"The well of the region is no longer a dark depth, in which we stare, but a living stream, that fertilely flows through the lands of the North. Yes, to the highest visions of essence, this life can now elevate itself into development of it's true power and particularity, elevated to the father of all, who is up high in Valhalla, to him, the true god..."
Background
Varg Vikernes recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993 at the Grieg Hall in Bergen. However, the releases were spread out, with many months between the recording and the release of each album. During this time, Vikernes became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and befriended Mayhem guitarist Euronymous. He also took part in burning down four churches, along with other members of the scene. In August 1993, Vikernes stabbed Euronymous to death outside his apartment in Oslo. He was arrested a few days later and, in May 1994, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and the church arsons.
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. No guitar amplifier was used; Vikernes plugged his guitar into the amplifier of his brother's stereo and used an old fuzz pedal. He also asked a sound technician for the worst microphone he had and ended up using a headset as the microphone.
Music and artwork
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. Opening track "Burzum" 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 twenty-five-minute "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte".
The album cover and booklet contain artwork by Theodor Kittelsen. The front cover is named Op under Fjeldet toner en Lur (Norwegian for "up in the hills a clarion call rings out").
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Varg Vikernes.
1. Burzum (7:05)
2. Jesu død (8:39)
3. Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament (7:53)
4. Decrepitude I (7:53)
5. Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte (25:11)
6. Decrepitude II (7:52)
Personnel
Count Grishnackh (Varg Vikernes) – vocals, synthesizer, rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, drums
Sources
