AA.VV.
Visions: A Tribute To Burzum

Visions: A Tribute To Burzum is certainly the best of the tributes produced to honor the Norwegian Varg Vikernes, in his time one of the main movers of the Scandinavian black metal scene, and today considered, for better or worse, one of the major influences for hundreds of subsequent bands.

Beyond the fame of the bands involved, the quality of the album is truly high, because it manages to break a taboo that is the main hurdle that must be faced in this particular type of project: repeating pieces in a linear and faithful way, that are already known by heart in the form that will nonetheless remain the best, would be madness; on the other hand, even completely altering the structure and the nature of the songs could be counterproductive, devaluing the tribute concept to uselessly flaunt one's artistry. Fortunately, in this case, the extreme variety, both of bands and interpretations, gives the album a charm of its own, which will probably encourage some to search and learn about the lesser-known names appearing on the album. One can say that a certain formal inconsistency (in terms of variety of interpretations) instead results in great conceptual coherence, saving the final result.

The approaches to proposing the songs are varied but largely attributable to three different keys of (re)interpretation:

Firstly, there is a decent space for versions that do not differ at all from the structure or the instruments used in the originals, directly confronting what was done years ago by Vikernes in the studio; surprises are the songs by Cryogenic and Luror, tackling respectively "Dunkelheit" and "Key To The Gate": despite the two projects sharing the same frontman, Sven Zimper, the approach is very different, more traditional in the former and modern in the latter. If these are bands to watch out for, the American Akhenaten, mastermind of Judas Iscariot, certainly needs no introduction, here handling an early song, "War", still connected to the minimal thrash of the beginnings; the American renders the guitar part even more sparse and clean, playing entirely on the croaky and successful tone of his scream, adding more violence to the piece.

Secondly (in my analysis, not in the order of the tracklist), we find a series of pieces that revolutionize the originals in various ways, giving the compilation that aspect of innovation at the base of these projects. The minor changes are brought to "Det Som Engang Var" by the Romans Aborym, one of the peak bands not only of the album but also on an international level; the cover was present on the second album Fire Walk With Us!, and significantly betrays those peculiar aspects of the Italian sound: drum machines, samples, and keyboards give a modern and visionary air to the track that opened Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, one of Burzum’s most loved albums. Well-chosen but not yet decisive changes are those by the Ukrainians Nokturnal Mortum, the third big name on the album: during their career, they have ranged from symphonic black to folk contaminations, managing to fuse all these elements in a fantastic version of "My Journey To The Stars", even better than the original (it often happens on the album that the early tracks, sometimes immature, and the later ones, a bit poor, are improved in the re-proposition).

The most important section of the double album is entrusted to the reinterpretations of the instrumental pieces, both a blessing and a curse in the last part of the Count’s career. Generally, the public has always appreciated the numerous Ambient hints present in each release, highlighting how these songs were in tune with the minimalist spirit behind Burzum's music, in stark and fertile contrast with the more lively pieces. Instead, here the musicians' attention is entirely focused on enriching the essential keyboard lines through the introduction of variations, second lines, and other very intelligent ideas. How can one not mention the wonderful "Han Som Reiste" (by Starchamber), from Det som Engang Var, where the melody is guided by different keyboard sections of strings, reflecting a climate of tension that explodes in the central refrain. But it is certainly with the two ambient albums that the musicians have indulged to a greater extent. The center of the collection is the magnificent version of "Moti Ragnarokum" (from Daudi Baldrs) by the Tronus Abyss, a formidable (and historical) Italian formation, which elaborates the main piano theme with strings in the background, and above all with an English narration that picks up on the texts that Vikernes had inserted into the booklet and unfortunately never transposed into music. Wonderful. Also beautiful is the reinterpretation of a piece from Hlidskjialf, "Frijos Einsames Trauern", (thanks to Pagan Hellfire) rather sparse in the original, and here led by a pair of acoustic guitars, creating an atmosphere that perhaps the lack of resources was not able to achieve.

In this case, giving a rating would be out of place in my opinion. In terms of tributes, it deserves 9/10.