Burzum – From The Depths of Darkness

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Byelobog Productions
Produced by Varg Vikernes

The press release that accompanies From The Depths of Darkness, a compilation of re-recordings of songs from the first two Burzum full-lengths, purports the album to be a “great sounding collection of tracks sounding the way Varg wanted the tracks to sound and to be heard by his dedicated fans and supporters.” This is complete and utter bullshit. No one in black metal’s notoriously lo-fi underground likes to preach about his urge to use low-quality recording equipment to produce a raw sound and thus a raw atmosphere more than Varg Vikernes. From the Depths of Darkness is a cash grab, plain and simple.

Of course, it sounds great. These are classic songs, and hearing them with a crisper production calls attention to those great riffs and drum parts that used to be buried under layers of filth. Varg is a better singer now, too, and the vocal style that can be heard on Belus and Fallen applied to great songs like Key To The Gate and one of my all-time favorite Burzum tracks Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown is nice. But how nice it sounds is completely besides the point. From a man who if nothing else can be said to cling to his principles, this is a curious release.

The songs from Burzum and Det Som Engang Var are supposed to sound terrible. That was the atmosphere he was going for and the reason so many people fell in love with them. If one can simply dig into one’s past output and reconsider it to make it palatable to a wider audience, how can they ever be said to have any artistic integrity?

Burzum has evolved with every album. The first two are the rawest. Then, Varg got into some experimental stuff. After that, he went to prison and recorded some synthesizer music. After he was freed from prison, he started producing high-quality, well-produced black metal with folk influences. Why can’t each era be taken on its own? Some people will like Det Som Engang Var and not Fallen, some will be the opposite, and that’s OK. By whitewashing his back catalogue with his current artistic whims, Varg has said that his evolution doesn’t matter. Everything he’s done should sound like what he sounds like today because the present transcends the past. From a dude who worships ancient Norse deities, it’s a weird perspective to take, as well as an extremely disappointing one.

“ a cash grab, plain and simple ”

Tracklist: The Coming (Introduction) / Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown / Sassu Wunnu (Introduction) / Ea. Lord of The Depths / Spell of Destruction / A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit / My Journey To The Stars / Call of The Siren (Introduction) / Key To The Gate / Turn The Sign of The Microcosm (Snu Mikrokosmos’ Tegn) / Channeling The Power of Minds Into A New God

Written by Brad Sanders
More: 2011, Black Metal, Compilation Albums, Burzum