Well Varg must have had plenty of time at his disposal to learn card games and one would not really like to play him at poker if the way he kept quiet about recording this new album is anything to go by. It is kind of traditional that the one man black metal act simply gets on with things and lets the muse overtake them and Varg had been hampered creatively for such a long time. Without fanfare from the press machine this album suddenly arrived to those of us in the privileged position to review it, the rest have a fairly long wait to hear the material but of course that does not stop everyone with a keyboard passing judgement on the album on message boards before they have even heard it, reminding a bit of Mary Whitehouse and her cronies condemning all the video nasties without having seen them.
Without the music at their disposal the first critique naturally fell on the artwork which is part of a painting, Élégie by William Adolphe Bouguereau. It fits in very well with an album that Varg has stated has been mastered as if it were classical music, not that this has stopped people saying it looks like the cover of a cheap Mills and Boon romance novel. Then a well known Internet shop put up samples of the album and I made sure that I stopped reading everyone else’s thoughts the same way I would ignore critics of a book with half the pages missing.
Eerie whispers and sound like vacuum down a tunnel build on short opener ‘Fra Verdenstreet’ (From The World Tree) this does little but construct an air of atmosphere and unease before the unmistakable Burzumic guitar thorns penetrate and unravel on ‘Jag Faller’ (I Am Falling). This could only be the one artist and although the sound may have been imitated it has never been bettered and it sounds razor sharp and literally cuts its way out through the production. The rasping vocals are not far behind and make their mark but there is a surprise in store as despite the continuous acerbic guitar presence the melody lightens with fragrant clean croons harmoniously lightening the mood. They sound somewhat Vikingesque and there is a feel of yearning about them and they are actually rather beautiful. The song goes between emotions and lyrically is incredibly poetic. The music pitches between reflection and anger in one swift swipe and skilfully constructs the emotions together leaving a song that even on first listen is completely unforgettable. Redemption continues on the title track and to get the overall picture it really is worth reading the lyrics which have been translated into English on the artist’s official website. Guitars are now spiky compared to thorny (listen it makes sense) short sharp and strident and there is both an urgency about things and a folk tinged sense of perhaps regret expressed via the clean harmonies. The song is obsessed with death and darkness, it is everywhere and Varg states it surrounds him forever, it’s pretty deep stuff.
What doesn’t actually kill you makes you crazy so it is appropriate that next is ‘Vanvidd’ (Madness). This starts with a real furious attack and is reminiscent of a song like ‘Kaimadalthas Nedstigning’ from Belus and could well be seen as a natural progression of this or even the furious guitar lines of Filosofem number Jesu Død. Again though the song settles down into a mournful tapestry with even humming employed amidst the clean vocal harmonies. Chilling groans and feral screams however are not far away as the guitars rage back in at full flight. It is interesting that Varg has stated this album is inspired by the debut and ‘Det Som Engang Var,’ you can certainly hear it but what a progression and not just in the overall sound, well technology has improved, but in the song writing too. Lyric wise it is certainly less fantasy inspired than its predecessor and much more in depth and serious. Shimmering lines and doom laden misery flow through ‘Enhver Til Sitt’ (Each Man To His Own) and spoken words are used to great effect. Drums are really noticeable thudding away over the albums longest number ‘Budstikken’ (The Message). It’s an infectious galloping rhythm that canters off in a mid-paced flurry and although not too complex it is both enthralling and mesmerising with the low end bass twang rumbling away in contrast to the cutting thrust of the guitars. We finish on a beguiling and odd instrumental ‘To Hel And Back’ sounding like a dulcimer is being played over a slow tribal drum beat. It’s an interesting final five minutes or so, not sure how many are likely to hit the stop button on repeated listens and what the ever eccentric artist is getting at is no doubt open to interpretation. You can maybe envisage this is the sound listened to on the journey to Valhalla, but who honestly knows?
Fallen is quintessential Burzum, I see absolutely no reason for anyone wanting to dismiss it as anything less than essential, as was Belus. The consummate song writing, the obvious passion behind it cannot be ignored and as for the increased use of clean harmonies they really add other dimensions and sensibilities to the overall myriad of emotions running through the music. The simple message is do not dismiss this before you have heard it properly and you may well find yourself richly rewarded. Could this be the second chapter of what may turn into a yearly event? That is something we shall have to wait to find out.
http://www.burzum.org
