Track Listing

1. Den Onde Kysten
2. Key To The Gate
3. En Ring Til Aa Herske
4. Lost Wisdom
5. Han Som Reiste
6. Naar Himmelen Klarner
7. Snu Milroskosmos Tegn
8. Svarte Troner

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25788 in Music
• Released on: 1997-11-17
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Probably the most raw Burzum Album.
Great album, Great songs (alot of classics are on this album). Great Digipack, looks nice and sounds nice. If you like any song from the album Buy this as most are of the same style. Standout tracks are- Lost Wisdom and Key to the Gate. (AMAZING SONGS). If you want some ambient albums go for the last two albums, but this is raw. So takes time to get into!
Just simply a great album... Though if your put of by the guys views it doesnt matter, his lyrics are not racist in any way or form!

Pushing the boundaries.
The debut album was Burzum's most 'Black Metal' sound. This album signalled the project's movement away from Black Metal. There are clear influences of Black Metal in there, however, the music is more apt to drone in a different way (examples, En ring til aa herske). The music turns more towards ambience (though not as much as Hvis Lyset Tar Oss), the music is more percussion driven than the previous album and most Black Metal in general.
The album is divided by a keyboard piece, further proof that Burzum was never wholly 'Black Metal' as such. Some songs seem to take on a duality of sounds, Lost Wisdom being the best example as a 'rock' lead kicks off the song, but is shadowed and swaps roles with a darker sound.

Another essential Burzum release
The second full–length album from Varg Vikernes did not do a great deal to build on the sound of his self–titled debut, or the EP Aske, but nonetheless is a very atmospheric album. Lyrically, it is highly influenced by Tolkien with song titles such as En Ring Til Aa Herske (One Ring to Rule Them All) and Key to the Gate. The album consists of eight tracks, but when the intro and outro, synth piece Han Som Reiste and Naar Himmelen Klarner, an instrumental from his Uruk–Hai days are taken into account, there are only four actual songs left.

Vocally, Varg puts in a stunning performance, his tortured screeches on Lost Wisdom are full of emotion, whilst on En Ring Til Aa Herske he experiments with clean vocals, although these are confined to backing vocals. All the songs feature crushing riffs, but the atmosphere is never compromised. Key to the Gate features an amazing solo. Whilst not technically brilliant, it is the most atmospheric solo I have ever heard. Although the lack of blastbeats is quite surprising for an album like this, he puts in a solid performance in that department, too.

Which finally brings us to the synth track, Han Som Reiste, which can only be described as dire. It sounds like the sort of thing your younger brother or sister would knock up in a couple of minutes on their new Casio keyboard. Unfortunately, this was the direction Vikernes was going to take when he was later imprisoned for the murder of his former friend, Euronymous of Mayhem. But despite this obvious low–point, this is a great black metal album and deserves a place in everyone's collection