Burzum

Burzum
Varg Vikernes in 2009
Background information
Also known as	Count Grishnackh
Origin	Bergen, Norway
Genres	Black metal dark ambient neo-medieval music
Years active	1991–1999, 2009–2015
Labels	Deathlike Silence Cymophane Misanthropy Byelobog
Associated acts	Mayhem Old Funeral Darkthrone
Website	burzum.org
Members	Varg Vikernes

Burzum (/ˈbɜːrzəm/; Norwegian: [ˈbʉrtsʉm]) was a music project begun in 1991 by the Norwegian musician and writer Varg Vikernes. It became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is one of the most influential acts in black metal.

Vikernes began making music in 1988, but it was not until 1991 that he recorded his first demos as Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a fictional language crafted by Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Vikernes recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993. However, the releases were spread out, with many months between the recording and the release of each album. In May 1994, Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of three churches.

While imprisoned, Vikernes recorded two dark ambient albums using only synthesizers, as he did not have access to drums, guitar or bass. Since his release from prison in 2009, he has recorded several more albums. As of 2017, he states that he is focusing on his survivalist efforts instead of music, and advised his fans to do the same. Although Vikernes is known for his political views, he did not use Burzum to promote those views, and his lyrics were non-political. Burzum has never performed live.

Vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band Kalashnikov. The following year, the name was changed to Uruk-Hai, after the creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In 1990 and 1991, Vikernes played guitar for the death metal band Old Funeral, which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He appears on the Old Funeral EP Devoured Carcass. Vikernes left Old Funeral in 1991 to concentrate on creating his own musical visions. He had a short lived project called Satanel, along Abbath Doom Occulta. He then began a solo project under the name Burzum. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech; a language crafted by Tolkien. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became part of the Norwegian black metal scene. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Vikernes ―under the pseudonym of Count Grishnackh―, began to record Burzum’s self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), though still make it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being the second album released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.