The Final Burzum Albums

[buckets_of_rain]

What do you think of the two electronic albums Varg Vikernes released from prison, after you take away the context and the fact that they were made in prison?

A lot of people complain about Dauši Baldrs, but the first track is, in my opinion, one of the strongest things he has ever recorded.   Meanwhile Hlišskjįlf is pretty strong for the first half, but then the final 4 tracks feel very unfinished and uninteresting.

I do like that it came with the paintings and stories, showing that he was doing all he could to get the message out, but does the music stand up without them?

[Dylar]

Dauši Baldrs is good, but by far the weakest release of Varg's career.  It suffers from the soundtrack syndrome that undermines a lot of keyboard based music: the execution is obvious, somewhat saccharine in its use of overly consonant resolutions and basically backgroundy in every way.

Hlišskjįlf is a lot more complex, subtle, textured and dissonant.  It's not only a lot better, it also displays a certain continuity with the earlier albums that simply isn't present on Dauši Baldrs.  Hlišskjįlf fits logically within the historical arc of Burzum's art, while Dauši Baldrs is something of a half failed diversion.

[nekromantas]

I love the way they sound after being awake for 3 or 4 days.......

[Blaphbee]

Hlišskjįlf works just the same as Filosofem and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss work: they all start off strong in the first song, build more tension in the second, return to the initial intensity by the third, and by the fourth and later songs, drop into introspection and sad reverie. Filosofem almost follows a sine wave of moods as you traverse through the album.

I've always loved that effect.

I love both of the last albums, but i only have downloaded copies, as I'm just not true enough to own them in hard copy, thus I can't comment on the art and stories. I also love them for different reasons. Daudi Balders is great to me because it tells a tale of failure - Vikernes' failure - to say what he was able to say on the following album. It's sometimes a bit on the childish and pedantic side, but I'll still spin the album as much as I will Hlišskjįlf.

[Vajra]

Dauši Baldrs text translations

[Agni]

I tend to prefer the last album.
Der tod Wuotans is an amazing track with an epic feeling.

[buckets_of_rain]

I tend to prefer the last album.
Der tod Wuotans is an amazing track with an epic feeling.

Der Tod Woutans is easily the best song of his prison era, along with the Daudi Baldrs track.  

I wish he was able to make more albums, but evidently he wouldn't want to even if he could, until he gets out of prison.

[Stranger]

Tuistos Herz is my personal favorite from any of his instrumentals, including the earlier albums.

[born for banning]

All of this anti-Daudi Baldrs talk forgets how powerful this album is. Despite the primitive instrumentation, the simple songwriting, etc. it is quite an expressive piece of music. Someone here said that like most ambient, it is excessively consonant, and so forth, but they forget that Burzum composes in leitmotifs like Wagner. The theme of the album is a sudden death in an otherwise peaceful time, and what it reveals about what must be done to survive Ragnarok.