Origin:	Norway
Genres:	Black Metal

Burzum

Burzum features arguably the most infamous figure in Norwegian black metal, that being one Count Grishnach (real name Christian "Varg" Vikernes). The band evolved from an early band called Uruk-Hai, a band that broke up in 1990. After playing in some short-lived projects (one of which featured future members of Immortal), Vikernes resurrected Uruk-Hai, renamed it Burzum, and continued as a one-man project. Along the way he became one of the leaders of the Inner Circle of black metal musicians and friends, who were responsible for various church burnings and the like in the early nineties. Then came the famous murder of then-bandmate Euronymous of Mayhem (whom Vikernes had recently joined) in 1993, and Vikernes was convicted for the crime and sent to prison, where he remained until the spring of 2009.

From a musical standpoint, the opinion here is that the legacy of Varg the person will always be more lasting and noteworthy than that of Burzum the band. This is not to say that the music is inconsequential, as it is clear that much of the early work was enormously influential to the black metal scene that would blossom in the nineties (the post-jail Burzum recordings are mentioned a bit later below), and in some respects very interesting on its own merits. Burzum relied less far less on blastbeats and raw speed than most black metal bands, but instead focused on midpaced, drawn out riffs with a decidedly haunting tone, with Vikernes' vocals (harsh and tortured even by black metal standards) adding a measure of evil to the mix. Varg's personal life will seemingly always keep the Burzum name in the spotlight, but there is no denying his musical influence on the black metal scene.

Though Vikernes was imprisoned in the early nineties, he continued to release music as Burzum (Filosofem was the last pre-prison album, recorded before his imprisonment though released afterward), but confined to keyboard arrangements. As such, albums such as Daudi Baldrs have nothing to do with metal in any regard. At best, some songs have an interesting new age tone, while other songs come across as quite simplistic arrangements that really don't go anywhere.

Now that Vikernes is out of prison, Burzum is apparently active once again, as a new album has been announced for release in the spring of 2010.