Burzum was a Norwegian black metal music project founded by Varg Vikernes i… Read Full Bio ↴Burzum was a Norwegian black metal music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black metal's history. Vikernes has also released four dark ambient and neofolk albums. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the black speech, a fictional language crafted by The Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology, and do not feature the political views for which Vikernes is known.
Vikernes founded Burzum in 1991 and recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993. From 1994 to 2009, Vikernes was imprisoned for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of three churches. While imprisoned, he recorded two dark ambient albums using only synthesizers, as he had no access to drums, guitar, or bass. Since his release from prison in 2009, he has recorded several more albums. Vikernes announced the end of Burzum in 2018, but released the project's final album, Thulêan Mysteries in 2020.
Early years (1988–1992)
Varg Vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band Kalashnikov. The following year, the name was changed to Uruk-Hai, after the creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In 1990 and 1991, Vikernes played guitar for the death metal band Old Funeral, which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He appears on the Old Funeral EP Devoured Carcass. Vikernes left Old Funeral in 1991 to concentrate on creating his own musical visions. He had a short-lived project called Satanel, along Abbath Doom Occulta. He then began a solo project under the name Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a language crafted by Tolkien. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became part of the Norwegian black metal scene. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed the record label Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Vikernes―under the pseudonym of Count Grishnackh (another name adapted from The Lord of the Rings)―began to record Burzum's self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), while still making it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being the second album released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.
Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it, so Samoth of Emperor accompanied him as a session bassist, though only appearing on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show. Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore". Therefore, Samoth and Lancelot had parted ways with Burzum. Det som engang var was released as Burzum's second album in 1993, recorded in 1992.
Imprisonment (1993–2009)
May 1994 saw the release of Hvis lyset tar oss, a new album of previously recorded material from 1992. Burzum remained as a solo project until 1994, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway. During his time in prison, Vikernes released his next album, titled Filosofem, on 1 January 1996. Recorded in March 1993, Filosofem was the last recording Vikernes made before his imprisonment. Burzum/Aske, a compilation comprising the Burzum album and Aske EP, was released in 1995. While imprisoned, Vikernes managed to record two other albums in a dark ambient style. They were released as Dauði Baldrs (1997) and Hliðskjálf (1999). Both of these albums were created with a synthesizer, as Vikernes was prohibited from using any other instruments in prison.
In 1998, all Burzum albums released up to that point were re-released as vinyl picture discs in a special box set called 1992-1997; however Filosofem did not contain "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" due to its length. The regular vinyl issue of Filosofem on Misanthropy had tracks 1–4 plus "Decrepitude II" on side 1 and "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" on side 2.
Post-imprisonment and retirement (2009–2020)
Soon after being released, Vikernes started writing new tracks (nine metal tracks and an ambient intro and outro) for an upcoming Burzum album. According to Vikernes' recounts, several record companies were interested in releasing his first album in eleven years. He stated about the new album, "I want to take my time, and make it the way I want it. It will be metal, and the fans can expect genuine Burzum."
The album was going to be originally titled Den hvite guden (The White God), but he later decided to change it to Belus, which was released by the independent record label Byelobog Productions (byelobog is the transliteration of "белобог" in Slavic languages, meaning 'white god') on 8 March 2010. It was also announced that a movie would be released in 2010, based on Varg Vikernes' life in the early 1990s. The movie would mainly draw inspiration from the book Lords of Chaos, with the film being of the same name. Vikernes expressed his contempt towards both the movie and the book upon which it is based.
A second new album of original Burzum material, Fallen, was released on 7 March 2011, followed by a compilation album, From the Depths of Darkness, containing re-recordings of tracks from Burzum's self-titled album and Det som engang var, on 28 November 2011. A third new studio album of original material, titled Umskiptar, was released in May 2012. Sôl austan, Mâni vestan ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon"), Burzum's first electronic album since 1999, was released in May 2013. On 27 April 2013, a song was posted on the official YouTube channel of Vikernes, titled "Back to the Shadows". In a blog post, Vikernes stated that "Back to the Shadows" would be the last metal track released by Burzum. The album The Ways of Yore was released in June 2014.
In June 2018, in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Vikernes stated that "[he had] moved on [from Burzum]", saying "bye bye" to the project. In July 2018, a YouTube user named Hermann posted unreleased materials of Uruk-Hai from 1988 to 1990 and Burzum's Bergen prison recordings from 1994, which he received from Tiziana Stupia.
In October 2019, Vikernes posted a tweet saying he intended to release another album as Burzum. He announced that the tentative name of the album would be Thulêan Mysteries, which would have 23 songs. The tracks from the album were previously used as background music on Vikernes' YouTube channel, which was taken down the same year. Vikernes also said that the music of Thulêan Mysteries is meant to be used as a background soundtrack for his MYFAROG role-playing game. On 18 December, Vikernes tweeted the album cover for Thulêan Mysteries. The album was released on 13 March 2020. Vikernes has stated that it would be the final Burzum album.
Musical style
Burzum's music includes both straightforward black metal as well as dark ambient, neofolk and neo-medieval music. It is often minimalist and dark, with repetition and simple song structures. Vikernes has described Burzum as a kind of "spell" or recreation of an imaginary world tied in with Pagan history. Each album, he claims, was designed as a kind of "spell" in itself, with each beginning song intending to make the listener more susceptible to "magic", the following songs to inspire a "trance-like state of mind", and the last song to carry the listener into a "world of fantasy" (dreams, for the listener would fall asleep—Burzum was supposed to have been evening music). Vikernes claims the intent to create this fantasy world came from dissatisfaction with the real world. He has stated the "message" of Burzum can be found in the lyrics of the first song of the first album ("Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown").
Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology, and do not feature the far-right political views for which Vikernes is known. In a 2010 interview, Vikernes said: "Burzum is not a political or religious band, or even an anti-religious band. Burzum is music; art if you like, and the interpretation of art lies in the eye of the beholder. I might be Nordic, heterosexual and have a Pagan ideology myself, but why would I expect the fans of my music to be just like me?". Despite the project's apolitical nature, Burzum is included on Meta's Dangerous Individuals and Organizations list.
Burzum's early work was influenced by Tolkien; for example, Vikernes' early moniker "Count Grishnackh" is taken from an orc character called Grishnákh in Tolkien's works. Burzum is a word of the Black Speech of Mordor meaning "darkness" (though Vikernes views what Christians consider "darkness" as "light"), and is inscribed on the One Ring in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burzum
Studio albums
Burzum (1992)
Det som engang var (1993)
Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)
Filosofem (1996)
Dauði Baldrs (1997)
Hliðskjálf (1999)
Belus (2010)
Fallen (2011)
Umskiptar (2012)
Sôl austan, Mâni vestan (2013)
The Ways of Yore (2014)
Thulêan Mysteries (2020)
Vikernes founded Burzum in 1991 and recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993. From 1994 to 2009, Vikernes was imprisoned for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of three churches. While imprisoned, he recorded two dark ambient albums using only synthesizers, as he had no access to drums, guitar, or bass. Since his release from prison in 2009, he has recorded several more albums. Vikernes announced the end of Burzum in 2018, but released the project's final album, Thulêan Mysteries in 2020.
Early years (1988–1992)
Varg Vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band Kalashnikov. The following year, the name was changed to Uruk-Hai, after the creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In 1990 and 1991, Vikernes played guitar for the death metal band Old Funeral, which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He appears on the Old Funeral EP Devoured Carcass. Vikernes left Old Funeral in 1991 to concentrate on creating his own musical visions. He had a short-lived project called Satanel, along Abbath Doom Occulta. He then began a solo project under the name Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a language crafted by Tolkien. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became part of the Norwegian black metal scene. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed the record label Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Vikernes―under the pseudonym of Count Grishnackh (another name adapted from The Lord of the Rings)―began to record Burzum's self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), while still making it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being the second album released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.
Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it, so Samoth of Emperor accompanied him as a session bassist, though only appearing on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show. Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore". Therefore, Samoth and Lancelot had parted ways with Burzum. Det som engang var was released as Burzum's second album in 1993, recorded in 1992.
Imprisonment (1993–2009)
May 1994 saw the release of Hvis lyset tar oss, a new album of previously recorded material from 1992. Burzum remained as a solo project until 1994, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway. During his time in prison, Vikernes released his next album, titled Filosofem, on 1 January 1996. Recorded in March 1993, Filosofem was the last recording Vikernes made before his imprisonment. Burzum/Aske, a compilation comprising the Burzum album and Aske EP, was released in 1995. While imprisoned, Vikernes managed to record two other albums in a dark ambient style. They were released as Dauði Baldrs (1997) and Hliðskjálf (1999). Both of these albums were created with a synthesizer, as Vikernes was prohibited from using any other instruments in prison.
In 1998, all Burzum albums released up to that point were re-released as vinyl picture discs in a special box set called 1992-1997; however Filosofem did not contain "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" due to its length. The regular vinyl issue of Filosofem on Misanthropy had tracks 1–4 plus "Decrepitude II" on side 1 and "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" on side 2.
Post-imprisonment and retirement (2009–2020)
Soon after being released, Vikernes started writing new tracks (nine metal tracks and an ambient intro and outro) for an upcoming Burzum album. According to Vikernes' recounts, several record companies were interested in releasing his first album in eleven years. He stated about the new album, "I want to take my time, and make it the way I want it. It will be metal, and the fans can expect genuine Burzum."
The album was going to be originally titled Den hvite guden (The White God), but he later decided to change it to Belus, which was released by the independent record label Byelobog Productions (byelobog is the transliteration of "белобог" in Slavic languages, meaning 'white god') on 8 March 2010. It was also announced that a movie would be released in 2010, based on Varg Vikernes' life in the early 1990s. The movie would mainly draw inspiration from the book Lords of Chaos, with the film being of the same name. Vikernes expressed his contempt towards both the movie and the book upon which it is based.
A second new album of original Burzum material, Fallen, was released on 7 March 2011, followed by a compilation album, From the Depths of Darkness, containing re-recordings of tracks from Burzum's self-titled album and Det som engang var, on 28 November 2011. A third new studio album of original material, titled Umskiptar, was released in May 2012. Sôl austan, Mâni vestan ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon"), Burzum's first electronic album since 1999, was released in May 2013. On 27 April 2013, a song was posted on the official YouTube channel of Vikernes, titled "Back to the Shadows". In a blog post, Vikernes stated that "Back to the Shadows" would be the last metal track released by Burzum. The album The Ways of Yore was released in June 2014.
In June 2018, in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Vikernes stated that "[he had] moved on [from Burzum]", saying "bye bye" to the project. In July 2018, a YouTube user named Hermann posted unreleased materials of Uruk-Hai from 1988 to 1990 and Burzum's Bergen prison recordings from 1994, which he received from Tiziana Stupia.
In October 2019, Vikernes posted a tweet saying he intended to release another album as Burzum. He announced that the tentative name of the album would be Thulêan Mysteries, which would have 23 songs. The tracks from the album were previously used as background music on Vikernes' YouTube channel, which was taken down the same year. Vikernes also said that the music of Thulêan Mysteries is meant to be used as a background soundtrack for his MYFAROG role-playing game. On 18 December, Vikernes tweeted the album cover for Thulêan Mysteries. The album was released on 13 March 2020. Vikernes has stated that it would be the final Burzum album.
Musical style
Burzum's music includes both straightforward black metal as well as dark ambient, neofolk and neo-medieval music. It is often minimalist and dark, with repetition and simple song structures. Vikernes has described Burzum as a kind of "spell" or recreation of an imaginary world tied in with Pagan history. Each album, he claims, was designed as a kind of "spell" in itself, with each beginning song intending to make the listener more susceptible to "magic", the following songs to inspire a "trance-like state of mind", and the last song to carry the listener into a "world of fantasy" (dreams, for the listener would fall asleep—Burzum was supposed to have been evening music). Vikernes claims the intent to create this fantasy world came from dissatisfaction with the real world. He has stated the "message" of Burzum can be found in the lyrics of the first song of the first album ("Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown").
Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology, and do not feature the far-right political views for which Vikernes is known. In a 2010 interview, Vikernes said: "Burzum is not a political or religious band, or even an anti-religious band. Burzum is music; art if you like, and the interpretation of art lies in the eye of the beholder. I might be Nordic, heterosexual and have a Pagan ideology myself, but why would I expect the fans of my music to be just like me?". Despite the project's apolitical nature, Burzum is included on Meta's Dangerous Individuals and Organizations list.
Burzum's early work was influenced by Tolkien; for example, Vikernes' early moniker "Count Grishnackh" is taken from an orc character called Grishnákh in Tolkien's works. Burzum is a word of the Black Speech of Mordor meaning "darkness" (though Vikernes views what Christians consider "darkness" as "light"), and is inscribed on the One Ring in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burzum
Studio albums
Burzum (1992)
Det som engang var (1993)
Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)
Filosofem (1996)
Dauði Baldrs (1997)
Hliðskjálf (1999)
Belus (2010)
Fallen (2011)
Umskiptar (2012)
Sôl austan, Mâni vestan (2013)
The Ways of Yore (2014)
Thulêan Mysteries (2020)
Stemmen Fra Tårnet
Burzum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En ukjent stemme kalte
Fra tårnet hvor ingen bodde
Fra bortenfor skogen
Hvor intet levde
Et rop i drømmen så skjønt
Som stemmen til dronningen av natten
Vi våknet og saa månen
Delvis dekket av dystre skyer
Det var kaldt og vått
På vår ferd inn i riket
Av ufødte tanker
Endelig kan vi se hva som kalte
For vi fulgte den stemmen i natt...
-- English Translation --
An unknown voice called
From the tower where nobody dwells
From beyond the wood
Where nothing lives
A cry in the dream so beautiful
Like the voice of the queen of the night
We awoke and saw the moon
Covered partly by gloomy clouds
It was cold and wet
On our journey
To the realm
Of the unborn thoughts
Finally we can see what called
For we followed the voice tonight...
Fra tårnet hvor ingen bodde
Fra bortenfor skogen
Hvor intet levde
Et rop i drømmen så skjønt
Som stemmen til dronningen av natten
Delvis dekket av dystre skyer
Det var kaldt og vått
På vår ferd inn i riket
Av ufødte tanker
Endelig kan vi se hva som kalte
For vi fulgte den stemmen i natt...
-- English Translation --
An unknown voice called
From the tower where nobody dwells
From beyond the wood
Where nothing lives
A cry in the dream so beautiful
Like the voice of the queen of the night
We awoke and saw the moon
Covered partly by gloomy clouds
It was cold and wet
On our journey
To the realm
Of the unborn thoughts
Finally we can see what called
For we followed the voice tonight...
The lyrics of Burzum's Stemmen fra tårnet ('The Voice from the Tower' in English) are evocative, eerie, and mysterious. The song opens with a description of an unknown voice calling from a tower where nobody lives, from beyond the wood where nothing lives. The voice is so beautiful that it's compared to the queen of the night, a figure from mythology and opera who represents darkness and magic. The dreamlike quality of the voice is underlined by the phrase "a cry in the dream so beautiful."
The lyrics then shift to a description of the singer's surroundings. They wake up and see the moon covered partly by gloomy clouds. It's cold and wet, and they are on a journey to the realm of the unborn thoughts. This phrase is intriguing because it suggests that the singer is experiencing a dream or a vision rather than a physical journey. The lyrics end with the singer saying that they finally can see what called them because they followed the voice tonight.
Taken as a whole, the lyrics of Stemmen fra tårnet create a vivid, otherworldly atmosphere. It's a song about the power of the unknown and the allure of the mysterious. The tower, the voice, and the realm of the unborn thoughts are all symbols of the hidden, the forbidden, and the unexplored. The lyrics suggest that sometimes we are called to venture into these unknown realms, despite the danger or uncertainty they may hold.
Line by Line Meaning
An unknown voice called
Someone spoke but it was unidentifiable
From the tower where nobody dwells
The voice came from a place where no one lives
From beyond the wood
The place where the voice was coming from is located past the trees
Where nothing lives
The area wasn't inhabited by any living beings
A cry in the dream so beautiful
The sound made in the dream was very lovely
Like the voice of the queen of the night
It resembled the voice of the female ruler of darkness
We awoke and saw the moon
We woke up and looked at the moon
Covered partly by gloomy clouds
The moon was partially hidden by dark clouds
It was cold and wet
The atmosphere was both chilly and damp
On our journey
During our travels
To the realm
To the location
Of the unborn thoughts
Where unmanifested ideas reside
Finally we can see what called
We can now understand what was summoning us
For we followed the voice tonight...
We obeyed the call that night...
Contributed by Lucas B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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connie d
on Inn I Slottet Fra Droemmen
"stump" should be "stick"
and "of dreams" should be "from the dream"