Burzum

Early years (1988–1992) Varg Vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band Kalashnikov. so Samoth of Emperor accompanied him as a session bassist, though only appearing on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, but he later decided to change it to Belus, which was released by the independent record label Byelobog Productions (byelobog is the transliteration of "белобог" in Slavic languages, meaning 'white god', Belobog) on 8 March 2010. It was also announced that a movie would be released in 2010, based on Varg Vikernes' life in the early 1990s. The movie would mainly draw inspiration from the book Lords of Chaos, with the film being of the same name. Vikernes expressed his contempt towards both the movie and the book upon which it is based. A second new album of original Burzum material, Fallen, was released on 7 March 2011, followed by a compilation album, From the Depths of Darkness, containing re-recordings of tracks from Burzum's self-titled album and Det som engang var, on 28 November 2011. A third new studio album of original material, titled Umskiptar, was released in May 2012. Sôl austan, Mâni vestan ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon"), Burzum's first electronic album since 1999, was released in May 2013. On 27 April 2013, a song was posted on the official YouTube channel of Vikernes, titled "Back to the Shadows". In a blog post, Vikernes stated that "Back to the Shadows" would be the last metal track released by Burzum. Another album, The Ways of Yore, was released in June 2014. After a period of inactivity, Vikernes posted a video on his YouTube account in June 2018 announcing that "[he had] moved on [from Burzum]", saying "bye bye" to the project. In July 2018, a YouTube user named Hermann posted unreleased materials of Uruk-Hai from 1988 to 1990 and Burzum's Bergen prison recordings from 1994, which he received from Tiziana Stupia. In October 2019, Vikernes posted a tweet saying he intended to release another album as Burzum. He announced that the tentative name of the album would be Thulêan Mysteries, which would have 23 songs. The tracks from the album were previously used as background music on Vikernes' YouTube channel, which was taken down the same year. Vikernes also said that the music of Thulêan Mysteries is meant to be used as a background soundtrack for his MYFAROG role-playing game. On 18 December, Vikernes tweeted the album cover for Thulêan Mysteries and announced its release date as 13 March 2020. Vikernes has stated it would be Burzum's last album at the time. This was followed by three new singles released in May. == Musical style ==

Burzum's music includes both straightforward black metal as well as dark ambient, neofolk Despite the project's apolitical nature, Burzum is included on Meta's Dangerous Individuals and Organizations list. Burzum's early work was influenced by Tolkien; for example, Vikernes' early moniker "Count Grishnackh" is taken from an orc character called Grishnákh in Tolkien's works. == Influences and legacy ==

Vikernes said that the German thrash metal band Destruction "changed my approach towards playing my instrument" despite having only discovered them in 1991. In a 1996 interview with Terrorizer, Vikernes also named Bathory's Blood Fire Death and Celtic Frost's Morbid Tales as significant influences on Burzum. He credited Dead Can Dance's Within the Realm of a Dying Sun for being one of Burzum's first non-metal influences. In 2011, Vikernes said that he no longer kept up with new black metal bands and listened mostly to the Cure instead. Burzum is widely considered to be the most influential act in black metal history. Liturgy, Wolves in the Throne Room and Altar of Plagues. The project has also inspired musicians from other genres, including Chelsea Wolfe, Mount Eerie, Thurston Moore, and Vision Eternel. == Discography ==

Main releases • Burzum (1992) • Det som engang var (1993) • Hvis lyset tar oss (1994) • Filosofem (1996) • Dauði Baldrs (1997) • Hliðskjálf (1999) • Belus (2010) • Fallen (2011) • Umskiptar (2012) • Sôl austan, Mâni vestan (2013) • The Ways of Yore (2014) • Thulêan Mysteries (2020) • The Land of Thulê (2024) EPs • Aske (1993) Singles • "Mythic Dawn" (2015) • "Forgotten Realms" (2015) • "Thulean Mysteries" (2015) • "The Reincarnation of Ódinn" (2023) • "The Magic of the Grave" (2024) • "The Hidden Name" (2024) • "The Nature of the Gods" (2024) • "The Call of the Kraken" (2024) • "Beyond the Gate" (2024) • "Winds of the Vanished Realm" (2024) • "Memories in the Mist" (2024) • "What Will Come" (2025) • "Elfland" (2025) • "Beneath the Barrow" (2025) • "The Mound of Fire" (2025) Demos and promos • Burzum Demo (1991) • Reh/Demo 91 (1991) • Burzum Promo (1992) • Promo Tape (with Uruk-Hai) (1994) Music videos • "Dunkelheit" (1996) Compilation albums • Burzum / Aske (1995) • Burzum Anthology (2002) (bootleg) • Draugen – Rarities (2005) (bootleg, mistakenly featuring an Ildjarn track) • Burzum Anthology (2008) • From the Depths of Darkness (2011) • Foreldra (2019) • Thulê (2019) • Unreleased Material 1988–1994 (2021) Box sets • Burzum 1992–1997 (1998) • Burzum 1992–1999 (2010) • XIII (2018) • In the Arms of Darkness (2019) Other appearances • Presumed Guilty (1998) (contributed "Et hvitt lys over skogen") • Gummo soundtrack (1998) (contributed "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte") • Fenriz Presents... The Best of Old-School Black Metal (2004) (contributed "Ea, Lord of the Depths") ==See also==