Burzum
Filosofem

At the turning point of his career, caused by those dramatic events that everyone, for better or worse, knows, Varg Vikernes recorded "Filosofem", the most ambiguous album of his career, both in terms of the more massive incorporation of ambient-like keyboards in his music from this point on and in terms of the meaning of the work, ever so difficult to find and perhaps even to accept.

An album less evil and "black" than others, more focused on themes of despair, depression, and the end. This applies both to the style and techniques used by the Count and the producer (exaggerated distortion, keyboards peering from the depths of this murky and oppressive sea, voice filtered through the worst equipment that could be found), as well as to the themes (just read the lyrics of tracks such as "Erblicket Die Toechter Des Firmaments" or "Gebrechlichkeit", or listen to the lacerating and hypnotically repetitive riff that best expresses what the words scream as if it were the last sentence before the imminent, inevitable death - one can imagine that by now Varg felt already dead inside).

Musically, as already partially mentioned, the entire album is rather slow, except for the second track, "Jesus Tod", with its clear title and an approach that does not allow for great emotional flights, mainly resolved in the brutally blasphemous text in its poetry. Notably, especially pieces like "Dunkelheit" (Darkness), which, although supported by the most banal lyrics in the history of black metal, manages to instill, through its repetitiveness, those feelings of unpleasant forced immersion in the dark, of the looming presence of something cold and frightening in an unknown place; "Erblicket..." (Contemplating the Daughters of the Firmament), a piece granite-like, heavy, lacerating, inevitably depressive and with startlingly poetic lyrics; the already mentioned "Gebrechlichkeit" (Decrepitude), despairing to the extreme, sung slowly and loaded with excruciating PAIN, on a repetitive and almost unlistenable riff for very long minutes - here too, reading the lyrics is indispensable.

A separate place deserves "Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Saeule Der Singularitaet" (Round Dance Around the Transcendental Column of Singularity), an ambient track that does not vary a bit throughout its 25 minutes, a more exemplary product of Varg Vikernes' sick genius, which goes up all the steps to the music heaven, and surpasses it, flowing into something else, something that goes BEYOND simple melody, beyond simple EARTHLINESS. Unfortunately, however, in the long run, the piece can only tire a bit in its prolixity... perhaps it should be said that its counterpart "Tomhet" in the previous "Det Som En Gang Var" responded better to the demand.

Ultimately, an album that can convey all that pain and despair that no one would ever want to feel, but once awakened by listening to such notes, no one will find the courage and strength to give them up. At most, one will wish the song to end as soon as possible, but at the same time, one cannot help but wish it never ends.