Burzum
Filosofem
[Misanthropy]
Varg Vikernes, love him or hate him, is a man with a vision. Some deplore
his views, other embrace them with open arms - and it seems to be that one's
appreciation of the musical entity Burzum is usually (although not always)
tied directly into how one views the man himself. Seeing as this however is
a CD review and not a soapbox for the argument of different philosophical
and/or political platforms, I'll leave those arguments well enough alone
(but lets face it, a Burzum review without *some* mention of the above is
about as rare as a black metal fan free of any preconceived notions about
Grishnackh himself)...
This would be the 5th proper release from Burzum, and the last "black metal" CD to be released under this moniker if all that Varg says is to be believed true (and indeed, with the release of "Daudi Baldrs" (formerly known as "Balders Dod"), it's quite apparent that Burzum is indeed headed in a totally different direction)...and really, it's quite fitting that this stage of Burzum would come to an end with a release such as "Filosofem", as this CD has such a quiet despair, it sounds as if it was signaling the end of *something*...
"Filosofem" is a CD full of reflection. Everything on it is so tightly focused, so precise, so sorrowful as to negate the individual worth of any of its single components. Overall, the CD has a much slower feel than previous albums, and is far less chaotic sounding as well. And while dense with emotion, the actual sound of this CD is very sparse in some ways. The drums are booming beyond belief, yet sound as if they are being played from some chasm deep in the heart of hell itself, reverberating the very foundation that encloses it. The vocals lose a bit of the characteristic Burzum flair, and are instead sung (and also whispered) through what appears to be a very processed sound - very cold and clinical, and ridden with angst beyond the point of recognition...they writhe with sickness, infected with their own delivery. The guitars & bass bear the closest resemblance in tone to their predecessors, and help to define and shape the misery to be found within. Synth is once again also used, but more frequently than before (of course, there is the obligatory synth based instrumental piece on this CD, "Rundgang um die transzendentale Saule der Singularitat", but it's also the track that seems to inspire the most negative criticism of the CD, as not everyone is fond of 25+ minutes or repetitiveness)...
The song writing on the CD isn't too far a stretch from other Burzum CDs - repetition being the tool most often employed. Varg likes to "punish" his listeners by playing the same chord progression over & over & over again - some find this approach to be nothing short of a snore-fest, but I revel in it, as with each repeat, the atmosphere become more and more mantra like, totally enveloping the air around me, until there is nothing but Burzum itself. I could attempt a track by track review of "Filosofem", but it wouldn't do it justice - while every song presented here is strong enough to stand up on its own, the real strength lies in how it all bonds together as a whole.
I heartily recommend this CD (as I would any of the pre "Filosofem" Burzum), but it would only be fair to note than in my general dealings with others, this is the one Burzum CD to have evoked the most varied responses - even diehard fans of the band are divided as to whether this is a total masterpiece, a general waste of time, or just an average LP. Of course, if you've hated Burzum up to now, there's little chance this will change your opinion...and if your interest in Burzum is an occasional one, you might be best off to see if you can preview it first, as this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, I'm hard pressed to find fault with it - to me, this is the epoch of everything Varg had been striving for - the grand accumulation of his sonic goals...
Oh, one final note: the CD is available in (at least) 4 different version:
1) Digibook - very nicely done book format, with texts in Norwegian, German, and English...
2) Hardback - same as above, but in a hard cover (as opposed to being a book sized digipak)
3) Digipak - Norwegian version (Norwegian and English text)
4) Digipak - German version (German and English text)
© 1998 chorazaim
This would be the 5th proper release from Burzum, and the last "black metal" CD to be released under this moniker if all that Varg says is to be believed true (and indeed, with the release of "Daudi Baldrs" (formerly known as "Balders Dod"), it's quite apparent that Burzum is indeed headed in a totally different direction)...and really, it's quite fitting that this stage of Burzum would come to an end with a release such as "Filosofem", as this CD has such a quiet despair, it sounds as if it was signaling the end of *something*...
"Filosofem" is a CD full of reflection. Everything on it is so tightly focused, so precise, so sorrowful as to negate the individual worth of any of its single components. Overall, the CD has a much slower feel than previous albums, and is far less chaotic sounding as well. And while dense with emotion, the actual sound of this CD is very sparse in some ways. The drums are booming beyond belief, yet sound as if they are being played from some chasm deep in the heart of hell itself, reverberating the very foundation that encloses it. The vocals lose a bit of the characteristic Burzum flair, and are instead sung (and also whispered) through what appears to be a very processed sound - very cold and clinical, and ridden with angst beyond the point of recognition...they writhe with sickness, infected with their own delivery. The guitars & bass bear the closest resemblance in tone to their predecessors, and help to define and shape the misery to be found within. Synth is once again also used, but more frequently than before (of course, there is the obligatory synth based instrumental piece on this CD, "Rundgang um die transzendentale Saule der Singularitat", but it's also the track that seems to inspire the most negative criticism of the CD, as not everyone is fond of 25+ minutes or repetitiveness)...
The song writing on the CD isn't too far a stretch from other Burzum CDs - repetition being the tool most often employed. Varg likes to "punish" his listeners by playing the same chord progression over & over & over again - some find this approach to be nothing short of a snore-fest, but I revel in it, as with each repeat, the atmosphere become more and more mantra like, totally enveloping the air around me, until there is nothing but Burzum itself. I could attempt a track by track review of "Filosofem", but it wouldn't do it justice - while every song presented here is strong enough to stand up on its own, the real strength lies in how it all bonds together as a whole.
I heartily recommend this CD (as I would any of the pre "Filosofem" Burzum), but it would only be fair to note than in my general dealings with others, this is the one Burzum CD to have evoked the most varied responses - even diehard fans of the band are divided as to whether this is a total masterpiece, a general waste of time, or just an average LP. Of course, if you've hated Burzum up to now, there's little chance this will change your opinion...and if your interest in Burzum is an occasional one, you might be best off to see if you can preview it first, as this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, I'm hard pressed to find fault with it - to me, this is the epoch of everything Varg had been striving for - the grand accumulation of his sonic goals...
Oh, one final note: the CD is available in (at least) 4 different version:
1) Digibook - very nicely done book format, with texts in Norwegian, German, and English...
2) Hardback - same as above, but in a hard cover (as opposed to being a book sized digipak)
3) Digipak - Norwegian version (Norwegian and English text)
4) Digipak - German version (German and English text)
© 1998 chorazaim