The Ways Of Yore, by Burzum: Album Review

Tracklist: 
God from the Machine
The Portal
Heill Odinn
Lady in the Lake
The Coming of Ettins
The Reckoning of Man
Heil Freyja
The Ways of Yore
Ek Fellr (I am falling)
Hall of the Fallen
Autumn Leaves
Emptiness
To Hel and Back again

Released: 2nd June 2014

Website: http://www.burzum.org/eng/news.shtml

Review:

The feminised liberal elite’s who run their banker funded operations through public relations companies, mainstream media outlets, universities, think tanks and NGO’s hate it when you question their orthodox, highly deceptive version of reality. They have a number of ways of dealing with dissent. They start off with ignoring it, and then insist that their views are the consensus, and that the argument is already over. This is what they keep trying to do with the man-made global warming debate. When that doesn’t work they use ridicule and name calling that is designed to label anybody with opposing views as a crazy, tin-foil hate wearing ‘conspiracy theorist’ that shouldn’t be taken seriously. Their next phase of attack is to use their big guns, the four destroyers of all debates. So if you go against their agenda you are either ‘racist,’ ‘sexist,’ ‘homophobic,’ or ‘anti-Semitic.’ Have you noticed that yet? It’s bloody annoying isn’t it? And that’s what they do with the one-man musical project called Burzum.

I can already tell you what other reviews of this album will read like. Most mainstream music commentators will ignore it, and the few metal magazines that do give it a review will start off their reviews by telling their readers not to buy it because it’s 'racist.’ They’ll then go on to say that it’s boring and not as good as the other albums they are reviewing that month. Most of these albums will be praising Satan and growling and screeching about how bad Christianity is. You know that stuff that really upset people in the 1980's? Well, they're pretending that it's still cutting edge and rebellious in 2014. The days of biting a head off a bat are long gone, but you wouldn't know that if you are a regular reader of one of today's politically correct metal magazines.

They’re so rebellious those metal magazines. So evil, so hardcore, so anti-establishment, except, err, actually no, they’re not, at all. Your typical metal magazine is about as anti-authority as a party political broadcast for the Labour/Conservative party, so don’t listen to their corporate nonsense and fake rebellion. They criticise Christianity because they are allowed to, it’s as simple as that. They are stuck on the corporate plantation, and quite happy to even be allowed there.

‘The Ways of Yore,’ is not a ‘black metal’ album, so don’t purchase it if that’s what you want. There are no blast beat drums, no guttural wails, and no screeching guitars and walls of violent, aggressive percussion. This album is by a man who has left such things behind, in his youth, where they rightfully belong. You are not supposed to live your life in a perpetual state of stunted, anguished teenage confusion, anger and misanthropy. Life is about stages of experience, where you learn, grow, develop and change. Varg Vikernes (the man behind Burzum) has made a soothing, relaxing, contented, spiritual, and erudite album that is part hymn to the past, part summoning of the days of yore, and part recognition of the state of balance that we all need to live a fulfilling and contented life.

The album has two standout tracks. The first is the hook laden and catchy ‘Heill Odinn,’ which has a refrain that'll be stuck in your head for weeks after listening to it. The second standout track is ‘The Reckoning of man,’ where a spoken word Varg takes us through what has been lost, but what has also been remembered. It’s a call for a re-evaluation of our past, and if you can get over the deceptive ‘racist’ tag used to stop you looking into these things then it’s something I highly recommend you look into for yourself. Where do you start? I’ll include a link to Varg Vikernes’ YouTube page at the end of this review, as he can explain our current predicament far better than I can.

I found ‘The Ways of Yore’ to be a calm, relaxing, almost hypnotic slice of contemplative, introspective poetry, laden with care for the listener and sprinkled with little nuggets of musical gold that will delight your ears. You need patience to enjoy it, patience and the ability to transcend the corrupt corporate mainstream’s name calling tactics that are designed to stop you from even exploring the areas of genealogical research that people like Varg Vikernes are brave enough to be bringing into the public arena. Putting ideological and political matters aside though, this is a rewarding work of music that will put you in a warm place. There are no screams of torment here. This is music coming from a man who knows exactly who he is, what he is doing and where he wants to be. It’s music from a man with peace of mind and happiness in his heart, and I fully recommend that you get off the corporate reservation and give it an hour or two of your time. Rating: 9/10

The link below is to Varg Vikernes’s YouTube page. Please check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHcro74fYGY