I am a particular fan of Burzum's early material, before Filosofem, when the black metal material outweighed the ambient material. In fact, Det som engang var is the only album by Burzum I have picked up. Until now. This is a compilation of Burzum's earliest major material: the first full-length from 1992, and the follow-up EP in 1993. It is the period I prefer from Burzum, and it was recorded before most of the truly objectionable events in the life of Vikernes, with one notable exception. At this point, Vikernes was far more interested in Tolkien and Lovecraft than in race relations or anything of that sort.
The aforementioned exception is the church burning. The original cover of Aske when it was released on its own was a photo of the burned-out church. So, Vikernes was on his way down the rabbit hole at this point, but most of the worst things he had ever done was yet to come.
Much of the music on this compilation is raw black metal, performed entirely by Vikernes. The riffs are fairly simplistic, yet hypnotizing, and the vocals are typically delivered in harsh shrieks. There are a few more ambient tracks, but it is not close to the focus. Some of Burzum's most potent songs appear on this release, including "War" and "Ea, Lord of the Depths".
This is by no means a perfect release. Varg's songwriting and musicianship were very raw, but the potential is definitely there. Obviously a lot of people have chosen to avoid Burzum and I will not tell them they are wrong to do so. I understand why people would avoid anything with Vikernes's name attached. I will not defend his ideologies or actions, both of which I find deplorable. But it is possible to respect the art that a horrible person has created, and that is where I find myself.
