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Plasma1010 posted:Its way cooler not to use those memes in Black Metal. Zing!
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Feb 20, 2010 18:58
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Ronnie Spector posted:It might be hard to quantify the difference between 'hypnotic' and 'boring' but Belus definitely falls square under the latter category. Outside of Filosofem Burzum was never particularly repetitive anyway, and that album relied on subtle harmonic and rhythmic variations to make it work. Pretty much every song on this album alternates between two melodic phrases which are repeated ad nauseam with none of the buried harmonies of a track like Jesus' Tod, backed by rock drumming which serves to de-emphasize the melodic, droning nature of the guitar melodies rather than emphasise it as the drumming on older albums did. The end result is that rather than being put in a state where time doesn't matter, we are stuck squarely in the now wondering "Jesus Christ when is he going to play a different loving riff." Having failed to make repetition work, the songs never actually go anywhere either, thanks to simplistic, recursive structures. Essentially, it's Burzum does rock music without any of the things that make rock good, like hooks or brevity. I have to think that anyone who really enjoys this doesn't really understand what makes the old Burzum albums great. I agree with all the elements that you named, which make Burzum great, and to a certain extent I agree that they are somewhat missing in this new effort. I think he is in a situation very similar to when he created "Daudi Baldrs": When he started recording Daudi Baldrs in 1994, he was fresh in prison. Now, he has been released after spending almost half of his life locked up, but most of the material was still written while in prison. Daudi Baldrs suffered from the limitations of the synthesizer, and he had to compromise his vision somewhat. We still hear some of that on "Belus". I do disagree though that the songs go nowhere; I felt the same when I first listened to it, but after repeated listens, it all starts to grow and come together.
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Feb 20, 2010 19:42
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Perhaps if you'd follow his suggestion and listen to it in a dark room while wistfully considering the purity of various white cultures during classical antiquity...
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Feb 20, 2010 19:45
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The album plays kind of like the Cliff's notes of a bunch of completely unrelated short stories, instead of a complete novel like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss. He's written some incredible riffs on this record, but there's no sense of spirituality or urgency that he once had. There are times that he comes close, but they still pale in comparison to his older work. He either needs to find the fire again (heh heh), or think another creative outlet. Also, to my ears, this album sounds very Eastern European at times. Burzum worshiping Drudkh worshiping Burzum? In two months, this album will be forgotten in favour of the next new thing up until it wins all the Black Metal album of the year polls, and then it'll fade into history as just another folder on an iPod. Fuckin' sad, man.
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Feb 20, 2010 20:56
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Ronnie Spector posted:It might be hard to quantify the difference between 'hypnotic' and 'boring' but Belus definitely falls square under the latter category. I disagree; the album is captivating, and I think Varg hit the mark he was aiming for with it. quote:Having failed to make repetition work, the songs never actually go anywhere either, thanks to simplistic, recursive structures. Essentially, it's Burzum does rock music without any of the things that make rock good, like hooks or brevity. I have to think that anyone who really enjoys this doesn't really understand what makes the old Burzum albums great. First, Belus isn't a rock album; it's legitimate metal. Second, this is black metal; a lot of us don't give a poo poo about hooks--and those who do listen to Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir. It's about the honesty and passion behind the music; that's what made the old Burzum albums great, and that's what makes Belus great. RHTITE posted:He's written some incredible riffs on this record, but there's no sense of spirituality or urgency that he once had. Varg's been in prison for a long time, man. I'm not the same person I was 15 years ago; are you? It makes sense that Varg's musical direction has changed a bit, and should have been expected.
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Feb 20, 2010 22:38
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Can't quite make up my mind on whether I love or hate Belus yet, but I suspect that it'll grow on me after a few listens. The spoken parts strike me as rather goofy, but that might just be because I speak Norwegian myself.
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Feb 20, 2010 22:44
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Nova Bizzare posted:Perhaps if you'd follow his suggestion and listen to it in a dark room while wistfully considering the purity of various white cultures during classical antiquity... Haven't listened yet, but when I do it will be like this.
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Feb 20, 2010 23:01
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Razor posted:It's about the honesty and passion behind the music; that's what made the old Burzum albums great, and that's what makes Belus great. Sounds like Varg has bills to pay to me. It's evident he knows what a Burzum album is supposed to sound like superficially, but the spirit isn't there. It's a grab-bag of Burzum-esque musical tokens plastered onto the identikit modern black metal format. Of course, when the contemporary black metal scene praises poo poo like Peste Noire and Blut Aus Nord it's no wonder most people can't tell the difference between that and the old stuff. Ronnie Spector fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Feb 21, 2010 |
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Feb 21, 2010 00:13
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Ronnie Spector posted:It might be hard to quantify the difference between 'hypnotic' and 'boring' but Belus definitely falls square under the latter category. Outside of Filosofem Burzum was never particularly repetitive anyway, and that album relied on subtle harmonic and rhythmic variations to make it work. Pretty much every song on this album alternates between two melodic phrases which are repeated ad nauseam with none of the buried harmonies of a track like Jesus' Tod, backed by rock drumming which serves to de-emphasize the melodic, droning nature of the guitar melodies rather than emphasise it as the drumming on older albums did. The end result is that rather than being put in a state where time doesn't matter, we are stuck squarely in the now wondering "Jesus Christ when is he going to play a different loving riff." Having failed to make repetition work, the songs never actually go anywhere either, thanks to simplistic, recursive structures. Essentially, it's Burzum does rock music without any of the things that make rock good, like hooks or brevity. I have to think that anyone who really enjoys this doesn't really understand what makes the old Burzum albums great. I agree with you, but there will never be another Filosofem. It's been over a decade and I am sure Varg has grown up a lot since then. It's why "Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise" sounds nothing at all like "In the Nightside Eclipse." Musicians change, inspirations change, spirituality changes and this reflects on their music. You've hit the nail on the head as to why Filosofem is so good. It's 100% subtle and unless you're really listening you just can't pick up on what makes it magical. The thing you have to remember though, is that albums are recorded for a reason; To get material down on a repeatable format and move on as a musician. Now, "Belus" maybe a "pay the bills" type album, but for what it is it's a pretty drat good listen. So...I guess what I'm trying to say is, If I want Filosofem I'll listen to THAT album, not Belus.
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Feb 21, 2010 01:13
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Razor posted:Varg's been in prison for a long time, man. I'm not the same person I was 15 years ago; are you? It makes sense that Varg's musical direction has changed a bit, and should have been expected. Of course, but what I'm saying is that he doesn't seem to have the same level of inspiration (whatever it may be) that he had 16 years ago. This causes the album to take on an overall tone where it sounds like Burzum Does Burzum, instead of just Burzum. Basically, most of it is an unfocused mess. He may not have it anymore, or he may simply be out of practice. Belus just doesn't stand up side by side with albums like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Det Som Engang Var, so I'd feel like quite the rear end if I was to recommend it, regardless of how much I like it (and barring a few really low points, I do) lordblytzkrieg posted:You've hit the nail on the head as to why Filosofem is so good. It's 100% subtle and unless you're really listening you just can't pick up on what makes it magical. The thing you have to remember though, is that albums are recorded for a reason; To get material down on a repeatable format and move on as a musician. Now, "Belus" maybe a "pay the bills" type album, but for what it is it's a pretty drat good listen. So...I guess what I'm trying to say is, If I want Filosofem I'll listen to THAT album, not Belus. "a pretty drat good listen" is something that should never be used to describe Burzum, because Burzum has always been better than that (I'll cheat here and put a note about Daudi Baldrs also, because that was fairly stinky as well). A mediocre Burzum album ie:Belus is an anomaly, and shouldn't be supported. I've been really enjoying listening to it, but I don't think anyone in good conscience should be able to recommend it. It won't stand up. Mediocre Burzum is still better than most, but that doesn't excuse the mediocrity.
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Feb 21, 2010 03:10
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Personally I thought Det Som Engang Var was a bit of a snoozefest too u_u
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Feb 21, 2010 03:20
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Ronnie Spector posted:Personally I thought Det Som Engang Var was a bit of a snoozefest too u_u I will fully disagree, but glad you stopped by to chat about the faults of Burzum. I find Belus to be pretty drat good, especially Keliohesten. Its a Burzum album. Rate it as you would like, it is still Burzum.
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Feb 21, 2010 03:34
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RHTITE posted:Belus just doesn't stand up side by side with albums like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Det Som Engang Var, so I'd feel like quite the rear end if I was to recommend it, regardless of how much I like it (and barring a few really low points, I do) When you put it like that of course Belus wont stand up at all, because you've had what like a day to listen to Belus and pushing 15 years to listen and fall in love with the other two albums? It's just an older guy putting out a drat good metal album. Plain and simple.
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Feb 21, 2010 03:41
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RHTITE posted:Of course, but what I'm saying is that he doesn't seem to have the same level of inspiration (whatever it may be) that he had 16 years ago. This causes the album to take on an overall tone where it sounds like Burzum Does Burzum, instead of just Burzum. Basically, most of it is an unfocused mess. He may not have it anymore, or he may simply be out of practice. Agreeing with everything you've said. The whole thing sounded to me like it almost could have been 5 seconds of music looped for each song with vocals laid down overtop. In the end it was just tiresome and uninspired.
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Feb 21, 2010 04:04
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lordblytzkrieg posted:When you put it like that of course Belus wont stand up at all, because you've had what like a day to listen to Belus and pushing 15 years to listen and fall in love with the other two albums? I'm not sure where you're going here, but yes, it's reasonable to figure it out in a day when there's absolutely no mystery to be found in the music. lordblytzkrieg posted:It's just an older guy putting out a drat good metal album. Plain and simple. And that's what's so fuckin' sad about this.
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Feb 21, 2010 04:25
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Ronnie Spector posted:Of course, when the contemporary black metal scene praises poo poo like Peste Noire and Blut Aus Nord it's no wonder most people can't tell the difference between that and the old stuff. Hahahaha. Man, stop it, you're killing me.
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Feb 21, 2010 05:09
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Oldstench posted:Hahahaha. Man, stop it, you're killing me. He's right. At least Peste Noire and Blut Aus Nord are the kind of bands where, if you put all their best tracks on one single album, you'd get something maybe halfway decent. That's more than can be said about most of the stuff out there nowadays.
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Feb 21, 2010 08:50
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astounding_zlatan fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jul 23, 2020 |
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Feb 21, 2010 15:31
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Thing is, Ronnie Spector's one-paragraph disapproval/disappointment contained more point than a lot of you have said in your posts. I haven't listened to the album, and am not in a hurry to seek it out either. Funny, that. I know I'll get to it eventually.
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Feb 21, 2010 15:36
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Is the copy of belus we're all listening to the final cut or is this not fully produced yet? I like it but I agree with lots of others that the guitar sound leaves me wanting. I'm glad the vocals aren't as diminished after 15 years as I thought they could be. I do like the addition of the chanted and spoken vocals though. They bring a little variety burzum kinda lacked before and I think they work them as well as other bands that throw them in like Enslaved and Windir
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Feb 21, 2010 17:09
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Morbid Florist posted:Is the copy of belus we're all listening to the final cut or is this not fully produced yet? I like it but I agree with lots of others that the guitar sound leaves me wanting. The copy I have is supposedly a rip of the 2LP version (probably the one that can be preordered from several vendors). I've thought about the same thing, and it's not unlikely that the CD version will sound a bit different.
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Feb 21, 2010 17:14
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Belus is really picking up already ... (Feb. 21) "Two arrests have been made in a string of deliberately set church fires in east Texas, a fire official said Sunday. Neal Franklin, fire chief of Tyler, Texas, would not divulge further details. A news conference was scheduled for later Sunday afternoon. Ten church fires have happened in east Texas this year. Nine of them have been ruled arson." http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/two-arrested-in-string-of-texas-church-fires/19367183
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Feb 22, 2010 01:24
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Well hey boring as sweet all gently caress album, but it causes positive results, I guess it's alright then. Were they catholic churches?
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Feb 22, 2010 03:00
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Does anyone know of any reason why these churches are being burned? It's kind of important if you want to make this strong of a statement, to actually say something, and to say something that actually make sense and is intelligent, or else they'll just increase the resolve of their targets while they rebuild their churches. If this is just for kicks or someone going "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrSATAN", then they would have been more useful just staying home and beating off.
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Feb 22, 2010 03:13
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RHTITE posted:just for kicks or someone going "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrSATAN" This is why.
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Feb 22, 2010 08:26
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Nothing says "civilized form of art" quite like setting buildings on fire.
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Feb 22, 2010 09:16
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Have you guys seen Until the Light Takes Us? Varg is, of course, unrepentant about burning churches, but a lot of the others who were interviewed were like "yeah, totally cool man". I suppose it's part of the same act that compels Hellhammer to call people faggots.
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Feb 22, 2010 10:25
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Hrafn posted:Nothing says "civilized form of art" quite like setting buildings on fire. Since when have black metal musicians been concerned with whether what they do is considered a civilized form of art?
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Feb 22, 2010 17:12
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RHTITE posted:Belus just doesn't stand up side by side with albums like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Det Som Engang Var, The thing is, I doubt we would even be having this discussion were this not a new Burzum album. It barely held my interest for one complete listen. There is just so much better music out there, but, it's Burzum right? I can't say I'm exactly disappointed as I wasn't really anticipating anything great. I know the man's gotta eat, but I really wish that more artists would either hang it up while still on top of their game leaving us wanting more (Kvist anyone?) rather than put out uninspired albums knowing the strength of their name alone will sell it.
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Feb 22, 2010 17:22
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I don't think anyone's arguing that black metal (for better or worse) hasn't come a long, long way since the mid-90's, but Belus is still a fantastic blend of Varg's earlier output with some clear progression in songwriting and atmosphere. It's easy to say that no one would care about Belus if it wasn't a Burzum album, but that's unfair - no one would care about Filosofem if it came out in 2010; you can't fault Varg for having legions of followers who have copied Burzum's style.
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Feb 22, 2010 18:08
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Oldstench posted:The thing is, I doubt we would even be having this discussion were this not a new Burzum album. It barely held my interest for one complete listen. There is just so much better music out there, but, it's Burzum right? I almost think you can give Burzum the Slayer Exemption. He's created beautiful music in the past, and his mediocre output is still more interesting than a lot of other poo poo out there. He's got bills/fines to pay and I think, like Slayer, it's OK for him to get that poo poo paid off. A part of me still trusts that he can find his voice again, anyway. I hope I don't come off as making excuses for him, because I try to be hard on mediocre music, it's just that mediocre Burzum is still better than mediocre most other guys so maybe that is making me all soft on him.
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Feb 22, 2010 22:02
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I'm digging this more and more. The production still sounds flat but whatever. Glemselens elv and Kaimadalthas' nedstigning I've listened to a lot.Oldstench posted:The thing is, I doubt we would even be having this discussion were this not a new Burzum album. It barely held my interest for one complete listen. There is just so much better music out there, but, it's Burzum right? I'll take "uninspired" burzum over yet another loving leviathan album any day of the week. Morbid Florist fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Feb 23, 2010 |
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Feb 23, 2010 00:06
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I think the new Burzum cd is good. It sounds like Burzum, besides the vocals. Not sure what you guys were expecting . . . 
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Feb 23, 2010 06:48
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Morbid Florist posted:I'll take "uninspired" burzum over yet another loving leviathan album any day of the week. Ok. I won't. I'll take music that seems to have passion in it over something that I feel is uninspired. I'm not trying to get into a pissing match over this. I also admit that I haven't listened to the new Burzum more than once which I always do even with albums I hate the first time. Maybe it'll grow on me. maybe not. edit: removed stupid loving question that doesn't add anything to this thread Oldstench fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Feb 23, 2010 |
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Feb 23, 2010 16:01
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Oldstench posted:Ok. I won't. I'll take music that seems to have passion in it over something that I feel is uninspired. I'm not trying to get into a pissing match over this. I also admit that I haven't listened to the new Burzum more than once which I always do even with albums I hate the first time. Maybe it'll grow on me. maybe not. Nightside Eclipse got me into BM but I can't remember when it came out, but it has to be 10+ years. Burzum....dunno, I think I got into him maybe 5 years ago Morbid Florist fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Feb 23, 2010 |
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Feb 23, 2010 16:16
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Morbid Florist posted:Nightside Eclipse got me into BM but I can't remember when it came out, but it has to be 10+ years. Burzum....dunno, I think I got into him maybe 5 years ago I edited that question out because it doesn't matter. I didn't want this to degenerate into a "I've been into bm for x years so I know what's good and what isn't" argument. Back to the discussion at hand; listening to Belus again. Some of the songs are better on second listen. Digging Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning quite a bit. I like the spoken parts and the dissonant main riff is nice.
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Feb 23, 2010 16:42
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Like anything, this is getting better and better upon each listen. Every morning before I go to school I have it playing and it really takes me away. So glad he's back in the game.
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Feb 23, 2010 21:02
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m3dory posted:Really good atmospheric black metal from a friend of mine and a fellow goon who would like to remain anonymous: Petrychor - http://www.myspace.com/petrychor Thanks for this -- just bought the album for $5.
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Feb 23, 2010 22:58
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Morbid Florist posted:Nightside Eclipse got me into BM but I can't remember when it came out In the Nightside Eclipse was released in 1994. Yeah, it's been a while since the really influential albums of the early nineties got this whole 2nd wave Black Metal thing rolling. It may be useful to consider Belus* in more contemporary terms rather than looking to the nineties as a way of judging modern BM. *I haven't listened to it yet
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Feb 24, 2010 07:10
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lol_internet posted:In the Nightside Eclipse was released in 1994. Yeah, it's been a while since the really influential albums of the early nineties got this whole 2nd wave Black Metal thing rolling. It may be useful to consider Belus* in more contemporary terms rather than looking to the nineties as a way of judging modern BM. Since the early 90s stuff shows up all modern black metal for the garbage it is yeah that's a good idea if for some reason you're really invested in enoying bad music.
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Feb 24, 2010 08:18
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