It's been just over 10 years since the last official Burzum record and, as of its creation, just shy of 16 years since Varg Vikernes played a guitar. That's a long time for the myth behind the terrifying and enigmatic Vikernes to grow and fester with anticipation. For those that aren't aware, Vikernes was paroled in May of 2009 after serving a little less than 16 years of a 21 year sentence for the murder of then Mayhem guitarist Euronymous, and allegedly burning several ancient churches to the ground. Regardless, Belus reemphasizes that there is a reason he's such a legendary figure in the black metal scene beyond his mania. The album presents a return to form for Burzum from the dark ambient synthesizer projects he produced during his early years in prison and harkens back to the more primal stripped down black metal of his first self-titled release. The album revels in its pagan heritage and rampages like a viking through a forest. On "Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning" we see the rare harmonic side of Burzum, with guitar riffs that almost feel like double time post-punk as opposed to black metal. But who's to tell Varg Vikernes what is and isn't black metal? It's all about the ambience that's encapsulated within the record, that lingering air of grimness and vicious self-righteousness that all other false metals fail to recreate. Vikernes is back, and we can only hope he keeps himself out of trouble.
Burzum - Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning
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