Burzum - Filosofem review
| Band: | Burzum |
| Album: | Filosofem |
| Style: | Black metal |
| Release date: | 1996 |
| Guest review by: | Maasai Mara |
01. Dunkelheit
02. Jesus' Tod
03. Erblicket Die Töchter Des Firmaments
04. Gebrechlichkeit I
05. Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität
06. Gebrechlichkeit II
The universe, perfectly balanced as Thanos would want it. I immediately liked Thanos in Infinity War and it was the first time I had heard of him or seen him; can't wait for the End Game come April. I now no longer agree with Thanos that the universe should be perfectly balanced; excess and scarcity are what make life worth living. This album is the perfect balance between three excellent tracks and three mind-numbingly horrible tracks: the best album to be rated at exactly 5.0.
The first three tracks consist of the best black metal tracks that create a hauntingly cold atmosphere that forces you to reflect on your life and your role in the Universe. Thanos himself would have been proud listening to this half of the album and would spare half the Universe by how calm this album would make him. "Dunkelheit" is an absolute beauty and the number three song that should be recommended to people who want to know what black metal is all about after "Funeral Fog" by Mayhem and "Transilvanian Hunger" by Darkthrone. This half proves that indeed man can be an island and a single guy can produce what it usually takes at least a three-member team to produce. The buzzing riffs are simple and repetitive, yet the repetition adds to the overall reflective atmosphere. Varg does a pretty good job drumming and the lyrics help build the reflective atmosphere.
The second half of the album would have made Thanos snap his finger yesterday in murderous rage and Varg would have been the first to be obliterated. "Gebrechlichkeit I" is basically spoken word done over the backdrop of some simple riffing. Spoken word bores me to death and I have never understood it as an art form; just write the damn words down and we will read whatever you are itching to express. Track five, whose name is even too long to copy and paste, succinctly captures what the song is about. A meaninglessly long song whose purpose was to ensure that this album simply lasts for more than 1 hour. This is the worst song in the whole of heavy metal and, dare I say, in the whole of music. Repetition of the same lazy, tired, and unimaginative keyboard notes for a whole 25 minutes. You can see why Varg committed the acts he did if this is the kind of music he can bring to life, and the second half represents what goes on in his head. The second half of this album proves that indeed no man is an island and one-man bands are a bad idea.
Listen to the first three songs and ignore the rest.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 5 |
| Songwriting: | 5 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 5 |
Written by Maasai Mara | 17.03.2019
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
8.4
8.4
|
Rating: 8.4 |
A pair of empty eyes, on a face absent of any trace of...life? This is the image that comes to my mind as the first chord of Dunkelheit is picked, and persists, with different variations, throughout this jewel. An incomplete, and yet, mature and developed album, Filosofem must be the Count's deepest creation. Most of its charm comes from the way it has been recorded. Black Metal has always been about atmosphere, and honestly, one can almost see the darkness while listening to Filosofem. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 14
Visited by: 123 users
| kaskadian Posts: 37  |
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| Mercurial Posts: 1175  |
Thanos references = those times when you vomit up stomach acid into your throat.
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| roeder Posts: 149  |
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| bguardian12 Posts: 16 |
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| TheMAGAmvm Soycrusher Posts: 1086  |
Written by bguardian12 on 17.03.2019 at 16:52 In a way he is right. First half contains 3 songs amounting to 25 minutes, just a third of the album length. Second half amounts to the rest 2/3 of the album. Anyway, you can hardly award the sewer production of this album a good mark. Even 5 is too big. Performance? Eh, not that much going on in it. Furthermore, usually sewer production hides performance issues. As for originality, for its time it was indeed rather original, that is the only mark he didn't get right. In addition, we all know Burzum albums, most of them at least are highly overrated. At least 2 points are there because of Varg's overall reputation and his filthy deeds in the 90s. Controversy attracts misfits who usually hype and praise stuff that is not impressive in particular. Burzum, in many ways is like the Velvet Underground of the 90s. And the Velvet Underground of BM. Its pompousness, high level of amateurism and pretentious aura gives it and Varg a delusional image of grandeur where there is none. For the most part it is pure amateur crap wrapped up in a rather fancy, pompous package. Varg's BM album, with all their faults, still have some good stuff going on, but his dark ambient albums are the worst. Something a 5 year old could pull off.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345  |
Quote: This is the only sentence we can agree on.
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| PēterisP Posts: 91  |
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| Maasai Mara Posts: 159  |
Written by Mercurial on 17.03.2019 at 10:57 Thanos does not approve of this message and therefore snaps his fingers to your existence. Once Thanos snaps his fingers, given that he has harnessed the powers of all the infinity stones using the Infinity gaunlet that was made by Eitri on Nidavellir, that means that you immediately dissolve into ashes as Thanos wishes.
---- You are not metal enough until you visit Kenya. The cradle of mankind, where man learnt first to work with stones and first enjoyed the sounds produced by banging stones which later influenced metal in all its sounds and genres.
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| Maasai Mara Posts: 159 |
Written by roeder on 17.03.2019 at 16:03 Thanos does not approve of this message and therefore snaps his fingers to your existence. Once Thanos snaps his fingers, given that he has harnessed the powers of all the infinity stones using the Infinity gaunlet that was made by Eitri on Nidavellir, that means that you immediately dissolve into ashes as Thanos wishes.
---- You are not metal enough until you visit Kenya. The cradle of mankind, where man learnt first to work with stones and first enjoyed the sounds produced by banging stones which later influenced metal in all its sounds and genres.
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| Oriax Posts: 52  |
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| Alakazam spendin' cheese Posts: 1218  |
This review designed to attempt as a new member to the review fables held with Blackwater Park and Ponderer's Axioma Ethica Odini. The album itself however, is the 90's equivalent to Lurker Of Chalice to what all extreme and experimental and avantgarde metal would be measured thereby after along with Hvis Lyset.
---- I may not have the largest collection but I certainly have the absolute best 
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by Alakazam on 27.01.2020 at 18:49 The difference here is the reviewer was too obvious with his intentions. Ponderer, for all his faults, at least came across as a genuinely opinionated person who shat out hot takes like a laxative addict. The pure, unadulterated passion is simply timeless and doesn't even need to be defended.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Alakazam spendin' cheese Posts: 1218 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 28.01.2020 at 05:01 Like with memes these reviews only have a chance after being publicly tested. Not sure if this is the right place but always thought seeing you inactive for 19973895 days looked amazing as it's own spectacle. The repetition arguments accounted for Filosofem are equally amusing as it's technically a gateway into ambient or drone which noone usually labels them two as a negative. Why this album excelled for me was how this was truly where the quality for extreme and experimental artists focused later a piece to make defining records of their own.
---- I may not have the largest collection but I certainly have the absolute best
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| Copernicus Posts: 58  |
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