Burzum - Filosofem (1996)

Artist: Burzum

Album: Filosofem

Released: 1996

Type: Full-length

Origin: Norway

Genre: Black Metal, Ambient, Dark Ambient

Lyrical themes: Myths, Folklore, Odalism, Darkness, Philosophy

Filosofem (Norwegian for "philosopheme") is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was recorded in March 1993 and was the last recording before Varg Vikernes' imprisonment (16 May 1994); the album was not released until January 1996, however. A music video was made for the song "Dunkelheit", which received airtime on both MTV and VH1.

The album is noted for its experimental sound when compared to most other second wave black metal. Vikernes considered the release an "anti-trend album".

The opening track on Filosofem, "Burzum", was the first song Vikernes wrote as Burzum. It had been recorded in September 1992 for the Hvis lyset tar oss album, but Vikernes was unhappy with it and re-recorded it for this album six months later. According to a statement made by Vikernes on burzum.org, the master tapes for the version of "Burzum" meant for Hvis lyset tar oss were lost by the Norwegian prison system.

The album was recorded under purposefully bad conditions in order to retain a raw lo-fi sound. No guitar amplifier was used; instead Vikernes plugged his guitar into the amplifier of his brother's stereo and used an old fuzz pedal. For the vocals, he asked a sound technician for the worst microphone he had, and ended up using a headset.

The music of Filosofem continued Vikernes' experimentation with minimalism, repetition, and ambient music within black metal. The tracks are all quite long (the shortest being just over seven minutes), and are typically composed around very few musical motifs. For instance, "Jesu død", a track of over eight-and-a-half minutes, is primarily based around variations of a single riff. "Burzum", the opening track, features a prominent melody played by a synthesizer, and the two "Decrepitude" tracks consist of sound effects over very sparse guitars. The album also included Burzum's longest ambient track to date, the 25-minute-long "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte".

The album cover and booklet contain extensive artwork by Theodor Kittelsen. The front cover is titled 'Op Under Fjeldet Toner en Lur' (Norwegian for 'Up in the Hills a Clarion Call Rings Out'), which features a woman playing a birch trumpet.

Varg Vikernes - All instruments, Vocals, Lyrics

Track List:

1.       Burzum          07:05   

2.       Jesu død        08:39 

3.       Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament 07:53

4.       Decrepitude I 07:53

5.       Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte      25:11    Instrumental

6.       Decrepitude II 07:52    instrumental

Total length:  64:34

Here is the German tracklisting as printed:

1. Dunkelheit

2. Jesus' Tod

3. Erblicket die Töchter des Firmaments

4. Gebrechlichkeit I

5. Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule der Singularität

6. Gebrechlichkeit II