“Fallen” succeeds “Belus” in less than a year. Nice that Varg is back in full force.
I start by saying that “Belus” and “Fallen” share many similarities. Yet Vikernes managed to divide the Burzum fans with “Fallen”. Maybe because the latest opus sounds less clever than its predecessor (you could actually call it a softer version of “Belus”), but sure thing is that there have been some important changes that play a significant role in the end.
To begin with the general atmosphere it has changed a lot. Many times in the past I’ve been hypnotized or risen up by Varg’s repetitive riffs but I had never been drowned in melancholy until I heard “Fallen”. This is the album’s feeling; melancholy. Especially in “Enhver Til Sitt” this sentiment is boosted by the doom metal guitar tone. Melody is the other strong characteristic of the record while the violent outbursts are limited and mainly noticed in songs like “Vanvidd” and “Budstikken”, two tunes that fit well in “Belus” too. In comparison with Burzum’s previous effort the drum sound is improved but still sounds weak. On the contrary the guitars sound as good as we expected them to sound. I’m surprised by the dominant clean vocals…and by the shrieks…I’ve heard way better shrieks by Varg. “Valen” is a typical mid-tempo Burzum tune, “Fra Verdenstreet” is an intro in the vein of “Filosofem” and “Til Hel Og Tilbake igjen” is the odd outro that doesn’t flow with rest of the songs in the record. Both in the outro and in “Jag Faller” the listener will notice folk elements although the artist himself will never accept it.
In other words I like it. I’m just not impressed.
