Well here we have it people, in terms of black metal this is pretty much as big a release as it gets. After sixteen years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Varg Vikernes escaped into the Bergen underground. If you have a problem and no one else can help you....hold on, this isn't the A Team!
Let's start that one again, sixteen years after brutally killing his associate, label boss and sometimes band mate Euronymous, Varg Vikernes was released from prison and promptly set the metal underground's collective hearts fluttering by releasing a (stereotypically racist and homophobic) press release confirming that there would indeed be a new
Burzum record and it would indeed be in the traditional
Burzum black metal mould of the first four albums.
Now I've got to admit that despite Varg holding many thoroughly detestable points of view on the way of the world I find his music massively appealing, The first two
Burzum albums in particular capture a very dark, brooding and (for want of a better term) downright evil vibe which few metal records have managed to touch. On the first album in particular, Varg's horrendously raw vocal technique sounds like the ravings of a genuine madman and make for a very chilling record.
The worry was after so long in prison and out of the recording studio would he be able to recapture the essence of what made those first four albums so special?
In some ways Varg took a bit of an easy option in cobbling
Belus together from older songs and ideas that had been floating around since his days in Uruk-Hai (a pre-
Burzum band) plus some all new tracks. But to be fair, the album was in the shops around a year after his prison release so it's understandable that he wouldn't have had the time for an all new creation. Also let's face it, after a good, long prison sentence you would be anxious to prove to the world that you are still relevant.
After the pointless intro which sounds like someone kicking some glass milk-bottles down a flight of steps for thirty seconds, the familiar mournful
Burzum guitar tone introduces
Belus' Doed. It's quickly apparent that Varg hasn't lost his touch as the mid-paced hypnotic rhythm sucks you into the mood of the album. The drumming is still as simplistic as ever but the drawn out bass/snare hits will soon enthral you.
If anything, the only disappointing thing about this song is that it's a bit of a safe opener but don't worry about that, the album has a few surprises up its sleeve.
The production of the record is fairly similar to the albums Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Filosofem but with one or two differences. The first is that the bass is much more prominent, which in my opinion is only a good thing. For example in the third track, the mighty twelve minute
Glemselens Elv, the thicker bass sound only adds to the power of the music to instil a melancholic mood on the listener.
The other main noticeable difference is Varg's vocals, they are much more in the foreground at points than ever before and he uses a lower register than you are used to hearing from him. He still screams his heart out at times but it's in a more controlled way than the flailing, feral young man of the 90's. There is also an increased use of "clean" vocals on the record. But don't worry, he hasn't gone mainstream on us (as if that was ever really an option) the clean vocals only serve to add another layer of atmosphere to a record which already drips with murk.
There is a noticeable quickening of pace within the next two tracks
Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning and
Sverddans (as you will have probably already guessed all titles and lyrics are in Norwegian). The first of these has a very intriguing layered vocal passage with the voice in the foreground intoning the vocals in spoken word and the backing vocals chanting similar lines in the background. It's a very effective idea, which allows for the harsh vocals to become all the more absorbing when they kick back in.
Sverddans harks right back to one of
Burzum's fastest and most famous tracks War. It's a bit of a curve ball and I certainly wasn't expecting it. It's not often you will get Varg opting for the obvious verse/chorus/verse song structure but it works very well indeed. It also serves to show that his guitar playing as without doubt improved with age.
After the unexpected, almost catchy
Sverddans it's back into miserable, mesmerizing territory with the last three songs. This is the albums strongest section and it's reminds me that Varg is very canny in structuring albums so that they work perfectly in a darkened room with the listener on the edge of (nightmare filled) sleep.
The finest of these three is the middle one
Morgenroede. Right from the word go the two note sliding bass line will unsettle you before you get used to the jarring rhythm of the piece. It's repetitive nature won't let you leave its clutches until it flows into the albums conclusion
Belus' Tilbakekomst, which is itself a nigh on ten minute monotonous (but for me, never boring) drone which comes to a very satisfying but oh so torturously slow climax.
So after this long wait for a new
Burzum record, does Belus match the unavoidable hype? I believe it pretty much covers all the bases and does things better than many bands could ever hope to. The entire record comes together perfectly and slots in well with the classic first four records. If you're a fan of this style of black metal then I doubt you will do any better than getting a hold of this record.
It without doubt serves to remind you that out of all the bands that try to imitate
Burzum's archetypal style, no one gets close it matching its invention like the master himself.
Written by
Stuart Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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