't extend yourself to see the virtues of muddy production and gritty musicianship then I wouldn't recommend black metal.

As for this release, well who cares? I doubt anyone has any real expectations here so if it turns out to be something interesting then +1

Written by Guest on 02.10.2011 at 20:29

It's quite a bizarre attitude to consider oneself a fully fledged BM fan and not have malleable views regarding production. There's nothing worse in the world of metal, not just black metal, than too much polish and sheen. If you can't extend yourself to see the virtues of muddy production and gritty musicianship then I wouldn't recommend black metal.

Believe me, I listen to lots of Black Metal with raw production. In fact, I prefer it raw.
For example, I love Angantyr, early Bathory, early Hellsaw, early Immortal, Nocternity, Pagan Hellfire, early Satyricon, Taake, etc, etc.
However, there's a difference between raw and shitty. Imo, Burzum is not only raw, it sounds like shit.

By the way, saying things like "I wonder how someone can claim to like x genre if he doesn't like y album" is a stupid generalization.

EDIT: Our difference of opinion on Burzum is a matter of tastes, I believe. Because I'm the first to admit that we TOTALLY agree on the next sentence: "There's nothing worse in the world of metal, not just Black Metal, than too much polish and sheen". Totally and completely.

I think that Varg has some great songs, such as Det Som Engang Var, Dunkelheit, and Jesus Tod, but his albums are insonsistent. Hvis has the song Inn I Slottet Fra Droemmen, which really ruins the flow of the otherwise great (the only Burzum release that can be called such) album, Jesus Tod on Filosofem is Too Extreme for the album, the 25 minute long ambient song is , Gebrechlichkeit II is quite pointless, and the self titled is all around mediocre, aside from My Journey To The Stars, which I quite enjoy. I haven't given Det Som (the album) enough time to form an opinion on it. I will say that the production on Filosofem is possibly my favorite in black metal. If there's one thing that Varg always does right, it's giving his albums the perfect production.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but Varg also released a book a while ago, http://www.plastichead.com/catalogue.asp?ex=fitem&verb=F&target=ABSB041 Maybe he will re-write this book the way he originally intended it to be like in a few years.

Written by (((O))) on 03.10.2011 at 06:10
Maybe he will re-write this book the way he originally intended it to be like in a few years.

Renamed "Scientology in Ancient Scandinavia".

Written by Troy Killjoy on 03.10.2011 at 06:31

Written by (((O))) on 03.10.2011 at 06:10
Maybe he will re-write this book the way he originally intended it to be like in a few years.

Renamed "Scientology in Ancient Scandinavia".

Written by Guest on 02.10.2011 at 20:29

It's quite a bizarre attitude to consider oneself a fully fledged BM fan and not have malleable views regarding production. There's nothing worse in the world of metal, not just black metal, than too much polish and sheen. If you can't extend yourself to see the virtues of muddy production and gritty musicianship then I wouldn't recommend black metal.

I'm not sure if you're referring to me in this post, so I won't take it personal.I think you're mistaking intentionally muddy production with no production. Old Burzum has no production at all, and it sounds as it sounds, tastes and preferences aside.

There are hundreds of examples of how "bad" production, when used on purpose, can produce magnificent results. Satyricon, Emperor, Satanic Warmaster, Ulver, Funeral Mist, Mayhem, Nokturnal Mortum, Carpathian Forest, Darkthrone, to name just a few. I am perfectly aware of how inherent "muddy" production is to black metal, and I can appreciate it. Burzum does not fit into this category.

Written by Daniell on 03.10.2011 at 10:31


I'm not sure if you're referring to me in this post, so I won't take it personal.I think you're mistaking intentionally muddy production with no production. Old Burzum has no production at all, and it sounds as it sounds, tastes and preferences aside.

There are hundreds of examples of how "bad" production, when used on purpose, can produce magnificent results. Satyricon, Emperor, Satanic Warmaster, Ulver, Funeral Mist, Mayhem, Nokturnal Mortum, Carpathian Forest, Darkthrone, to name just a few. I am perfectly aware of how inherent "muddy" production is to black metal, and I can appreciate it. Burzum does not fit into this category.

Nah it's not at you, but I still don't get the distinction between "bad" and "no" production: "Old Burzum has no production at all, and it sounds as it sounds" - in my opinion that's entirely down to the person listening and whether or not they like the music. Many Burzum albums have what I would consider great production that perfectly fits the music at hand and isn't different from what many other bands have done. Saying Burzum does not fit the early conceptions of poor production is like saying Burzum don't fit early black metal. Black metal is the exemplar of shitty production that still has a place in the modern era, and as such can be extended to other forms of metal, such as doom.

Written by RavenKing on 02.10.2011 at 19:01

Written by ANGEL REAPER on 28.09.2011 at 14:46

i am afraid that he will ruin the old versions of the songs and piss over his own legacy.

This is almost always what happens when bands re-record old songs.
However, in Burzum's case, the old albums sounded like utter crap, so it can hardly get worse.

i agree with you till some point...i like that crappy sound of early norvegian bm...but as i said i agree that a little improvement of production can be good for that Burzum songs,but than again i dont think that Varg is capable to improve today...We will see how it will turn out...

I haven't heard any of the re-recorded tracks, but I don't particularly have high hopes.