Hank The Drifter

Burzum - Fallen

1. Fra Verdenstreet 01:02
2. Jeg faller 07:49
3. Valen 09:21
4. Vanvidd 07:06
5. Enhver til Sitt 06:16
6. Budstikken 10:10
7. Til Hel og tilbake igjen 05:57

Most people are already well aware of the monster that is Burzum. Probably the best known black metal band ever. Perhaps due to his music or perhaps his previous actions which landed him in prison. Well, for what reason he's known as one of the best at doing the minimalistic black metal thing. Anyway, Vargs back with a brand new album which has just leaked yesterday.

The new album, Fallen, is quite different from Burzum's other releases. For one this album really uses a lot of those clean vocals and whisper type things we heard in last years release, Belus. Also Vargs overall playing seems to have progressed a bit on this album. While I think he's had the ability this entire time to play a lot better he's never done it because he doesn't feel he should. That's fine with me, I think he's done a great job with the sound. Now, don't get me wrong this new albums not like going out and buying a Dream Theater album or anything but he's progressed a bit and its fresh sounding. For the new album Varg has decided to use this new vocal approaches and while he still uses the shrieks he's always used his new clean singing vocals and whispers add something that back in the 90s people probably though they would never hear, Varg singing cleanly. So about these new clean vocals, they aren't my favorite things by any stretch and I think Varg over used them a bit at times. However, at the same time he's created another element added to this music which makes it a bit more interesting. With music of this nature you're always looking for a way to keep the music fresh for your listener. I think Varg done an overall good job on this album. I'm not going to try and compare it to the early albums as that's not fair to this album. Comparing it to Belus though is very difficult. I think both albums are rather different. I think I still need a couple more listens to Fallen to give it a fair comparison and once I get that I may try and give another short update on this album.

The album cover for this album is quite different than anything else we have seen out of Burzum/Varg yet also. While when it was first released I wasn't totally sold on it, I think it works out well now. If any of you are art-nuts you might reconize the cover as a "Elegy" by Adolphe-William Bouguereau.

My rating on this album is a solid 6/10. While I think its good there could be a ton of improvement overall I think.

If you're a Burzum fanboy I would suggest checking this album out. If you're looking to get into Burzum this probably isn't the best place for you to start. I suggest starting at the beginning and going forward. Be careful of the ambient albums he made while in prison though, heh.

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams