Burzum - Fallen (2011)

To see/hear two new Burzum albums in just two years is still something of a surreal experience for me. I say this because back when Varg Vikernes was released from prison and instantly began speaking of albums it just seemed odd since ten years earlier I was discovering Burzum and black metal for the first time. Never did I think he'd make more music, because, ya know, typically when someone goes to jail for murder you really don't expect them to do much else with their life other than to be in jail. You definitely don't anticipate murderers to make music one day and actually walk among the free after only sixteen years, but Norway is definitely not America and Varg should probably be grateful of that fact... even if he feels inclined to call his own country 'Soviet Norway.' Right.

Anyway, upon Belus' release in 2010 I was at first fairly impressed with the album which was said to have been mostly left overs from years ago, but as time has passed the album just hasn't really stuck with me as much. I still love my old Burzum albums, yes, but I've always hated, 'Filosofem,' which is actually his most popular and influential release. To me Belus sounded like a mix of Filo and something else. Fallen sounds like a mixture of Belus and something else, but I'm not sure what or if I like it.

The style on Fallen is the familiar Burzum-ish simple song structures of repeating guitar loops atop simple percussion with raspy, hissed, spoken and clearly sung vocals in Norwegian with varying moods of anger, sorrow, evilness and just plain oddness too (well, he tries on this album, at least). Unfortunately even as this album and Belus before it have ties to early Burzum the issue at hand here is that Varg really doesn't know how to write good songs anymore.

To his credit some of his simplistic riffs are catchy and they get caught in your head and what not, but they truly lack the mood that made those old albums great. I mean seriously when I play, 'Hvis Lyset Tar Oss' I still find the hairs on the back of my neck prickling up, which is an amazing feeling through music, but with Fallen, at the most, I just find myself taping my foot, a little. It's almost as if the music has been dumbed down so more people can enjoy it and I'm sure that's not a bad thing at all for Varg since he owes the Norwegian government 2 Million euros, but then again there's also the whole problem that people don't buy music any longer. Oh, so, so sorry, Vargy.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems is the vocals, regardless of style, just plain lack emotion. His once tormented screams of agony just sound tired and old while his new found passion for clear vocals seem to completely lack range and interest, but at least the chorus to, 'Jeg Faller' puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. I'm also confused by the presence of a Tusken Raider in the middle of, 'Vanvidd,' but, ugh, yeah... Oh yes, there's also an intro and outro piece, which are not bad at all and are quite a bit improved over the intro from Belus, which as far as I can tell sounded like a hobo breaking bottles in an alley. These ones however have a bit more experimentation to them and even a ritualistic character too.

Other than that I really don't have much else to tell you. It sounds a lot like Belus and if you enjoyed Belus you'll probably enjoy this too, but much like Belus it will get old after a few spins. There's something slightly new going on here though, but its really not obvious, it just sounds modern, I guess.

My guess is if Varg ever wants to be taken seriously again he'll have to spend some quality time writing an album in a different and more varied style, but then again the Burzum name holds some value and he could just keep releasing the same thing over and over again and folks would probably buy it. I'm probably going to have to say this is the last Burzum album I'll personally ever buy though.