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Showing results for tags 'varg vikernes'.
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The other day I picked up a copy of Burzum's "From the Depths of Darkness" despite owning the four original black metal albums that Varg recorded in the early 90s. In case you weren't aware, "From the Depths of Darkness" is a compilation album of rerecordings of material from the albums Burzum and Det Som Engang Var, along with three new tracks which are mere ambient intros. I picked it up because I had not heard it, and I generally am interested in rerecordings of seminal works once better budget and production facilities are available. But I have to ask myself: Was this compilation really necessary? The recordings are better and of a higher quality, sure but don't really do much to change the overall feel of the songs. Sure, the production is less "necro" and cleaner, you can hear the various instruments better but a Stormblast 2005 it is not. The new tracks are nothing more than "intros"... ambient tracks that Vikernes probably had left over from sessions for the recent albums Belus and Fallen. He could have simply released them as an EP, maybe a 7" instead of rerecording mostly tracks from Burzum with cleaner production and slapping them on there. Having been wrong before about rerecordings of seminal black metal albums, I hesitate to call this a "cash grab" by Vikernes, but that's exactly what it feels like. It would have been much more interesting had he varied the material more and included tracks from Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Filosofem (maybe a fresh recording of "Dunkelheit"?) instead of just rerecording the majority of Burzum and two tracks from Det Som Engang Var. Granted the music is an easier listen now as the production is cleaner and feels a lot heavier, less tinny and with much less treble, but not much is very new here. I'd personally be more interested in seeing Emperor rerecord "Wrath of the Tyrant" with cleaner, less "necro" production because let's face it: there's not a lot that can be done to tighten up these songs besides removing a lot of the hissy treble and making the mids and lows more prominent to create a heavier feeling. My guess is that this two disc release in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, was intended for younger listeners and only the most hardcore of Burzum fans (which admittedly I am) but I don't feel that it was truly necessary in the long run.
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