����� It goes without saying that the original early 90's Burzum releases remain among the most potent and influential black metal albums ever recorded. While the criminal exploits of sole member Varg Vikernes have always threatened to overshadow the music itself (just read Lords Of Chaos for the whole sordid saga), the impact that these records had on underground metal (and beyond) is still being felt. Ferocious, sometimes experimental, Burzum's early discography includes works that are undeniable masterpieces of black metal profanity steeped in Scandinavian mythology; regardless of how one feels about the notorious character behind this music, several of these albums are required listening for anyone who is truly interested in the sonic black arts. All of these albums were reissued a while back through the Candlelight sub-label Byelobog, retaining their original form with no added bonus tracks or any other extraneous material, each disc housed in jewel case packaging enclosed in a printed slipcase; we now have all of these in stock, some at lower prices than before, and all are highly recommended to those truly interested in the evolution of Norwegian black metal and the malevolent aesthetics of genuinely sociopathic art.
����� It all started here. Combining Burzum's eponymous debut with the Aske 12" released later the same year, this is the epitome of the raw black metal aesthetic, and one of the most important black metal albums in the history of the form. That debut album resonates with a fearsome negative energy that rattled listeners when the record first appeared on Deathlike Silence Productions back in 1992, with almost everything performed by Vikernes, aside from some additional instrumentation provided by his ill-fated friend Euronymous. Rather than the longform hypnotic epics that would define later albums like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Filosofem, many of the songs on Burzum stick to more conventional lengths. But even relatively shorter tracks like "Ea, Lord Of The Depths" and the snarling violence of "War" deftly weave those droning, fuzz-encrusted riffs into swirling minimalist figures that become trance-inducing, possessing a crude but transcendent power that is further enhanced by the anguished, feral vocals. The bursts of frenzied, repetitious melody and the churning, looplike nature of Vikernes' riffs appear simple on the surface, but repeated listening reveals the interlocking layering that creates this solemn, mesmeric atmosphere. Haunting and sorrowful, this music yearns for an escape from modernity, but the seething spiteful undercurrents constantly threaten violence, manifesting with ferocious tempo shifts and moments of stumbling, discordant dementia. There's also some billowing shadow-drenched quasi-kosmische synthesizer that overtakes the dark electronic driftscape of "Channeling The Power Of Souls Into A New God", which hints at some of the later electronic music that Burzum would engage in. And the closer is pure isolationist ambient blackness, sprawling out with waves of reverberant hammered gong that could be mistaken for something from Lustmord or Jonathan Coleclough. This mixture of black metal and post-industrial ambience has been copies by a million bands since, but none of 'em come close to capturing what Burzum created here. This created a template for moody black metal, the layered droning tremolo riffs and contrasting chord changes achieving moments of dark brilliance all throughout this album, captured with a low-fi, clandestine recording quality that is intrinsic to the album's unique presence. Needless to say, Burzum is a landmark black metal album.
����� The three song Aske EP follows, tearing through some driving, brooding blackened fury that ranges from the propulsive, hypnotic mid-tempo ferocity of "Stemmen Fra T�rnet (The Voice From The Tower)" and the frostbitten grey blastscape of "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit", while the lumbering slow motion doom of "Dominus Sathanas" is totally devoid of percussion, a layered, majestic piece of ambient guitar music that's one of the best experimental black metal tracks from this era. Despite its brief length, this stuff is just as essential as the debut.