Burzum - The Fallen (2011)

I thought the album previous to the new one was wonky as all fuck, which was awesome. I am intrigued.

The new one is not as creepy but I think it's better than the new Inquisition, which kinda bores after few listens IMHO :eek:
 
I really do like the album (and the other albums I've heard by the band) and even the vocals too... it's just, maybe I'm not used to actually being able to understand what is being said in black metal... and it feels odd. Nothing against it, I intend to buy it my next pay check. :)
 
New Dark Tribe was kind of disappointing imo, kinda too melodic and somewhat emo compared to the complete terror of an album In Jeraspunta was. Worth a listen though.

Tbh there wasnt too much bm in 2010 I liked better than Belus, but I would say I liked Watain, Dodsengel, Inquisition, and Agalloch (if it counts) a bit more. A few other good ones but I really enjoyed Belus.
 
In Jeraspunta is some kind of fucked-up brilliance. It straddles a weird line between orthodox and mindfuckingly unorthodox but never really leans too far in either direction, which is its real standout achievement in my opinion. I haven't heard the new one out of slight trepidation that it might not be as weird/good.
 
I'm in broad agreement with repetitive electronic music (what up, polarity!) Varg is a talented musician, that much is clear. But what I've heard from this album lacks the dynamics and distinctiveness of his classic material. HLTO is basically my benchmark for judging any subsequent Burzum material, and this stuff isn't even in the same ballpark in my opinion. It sounds like something anybody who knows how to tremolo pick minor arpeggios could come up with. The only thing that makes it in any way distinctive is the fact that it's Varg coming up with this stuff. But it sounds like he's copying a dumbed down, easily digestible idea of what his music was. I'm not impressed by what I've heard so far.

edit: probably one of the only things that this stuff has going for it, in my opinion, is that it's kind of catchy. That's fine, but it's certainly not something that attracted me to Burzum in the first place.
 
Although I do enjoy this album, I was actually hoping for a bit more of the Det Som Engang Var sound. Unfortunately, Burzum will never be as dark as the pre-incarceration era.