Mondo Bungle

Slam the door on warmth and enjoy the frost. An ice land, Eismitte in Greenland, with a record low of -64.9 degrees C.



Oymyakon, Russia, where the ground is permanently frozen. Record low of -71.2 degrees C.



The coldest place out there, Vostok, Antarctica. It’s a lovely place. An arctic research station where has dropped to -89.2 degrees C. The coldest time of year here is August.


Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss

This is the landmark. Varg, the king of black metal, has put together the blueprint for what was to come in the black metal word. Just four tracks featuring repetition and cold atmospheres. He starts dabbling with synths to layer atop the metal, and captures that perfect, cold atmosphere. Each track is amazing, from the drawn out massive opener, the minimalistic snow drenched title track, to the magnificently epic “Inn i slottet fra droemmen”. In my opinion however, “Tomhet” (literally, emptiness) is my choice for top track. One hundred percent ambient perfection. With an old school synth set up, a raw and bleak feeling is conjured up here. It is super minimalistic, but I can’t help but listen to it entirely all the time. Broken up into two sections, the first half a moonlit walk through the forest, and the second a comforting almost nostalgic melody.



Fan made video that I really love. This is an awe-inspiring scene.


Burzum - Hliðskjálf

After being sent to prison, Varg would set out into the world of pure ambient. The previous album, Daudi Baldrs, gets a good amount of hate for the production coming from a cheap prison synth. I still love it though, it's a medieval and evil in a ridiculous way sounding album. But this album is so much fuller, more complex, and you know, colder. Highlighting more folk elements and deeper compositions. The atmospheres evoked are truly something else, and imagery from the listener is surely amazing. I see dark forests, yeti like beasts, abandoned cabins of log, and a mysterious land of woods and permafrost. The production still leaves a tad bit to be desired, but works well enough.

A man, alone, finds himself deep within frozen trees. He rests as his journey is long.



The best track here. So oddly calming, powerful and daunting.

__________________