Search - Burzum :: Det Som Engang Var

Interesting and stimulating

Andreas Faust | Tasmanian Autonomous Zone | 01/23/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I believe Varg once described 'Det Som Engang Var' as the "heaviest and wierdest" Burzum album. The sound is overtly 'rock' on some tracks, a direction he later moved away from. The vocals, too, are somewhat different to the other albums, at least on the first couple of songs.



'Den Onde Kysten' is a tribute to all who drowned in viking. It is sad and cold, evoking spirits who would like to be able to warm themselves by the fire, but who never again can. Every so often we should take time to remember the dead...especially our direct ancestors.



'Key to the Gate' has a simple and beautiful guitar lead, and the song could be interpreted as an expression of alienation from the baseness and vulgarity of the modern world. It is only a step from there to the aristocratic world view, and Burzum's continued popularity gives me hope for the future in that regard.



'En Ring til aa Herske' is equally powerful, and demonstrates Varg's talent for creative use of melody, something many overlook due to his reputation as a 'monotonous' composer.



'Lost Wisdom' is also very catchy, maybe even too catchy! Its lyrics treat of worlds and realities beyond this one, which are denied by the "blind church" (and also in our own time by the "blind watchmaker" school of materialists).



The last proper piece, 'Snu Mikrocosmos Tegn' looks forward to the next (and greatest) album 'Hvis Lyset Tar Oss' in its trancelike intensity.



While not Burzum's best album, 'Det Som Engang Var' is interesting and stimulating, and deserves its place in Norwegian musical history."

The best Black Metal

Historylover | Laurel, MD USA | 02/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not because it's the most technically accomplished or best produced, far from it. It's because he is insane and the intensity of that comes across in every track. Plus sometimes slow crunching guitars are more intense than the high speed stuff."