Band:	Burzum
Album:	Hliðskjálf
Style:	Dark Ambient
Release date:	April 26, 1999
Guest review by:	metalhead3

01. Tuistos Herz
02. Der Tod Wuotans
03. Ansuzgardaraiwô
04. Die Liebe Nerþus'
05. Frijôs Einsames Trauern
06. Einfühlungsvermögen
07. Frijôs Goldene Tränen
08. Der Weinende Hadnur

Burzum is a well known one-man band that is appreciated by metalheads worldwide mainly because of his black metal albums. However, that doesn't mean that he can compose only black metal and nothing else. On "Filosofem" Varg has proved that he is able to create an outstanding ambient music with the keyboard. He continued to make the great music on this later works.

"Hlidskjalf" is the latest and the shortest Burzum album. The first three are nothing but pure ambient masterpieces. The next tracks, "Die Liebe Nerpus'", is the most accessible Burzum track and the true highlight of the album. The next four tracks are slower than the first four tracks, probably because Varg wants to calm the listener down and let him fall asleep (we already saw this on "Filosofem" and "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss", haven't we?)

The album as a whole creates a haunting mountain ambient which takes you into a breathtaking journey through the dark forest. That is how I fell when listening to the album. The production is very good (this can be noticed clearly if you compare any track from this album with "Tomhet" or "Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Saule Der Singularitat") and the same goes for the performance. The album is not very original because we already saw the similar music (Dead Can Dance - "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun" - an example).

Finally, this album is highly recommended to all who want to listen to something good. The first four tracks can match the works of the most awesome electronic bands like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. If you don't mind listening to something different and if you understand that the aesthetics are the least important part of the music than you will enjoy this album.