Year of release: 2021
Label: Arcadian Music
Rating: for fans only
The legacy of BURZUM is still not exhausted, and the release of these two CDs which I decided to review together was only a matter of time. It all started with cassettes that the Greek creator of the “BURZUM Museum” got hold of: one of them contained URUK-HAI tracks recorded from 1988 to 1990, as well as BURZUM metal recordings made in prison in 1994, shortly after Varg's incarceration. The second included a raw mix of “Dauði Baldrs” + three electronic tracks that Varg wrote for the experiment. All of these recordings were uploaded to YouTube in deliberately degraded quality and with a ringing sound effect in order to avoid bootlegging. How naive... this did not stop the shit-eaters, and soon cassettes and CD-Rs with records torn from YouTube began to come out. So, there was no other option than making a proper release. both on CD and on vinyl. And of course, internet worms started climbed out of their stinking holes with their usual bullshit about “Varg’s children are hungry again”. If you know how Varg lives and earns, the entire absurdity of such statements will become extremely obvious, but knowledge is an unaffordable luxury, right?
In general, the legal status of these two releases is not yet clear. On the one hand, Varg never answered my questions about this, which is not typical for him. On the other hand, it is known that the release was created with the participation of the very Greek from the “museum” with whom Varg is in friendship. And the online store Merchant of Death, owned by Hendrik Möbus, is exclusively distributing both records. It is unlikely that Möbus would openly distribute Burzum bootlegs at this stage. Although in the old days he ran Burznazg Productions, which, ironically, was founded by Varg Vikernes and produced mostly bootlegs. I suppose that Varg, who is characterized by an easy attitude to his own work, just gave his verbal consent to the release, and then everything happened.
I think I should continue with the remark that should have been made at the beginning of the review. These records are not for everyone, not for the regular BURZUM listeners, but only for the the fans. They fall into the same category as the rehearsal promo / demos of BEHEMOTH and GRAVELAND, for example. There is no vocals or bass, no drums. There is nothing special to listen to, you have to studythem, searching for glimpses of future genius and all that. But only true burzumologists will do that. The rest are better off listening to "Filosofem" for 500th time.
Let's go from start. The disc with unreleased material starts with an acoustic introduction from URUK-HAI and ends with a similar epilogue. Both songs are imbued with melancholy and cosmic depth characteristic of BURZUM, although they were recorded in 1989. URUK-HAI offers three more tracks with aggressive titles: “Total Destruction”, “Blood-Red Scimitars” and "Mace attack". Orcish theme. “Total Destruction” refutes the old anecdote about Vikernes' unability to play fast. But here, Varg is playing like madman. By the middle it turns out that it was this ancient thing that gave birth to the song “Sverddans”, which was released only on “Belus” in 2010. The remaining two tracks are very short, only 45 seconds long, and they also are workpieces of future masterpieces, including “Móti Ragnarǫkum”. Then there are three BURZUM recordings from 1994. “Gjallarhornit” - pulsating ambient intro. “Oðinns Dauðr” is the same riff that created the title track of “Dauði Baldrs” and then “Belus’ død ”. “Hoddmimisholt” is a long acoustic-synthesizer piece that reminds me a prolonged interlude. All songs on the disc include only guitar parts and a bit of synth.
The “Balder’s Dod” CD is the first mix of the album “Dauði Baldrs”. There are very few differences between this mix and the final one. The variant we know is a little slower, sounds half a tone lower (most likely due to slowdown) and a little quieter. There seems to be no change in the "parts". Perhaps something somewhere has decreased or increased but I didn't wanted to compare every second of it. It's funny that the “raw” mix sounds like a remaster of “Dauði Baldrs” from some major studio would sound - clean and sonorous. The final version is more atmospheric and archaic, which I didn't even notice before. Probably, it was worth releasing "Balder's Dod" to appreciate its younger brother again. In addition to the album, the disc contains three experimental tracks, two in techno style and one closer to experimental ambient (with race war theme). In all honesty, all these tracks are fucking crap, and Varg did the right thing when he decided to give up on them. If “Oslo 2000” still has some connection with BURZUM, then two unnamed techno tracks are only suitable for the soundtrack for a 16-bit remake of Space Invaders or for lousy sci-fi from early 2000s, such as “Ghosts of Mars”.
The design of both releases are quite simple, as usual: unpretentious digipacks with explanations about the origin of the records on the spread. I didn't manage to shoot a video this time, but there is nothing to shoot there. As expected, both releases are purely academic, so I cannot recommend that you spend 13 hard-earned euros per disc to purchase them. I don’t regret the purchase, but only because I am a truly loyal fan of BURZUM.
English (UK) 
Крыўская