Burzum (song)
| Burzum | |
|---|---|
| Burzum | |
| publication | 1996 |
| length | 7:05 |
| Genre (s) | Black metal |
| Author (s) | Varg Vikernes |
| album | Filosofem |
Burzum ( black language : 'darkness') is a song by the Norwegian music project Burzum . It was released in 1996 on the album Filosofem and under the German title Dunkelheit on VHS .
Emergence
After Varg Vikernes left the band Old Funeral , he reactivated his thrash metal project Uruk-Hai. According to Vikernes, the song Burzum was composed in August 1991; at the time he also changed the name of the project from Uruk-Hai to Burzum. He himself describes the song as the first real Burzum title. Originally Vikernes wanted to publish the song on the third Burzum album Hvis lyset tar oss , but rejected the recording at that time because of its poor quality. Instead it was re-recorded in March 1993 in the Breidablik Studio and released in 1996 on the subsequent album Filosofem ; on the Norwegian version, where the song titles are given in Norwegian and English , under the title Burzum , on the German version under the title Dunkelheit . Under this it was also released on VHS. Vikernes, however, emphasizes the correctness of the title in JRR Tolkien's black language compared to the German language .
Music genre
Darkness’s guitar runs are based on a few riffs , all of which are played within the first five frets and most of them are played exclusively on the E, A, and D strings. The bass run is played exclusively on the E string and there in the second, third and without a fret, with a pause between each play. The drums consist of two cymbals , a hi-hat , a small and a large drum . Occasionally the song is accompanied by subtle synthesizers. After about three minutes and the end of the text performed with a distorted voice, a guitar solo can be heard, which is based on the basic melody of the song and lasts a little under a minute. About half a minute after it ends, the text is repeated in the spoken version and without its last two verses, and shortly afterwards with these. After almost 20 seconds the last verse is recited in a distorted voice.
Music video
The music video was shot according to Vikernes' instructions, which he released in writing from prison. It begins with blurry nature shots and a rune stone that is inscribed with no visible human influence. The video recordings show further rune stones and other illustrations with runes that frame some of the nature recordings shown or are in the foreground. These include (partly blurred) recordings of passing clouds, thunderstorms, fire, bodies of water, sunsets , rocks and forests. The video ends with a zoom-in into the light breaking through the trees. In the book Lords of Chaos , the result “despite the lack of plot or drama” is described as “amazingly moving”.
text
The text consists only of a few verses that are repeated in the song after long pauses. It is about the falling night that shrouds the world in impenetrable darkness. The air is contaminated by the cold rising from the ground. The text ends with the statement: "Suddenly ... / Life has new meaning" (English: "Suddenly ... life has new meaning"). Vikernes describes the text as rather simple and mystical , but it was wrongly interpreted as satanic :
“Very short, simple lyrics: When night falls / She cloaks the world in impenetrable darkness / A chill rises from the soil and contaminates the air / Suddenly, life has new meaning . Quite simple, more mystical really. Later everyone thinks, 'Oh, it's all Satanism.' ”
reception
Burzum has been covered by numerous bands, including the doom metal band Reverend Bizarre , the black metal band Sun of the Sleepless by Markus Stock and the right-wing extremist and NSBM bands Totenburg , Cryogenic and Godless North . The titles of the tribute albums A Hungarian Tribute to Burzum - Life Has New Meaning (on which the song can be heard in a version by Teurgia) and When the Night Falls - Tribute to Burzum are also based on the lyrics .
According to Vikernes, the music video is hushed up in Norway because of its political views; Many viewers of the Norwegian television program SMS-TV are interested in Burzum, but the presenter, according to Vikernes, claims that there is no Burzum video and, after references to Burzum or darkness, admitted to claiming its non-existence or "deliberately forgetting" .
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Minton: Interview with Varg Vikernes . In: Terrorizer , No. 194, March 2010.
- ↑ a b Burzum - Discography - Official Releases - "Filosofem" 1996 .
- ↑ a b c d Chris Mitchell: Interview with Varg Vikernes .
- ↑ Varg Vikernes: A Burzum Story: Part VI - The Music .
- Jump up ↑ Brad Angle: Heart of Darkness . Burzum's Varg Vikernes . In: Guitar World , April 2010.
- ↑ a b “A video for the Burzum song“ Darkness ”goes much further, leaving out any human traces whatsoever - the entire eight [sic!] Minute clip is based on images of runic stone carvings, over which shots flash of rushing storm clouds , sunsets, rocks, and woods. Co-directed by Vikernes from prison via written instructions, the result is impressively evocative despite the absence of any storyline or drama. " Michael Moynihan , Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos , First Edition, Feral House 1998, ISBN 0-922915-48- 2 , p. 179.
- ↑ Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos . First Edition, Feral House 1998, ISBN 0-922915-48-2 , p. 151.
- ↑ Varg Vikernes: A Burzum Story: Part IV - Burzum In Norway .