Works

I seldom play at night during workdays but this time, it's a triggered occasion. The guitar in question was my GRG010LTD because I already had a certain tone in mind.

The trigger factor - Burzum's Alfadanz, which you can check out above. I was texting a good friend, the usual gear conversation, when he mentioned this song which, despite not being my favourite, is something I took note of for its strong doom & folk essence. Despite his political / left-wing folly, Varg Vikernes is a good song writer. He has this penchant for including the right ideas to deliver the song through. My GRGR is adept to this kind of burly treble tone, not abrasive but a fuzzy treble serving. I feel good keeping something that works / serves the intention. The GRGR is not an expensive instrument, it's something I tweaked for a certain intention & it delivers every time.

Filosofem re-visited

The year was 1996, Burzum's Filosofem was released back then but it wasn't readily available in the stores. I remember ordering my copy (at Roxy Music) only after brother Zahid showed his copy to me- so it could be purchased after all. After Varg's sentencing in 1994, it seems that Burzum's releases plunged into contraband status. The day I collected mine, there's this chap who bought 2 copies of this release in vinyl; one for keep's sake, the other for regular listening. I'd imagine that he's earned a fortune selling that untempered copy thereafter. 

Why the heck did I re-purchase this album? Back in 1996, the 'Can I borrow & forget to return you' culture went unchecked. It's largely down to giving too much respect to close friends who thought it's not criminal to do so but they should definitely know it's sinful. Anyway, mine was borrowed by many people, the cover- stained & the disc itself badly scratched. I decided to just buy a fresh, re-issue version & it's the one you see here. I enjoy listening to this album on days when I'm down; I actually revel in Filosofem's dank, dark, despairing mood- it's complementing my state of affairs. Contrary to popular rehabilitation, I feel better listening to this than having someone cheer me up when I'm down. I'm like that.

Burzum: Umskiptar

Varg Vickernes had repeatedly reminded the world that he had ceased writing black metal music. His current creativity involves atmospheric music. But that's according to Varg, according to our ears, it's black metal. However, black metal enjoys this broad variation, a diverse fray at its edges I'd say, to be classified otherwise. Do not blame the masses if they don't hear the differences though, how varied it might be. But it all boils down to this- music is an art form open to various interpretations, do not reject any interpretation if it's propelled as such adequately. 

Back to Umskiptar, it's not sung in English so be warned. The music is a Burzum signature, coarse guitar undercurrent propelled by other necessary accompaniments deemed fit by Varg. This time, things get a little testing for music lovers in general, many songs here fall into a dirge structure only fit for the consumption of those who have real respect for the artist's creation. There are some blank moments, save for a solo vocal performance, as well. If you are looking for some angst-fodder to define the current mood swing you are in, it's not the type of black metal/ atmospheric music you'd like to refer to. Credit goes to Varg for sticking to his formula of doing things.

Burzum: Fallen

In countless interviews, Varg Vikernes reminded journalists he's not playing black metal. The insistence was that it's his music, free from any righteous categorization, if it happens to be black metal, so be it. After listening to Fallen, which isn't is English (but that's besides the point), I can't seem to remove the fact that it is a black metal release. More importantly, Burzum had not gone astray from its roots, the music remains to be a coarse assault to the ears, with very little respect in ensuring a balanced EQ as far as guitar tones go. I enjoyed Varg Vikernes' post-confinement manifestation, Belus, because the guitars in there, despite being very repetitious & protrusive, had good inter-play. Just listen to them carefully through head phones & you can hear the variation in certain phrasings. In many twin guitar bands, the two guitarists at work often confine themselves to the specific roles of rhythm & lead players; they often play the riffs in unison. The more interesting establishments would make efforts to vary their riffs, so we hear interesting differentiation through the left & right channels of our speakers/ headphones. It's good to know that Fallen is no different but the stark contrast here lies with the vocals; there are more clean spoken words this time. In fact, some of these are quasi-whispers, there were no efforts to raise vocal intensity. Fallen is a deserving follow up by Varg Vikernes, to say the least.

According to Varg, Fallen was recorded with the above Peavey guitar. Regardless of whichever guitar was employed, it got the job done (tone-wise).

Burzum: Belus

Do you know Varg Vikernes?

Perhaps the pic above might jog your memory- Varg Vikernes was Mayhem's Count Grishnackh (left), convicted murderer of Euronymous (right) & arsonist. There's too much affliction when it comes to the man's blackened past (no pun intended), best understood when one is privy to both sides of the story, not just the media exposure.

Belus is an 11-year wait, a Burzum release quite unexpected as we perceive Vikernes' withdrawal from the music scene owing to his controversial persona, much touted by the media to contain racist inclinations. In fact, Belus is a censored replacement for the initial release title of  The White God (Den Hvite Guden), which, according to Vikernes is a reference to The White God of Europe aka Apollo/ Baldr/ Belobog, among others. What can we expect from Belus, a propagation of Burzum of yesterday? Much so & then some. Varg Vikernes made a conscious effort in propelling music as opposed to personal attention. He made it clear in a recent interview that music is first & foremost, the industry's label of his manifestations as black metal is really dead end labeling. However, upon hearing what Belus has to offer, black metal is an inevitable tag but this is signature Burzum where vexatious atmospherics take control. The concluding track, Belus' Return, is virtually a looped phrasing where subtle differences are peppered in as the song plays on, only discernible to the discriminating ear- that's how atmospheric things get in this collection. All in all, Belus draws its parallel to many unhurried black metal song structures akin to what Trelldom & Khold has to offer (citing 2 of many out there); with a judicious concoction of doom. I give Belus my thumbs up.

Insomnia... loving the lack of slumber.