Notable Burzum composer, Mayhem member, church burner, and antagonist of all things dualist/Abrahamist Varg Vikernes released his most recent effort, a 150-page history of the black metal experience in Norway as he experienced it from 1991 to 1993.
Written in English, the book promises to reveal many details of the era per its press release:
Dive into pure chaos with Varg Vikernes, a key figure in Black Metal, as he talks about the rebellion of the Norwegian Black Metal scene from 1991 to 1993.
Vikernes provides a unique insider perspective on the birth and evolution of the Norwegian Black Metal movement. Explore the shocking stories of notorious musicians, church burnings and the intense ideological struggles that defined this subculture.
Feel the raw intensity and unapologetic authenticity as Vikernes reflects on his personal experiences. Understand the background for the profound impact of Norwegian Black Metal on global music and culture. Gain a deep understanding of the mindset that fueled the movement and its lasting influence on the metal genre.
Immerse yourself in the story of the Norwegian Black Metal scene by grabbing a copy of Varg Vikernes’ book. Uncover the secrets, controversies, and the rebellious Pagan spirit that shaped an era in heavy metal history.
Get your copy from the print-on-demand publisher at Amazon.com for only $12.99!
Tags: Black Metal, burzum, Norwegian Black Metal, varg vikernes, weges
The announce reeks of something lousy and amateurish. Still, no info about the book on official Burzum sources. What if the Varg’s Amazon account been hacked or something? “raw intensity and unapologetic authenticity” or “intense ideological struggles” sounds so different from his style…
He announced it on Twitter from an account that is linked to his Odysee account. Apparently, he used Amazon’s AIDA language model to help write the advertising copy, which explains why it uses emojis and normie language sometimes. He is trying to make sure enough search engines pick up this one.
In metal there is a positive correlation between budget and irony. The big budgets somehow increase pressure to just be “a regular guy” and before you know it you’re ironically covering Bob Segar songs and/or accepting a pile of cash to collaborate with Snoop Dog. Low budget / amateur is definitely the way to go.
Everybody dissin’ the Varg, but it always done be that way. Envy make up most of human (and all of Joo-man) behavior. Peace out dawg!
It would be cool to see him drop his personal bias against the Emperor, Immortal and Enslaved members and discuss these bands as key conceptualizers of that movement. I know Burzum predates them to an extent, but a lot of his current talk about the scene sounds like revisionism. I doubt Burzum would’ve evolved the way it did without them.
Even more, after Sarcofago, Celtic Frost/Hellhammer, Sodom, Bathory, and Mercyful Fate it was clear where black metal was going to emerge.
Indeed, and yet who would’ve dreamed something as wonderfully wacky as Burzum would result?
In my view, the Norwegians just upped the quality level and discarded many of the tropes of Western rock and heavy metal that did not fit with the northern sentiment of balance, harmony, and most of all, stillness. They love cold as much as warmth.
We may just as well get the concept of lukewarm from that, rather than the more exciting “beyond good and evil” or whatever.
And the ultimate marketing device for edgy stuff… crime
varg had a talent, believed in it, wanted to be noticed for it, knew how to make that happen, and did it with his integrity intact
Also more of an ancient way of approaching these things, including a bit of NS and pagan lore.
Is burning churches and killing Communists really a crime?
Short answer yes. I guess it depends on the degree of relativism of what can be understood by crime (which I find very slim because legal systems are quite clear about that). That communism and christianity are contranatura in the develoment of human potencial’s gran evolutionary scheme is a different story. None of that is the point. Creating serious counterfactuals of such magnitude is foolish at best but I think it’s hard to argue that, irrespectively of the musical endevour, the degree of popularity enjoyed by that scene was largely helped by these extracurricular, let say… performative activities; it’s free press to a very broad audience precisely because its against social norms not because it is affirmative of social norms, otherwise it wouln’t be news.
No doubt the church burnings and killings helped promote it. However, it took hold simply because all music had become insipid. This was right before the hip-hop-ification of everything, but all that was going at that time was alternative rock, which was basically the late-1980s smarmy emo, whiny glam metal, and boring punk mixed together. Black metal was the last great expression of the spirit behind rock that also inspired Paganini and Bruckner and many others, music with strength and vigor.
You turn on the radio now and it sounds like a garbage truck of pop genres designed by a marketing committee. (And by “radio,” I mean online stream, etc.)
if you’re not going to say anything then stick to the short answer bud
Immortal, Emperor, and cotton-pickin’ Enslaved failed to STAY FUCKING EVIL. If u are a black metal band, you must BE FUCKING EVIL like Darkthrone, Burzum, and Beherit.
I had read a week or so ago that he was writing a book on black metal, but didn’t know it was done. My plan for this year was to stop buying books blind, and to stick to books from the library or pirate if I wanted something new, but might have to make an exception here. First I’ll see if I can get my library to buy it, LOL.
About halfway done with it, I feel like there isn’t much relevant information beyond what he has already talked about it docs, interviews, YouTube, twitter. There are some details about the events that I haven’t heard him talking about before, but nothing earth shattering. But he writes how he talks, and it’s an entertaining read to say the least.
The only thing that puzzles me is how he can claim to have started writing this book last week, and already have it printed and Amazon shipping all over the world. I suppose he could have written in a few days which explains the numerous spelling errors.
He writes using the Microsoft method that they advocate for their docs. That is, write like you would talk, and then edit it a few weeks later into a final document. It is a smart way to get the words out there, but even better if you have an actual editor.
Smart? That wasn’t a word that came to me while reading this book BruH
You seem tense
Shitposting a history book gets us the first take best take.
Great, another opportunity to listen to a known liar and revisionist with a ridiculous agenda once again re-invent the past. I’d be much more interested in reading a book by Snorre Ruch or some such individual who was there from the get-go.
As far as I can tell, most of humanity are liars and revisionists. What has American history been since the civil war but revisionist propaganda? People think this country was run by poor people and minorities when really it was middle-class Anglo-Saxon pioneers who did everything. They think unions saved their jobs, despite all those jobs being in China now. My brother in antichrist, they even think nu-metal is music and Communists are people (spoiler: no).
Nein, nein! My people did everyzing of value in Amerika, you silly VOSP. Get your tea and krumpets avay from zis land or vatch your Currywurst smacked grün und blau.
Severely,
Einsatzkommando Fort Vorz
We got a spate of spammers here last night, so I emailed them this:
Wonder if any will write back. I wanted to think of something more offensive than the usual blasphemy, sodomy, necrophiliac, “racism,” “sexism,” homophilia, and paganism.
1) Burzum – Selftitled/aske – okay first effort, some great riffs and some fillers. Not fan of the overal weak production and goofy vocals, but Stemmen fra tårnet is a standout track (and it’s not even part of the original LP). Worst track is obviously “War”.
2) Det som engang var – More of the same, but somewhat better executed.
3) Hvis lyset tar oss – You guys should know about the stolen riff parts by now from an artist from a (former) communist country. I like track 2 and 3, but the rest is over-fucking-saturated with 70’s synth sounds.
4) Filosofem – Best one yet, and finally got rid of the stupid vocals, but unfortunately drags on waaay too much on the ambience.
5) The Synth albums – Decent ambient video-game music, but nothing mind-blowing.
After this I stopped caring.
everything through filosofem is pretty ill and i get daudi baldrs just depends on my mood ya dig
what stolen riffs?
Most of Hvis lyset tar oss (song) is a ripoff of some Russian goth synth song. I’ve heard it but can’t find it anywhere now for some reason.
i mean what does it matter anyway, it is captivating music. there’s only so much you can do with 12 notes. even if you come up with some new arrangement of notes in rhythm, those notes do not exist in a vacuum. those notes will still suck if you cannot present them in an interesting way. you must consider your intentions. we all do the same shit, wearing clothes walking around talking to people all day, but only a few people stick out because they do it with style.
Wait ’til you guys find out the main motif (and even the synth timbre) of “Det Som” was taken from a Detroit techno track.
Still waiting for people to post names of these mysterious bands.
Rad what’s the track
“Lost Transmission From Earth” by The Martian. I found the track via DJ Fenriz, so Varg also being privy to it is a safe bet.
Oh shit… I think I got high with this dude. LOL
I haven’t heard any Burzumic moments yet, but I’m enjoying it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDi9P6gtVds?&pp=1488killthechristians666
Do you know that the “Russian goth” song the other poster mentioned is?
I actually meant Det Som En Gang Var (again, the song) if someone wants to try looking. I’m 100% certain, because I now remember the main synth theme (around 4 minutes in) being sung in that other song at the same length and tempo, and being used in the same cyclical manner. A comparison between the songs exists somewhere online.
It might not have been Russian, but I know it’s some kind of grimy late 80s goth/synth/techno song from the Soviet bloc.
This track is from 1999, so I’m not sure how Varg heard it when he recorded an album released in 1994.
that’s the year the compilation came out you raging realist aristocrat of the soul
Tying my shoelaces is hard with my mind this high up the aether!
Negromusic? In my Burzums!?
Doesn’t sound like it to me. Similar progression, not the same, using a fairly standard synth voice.
And the second synth motif of the “Det som…” song is from John Williams’s Home Alone theme.
You didn’t say anything worth hearing, and that’s leaving the question of Burzum’s quality aside.
Haha-HA! Yes, excellent! *scribbles excitedly in notepad*
Now, for my next question – and I know our readers have long been dying to know this:
What is your favorite color? And be honest!
“I don’t have the attention span to enjoy the better Burzum tracks” is basically what I got from that.
1) Burzum – Selftitled/aske – the longer tracks are easily the best ones. I actually prefer listening to the self-titled as it was originally without the EP. I get that he wanted to redo the vocals on “A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit” but the music was done better in its raw state. “Stemmen fra tårnet” is okay but more of a Burzum pop song. “Dominus Sathanas” would be missed but that’s about it.
2) Det som engang var – probably has aged the worse out of the early Burzum albums with songs that don’t really go anywhere. It’s still a great way to introduce others into the band with how it pulls you in. “Key to the Gate” will always be a great track.
3) Hvis lyset tar oss – every track here is superb.
4) Filosofem – the long ambient track is the standout.
5) Dauði Baldrs – individual tracks probably aren’t that impressive but I think this one works as an album experience.
6) Hliðskjálf – it’s the longer tracks that win again on this album
“4) Filosofem – the long ambient track is the standout.”
Could you attempt to “explain” your enjoyment of that track, please? I agree with most of what you wrote about the other albums, but not this particular one. “Jesu død” I think is brilliant because in the midst of the repetition are subtle changes in the riffs. But “Rundgang” seems to be stuck on repeat for no good reason, without change or destination. As “ritual” or “meditation” perhaps it works fine, but musically it seems pointless.
Music is sound above all. There’s no shortage of stuff, and I mean music generally, that excels musically but is insufficient emotionally.
Or is disorganized. Noise (music) makes good sound because it is organized. It sounds like something that has form, function, and purpose. It is an experience that transports us. Other music is just going through the motions like 99.1488% of death metal and black metal.
Still nothing? Welp, will have to write that track off as one of Vikernes’ rare misfires, then.
You kind of answered your own question. Meditative contemplation is what this album mostly ends up being, slowly pulling the listener out of time and into the eternal realm is what I get from it. The opening tracks are awesome in their own right, more accessible but still kept the “magic” so to speak. Wish that was the case for the post-prison metal albums.
What I’m really interested in knowing is whether there is any “change or direction” to this track that I may have missed (too short an attention span? crappy hearing? decrepitude?). If that is the case, with the added promise that it’s the best track of the album, it’s worth a revisit. But if it really is just meditation muzak, then I can ignore it in good conscience.
spazz
It’s a meditation piece so likely to be either the best or worse track depending on if that’s your shtick or not. There are subtle changes but once you pass the 11 min mark it loops for the rest of the track.
Those who deny the greatness of the lengthy tracks on the 1st and 3rd albums need to get their heads checked however…
Yes, those last 14 or so minutes I think I can do without. Agreed on the lengthy tracks on the other albums. Thanks for your replies, kind stranger.
It fits with the pattern of the previous ambient tracks, a slow descent into darkness, and its length forces a breakdown of the listener. This is a lot like how if you have to listen to a whole symphony or opera you sort of have to stop doing anything front-brain like social media and just listen.
The length itself was never a problem. Forces a breakdown? Quite the opposite: since I know it will sound exactly the same for 14 minutes, I can spend time doing anything but listen, unlike in the case of a symphony.
The mood is incomplete if you listen to only the first half. There is never nothing going on.
Agreed. A song should be considered as a whole. And since its second half evidently makes its promise fall flat, I see no reason to listen to the track at all.
If you hate the first half of the song, you either did not get what was going on, or just hate it, so no point listening to the second half. Repetition is part of music and often effective.
“If you hate the first half of the song”
I don’t.
“Repetition is part of music and often effective.”
Yes? Obviously?
Kind of weird how bands like Metallica did their best work in the long tracks too. Three minute songs are basically verses, chorus, middle eighth, solo, verse, verse.
How do people *not* understand this track? It starts with the simplest motif outside of a drone, then layers it in contrasting themes, creating a happy sound on the surface and a series of internal conflicts and dark emotions underneath. It is the greatest part of the album once you get past the more emotional first two tracks.
Over there in Norway, the churches all burn down
Let’s go dress in goth clothes and get painted like a clown
Awesome leather armbands with spikes like two feet long
Hair is parted down the middle, frowning like a frog
In league with the devil, talking Satan, skulls and hell
Making mommy mad, cause that’s original
If you hate good music, then it can’t hurt to go
Image-conscious assholes, black metal fashion show
I hope that you get hit by a bus. Why?
Black metal sucks
Careful not to smear your makeup
You suck
goth clothes and frowns, just like we discussed
Black metal sucks
Auuuuuuuuuugh What?
You suck
Blacke Foryst of Despayr, taking photos of the band
Put ’em up on myspace you’re the envy of the land
Posing with a battleaxe and grimacing with hate
When you’re done with this, figure skating at the lake
The music is best, it’s got the hardest metal sound
Quickly riffing on one note is certain to astound
Dimly echoed drumming and some goat heads to distract
From the terrible screeching that you pass off as your act
I wish your black clothes would combust. Why?
Black metal sucks
You know what dude, you look like a schmuck
You suck
Singer sounds like a wounded duck
Black metal sucks
I’d rather listen to… us
You suck
You know how I know you look like a fool?
Lich King rules
We’re the best band and we’re super cool
We rule
Straight from the 80’s and we’re old school
Lich King rules
Running out of rhymes, so wading pool
Thrash is the rule- Lich King
Lich King is boring
Good.
Seems counterproductive.
For the West to rise again, it needs to rid itself of (a) dualism (b) universalism and (c) foreign dominion. Christianity is all three. Until it goes, we stay stuck.
Churches are just buildings. Essentially those old stave churches are more scandinavian than they are christian.
Good point. You have to put the Christians inside them before you burn the buildings.
And you’re supposed to be a proponent of reviving civilization? You’re just barbaric.
You have to marinate the Christians for a good few hours before they’re put inside the buildings.
Christians love wine. Just spice and they should be good and marinated by the end of communion.
at this point you may as well just start practicing sucking your own dick
Ah yes, formed in 2004 by a bunch of short hairs, but pretending to be “straight from the ’80s”.
Another word for this is POSEUR.
Bunch of hipsters pretending to be “trve” in order to deflect from the fact that they are, indeed, a bunch of hipsters. This all started with that dumpster fire Toxic Waste band.
Millennials need to steal a childhood from kids who never got one in order to pretend that they are in fact real human beings, but most of them are just Eurotrash from the middle class suburbs they took over after the real humans who created them left.
lol wtf are you going on about bitch
Huh?
whut
Sure man
Glad we’re on the same page