BURZUM – “UMSKIPTAR”
BYELOBOG (2012)

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

The story of Varg Vikernes, founding member and driving force of the Norwegian Black Metal outfit Burzum, is one that has been well-documented and well-promoted. Ever since he was released from prison back in 2009, Varg has managed to keep himself very busy by either creating new studio albums of high acclaim, such as “Belus” (2009-10) and “Fallen” (2010), or re-working/re-recording some of the band’s most classic material and releasing the first bunch of them under the title “From The Depths Of Darkness”. Quite eager to keep the momentum going, the Bergen-raised noisemaker is ready to unleash onto the world yet another brain child – a collection of eleven new songs that are united under the name “Umskiptar” and which, I sense, will raise quite a lot of interest.

Those of you who felt particularly drawn to the musical and rhythmical diversity of “Fallen” will probably be quite impressed with “Umskiptar” simply because Varg’s latest ‘baby’ is a different musical beast altogether! There is not a single composition here that you would describe as classic early/mid 90s Black Metal; the focal point is dark atmosphere and to achieve that Varg decided to sacrifice both intensity and tempo in the process. There are times where you would be justified in thinking that a couple of up-tempo compositions scattered here and there would have helped the listener remain focused but, then again, albums such as “Umskiptar” are not targeting your average listener. If you are a sucker for eerie atmospheric melodies and choral/chanting vocals/screams then Burzum’s tenth studio album will be nothing other than an absolute treat for you.

Simple and commanding, the drum beat of “Blóðstokkinn” provides a truly epic introduction to the album and the combination of clear narrative and choral vocals make “Jóln” a very interesting musical proposition. The opening piano theme and the subsequent ‘shadow riff’ of “Alfadanz” are amongst the highlights of the album while Varg proves his unique skill at successfully merging variations of truly simple melodies in “Hit Helga Tré”. One song that could really benefit from a slightly faster tempo is the four minute “Æra”, whereas compositions, such as “Heiðr”, “Valgaldr” and “Galgviðr”, probably hit the right pace. Never has the bass guitar been a more integral instrument in a Bruzum composition than on “Surtr Sunnan” and it is also not often that a composition that has not been recorded by the mighty Bathory sounds as powerful and epic as the ten minute masterpiece “Gullaldr” – the album’s absolute highlight. Just as “Blóðstokkinn” forty nine minutes ago, “Níðhöggr” is another composition benefiting from a simple drum beat and in a way it completes Varg’s circle of creativity while providing a fitting ending to this atmospheric and emotionally bleak album.

I am not going to lie to you here: I would have much preferred it if there were at least a couple of fast tracks on “Umskiptar” as musical diversity is one of the things that I am always looking for in a Burzum album. Having said that, I cannot fail to recognise both the passion and hard work that Varg has put into this album nor can I fail to appreciate how much the noisy Norwegian has matured as a composer, making this album a true gem. There are not many people out there who can create hair-raising melodies with such ease as Varg and when you find yourself in need of spiritual seclusion, then there is no better album to keep you company than “Umskiptar”.

John Stefanis

Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)

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