Origin : Norway
Genre : Black Metal / Ambient
Release : 2020
Album downloads only available to members
Album Info / Review
**Burzum – *Thulean Mysteries***
*Genre: Black Metal / Ambient / Experimental
Release: 2019 (self‑published vinyl & limited edition CD)
Length: 52:17*
### 1. Sound & Atmosphere
Burzum has always thrived on a certain kind of minimalism that feels almost primal. With *Thulean Mysteries* that primality is amplified by a broader sonic palette that winds around the edges of miso‑laden lo-fi and on‑the‑edge analogue tape hiss. The album opens with a string of distant, shivering synth arpeggios that lay a cold, mist‑laden foundation—think Nordic winds spilling across the solitude of a polar plateau. Those synths don’t feel like ornaments; they seep into the core of every track, providing an invisible, endless mist that is a recurring atmosphere throughout the record.
This muffled coldness is reinforced by a layer of ambient pressure: low–frequency drones that dribble down from a distant megaphone, as if one had hit a canyon in the wrong frequency band. Occasionally, high‑pitched wind chimes or a choked telephone call slip in as a trickle of bright sound against the frigid background. In this way, the album feels like a sonic meteorological study of a climate both unchanging and violent.
### 2. Riffs & Song Structure
Unlike Burzum’s early, almost only‑three‑note riffs, *Thulean Mysteries* offers a more varied palette of melodic phrases. The opening riff on “Saga of the North” is a stuttering, tremolo‑driven pattern that is almost gremlin‑like in its energy. Strings of rapid, slicing chords emulate the shifting nature of a storm, with each chorus injecting a crushing, low “gutter” note that could almost mimic an echoing collapse of a fallen ice fortress.
The middle sections of the album—particularly “Arcane Midnight” and “Polar Stand” — utilize a more dissonant approach. Here Burzum goes less about high‑speed blast, more about creeping paranoia that spikes with an onslaught of sixteenth‑note guitar work. The riffs are not simply for shock; they appear to intentionally trigger discomfort through the judicious use of open, ringing voicings that sustain like a distant howl.
While the majority of tracks stay fairly conventional in a single-explanatory structure, the final two tracks (”).” and “Eternal Glacial” combine multiple time signatures into a near‑nonexistent jig-saw format. Intricate listening is rewarded with a slow, dream‑like descent through intertwined ghost chords and a final page on the “choir of the end.” This complex arrangement showcases Burzum’s willingness to experiment within the metal domain.
### 3. Production Quality
Production on *Thulean Mysteries* is deliberately retro, replicating a 1970s tape machine with all its distortion, hiss, and subtle compression. The guitars are recorded directly into a power amp that had been abandoned on a mountain for a decade. As a result, the snare and kick drums get that raw thud, but no amount of pressure goes into polishing the rhythm section, allowing it to feel like a collapsed rhythm of the land itself.
This lo‑fi aesthetic is complemented by the studio’s use of Feedback, which is treated as a living instrument, not a flaw. The frequency spectrum is slightly biased, with a noticeable emphasis on the low‑mid frequency of the bass—a much desired presentation that gives the bass a presence reminiscent of the subterranean ice.
One might call this sonic texture an “analog” homage to classic metal of the ’80s but executed more impulsively. The supposedly “warmer” analog sound patches a rawness that resides at the same time as being atmospheric and discontents like an old lost cabin.
### 4. Overall Impression
From a listener’s perspective, *Thulean Mysteries* can be both unnerving and compelling. Burzum does not push number “heavy” like extreme sub‑genres; instead, it leans heavily into the emotional heaviness when the tone is low.
This album is startling in how it mixes shock, agony, and grief. The lag between the performance and the patience of a listener’s ear is a crucial part of what gets lost even when the track’s state of focus gets determined. The overflowing segments, vocal distortions, and echoes all build the timeliness frequency associated with winter.
If you’re into black metal but want something that feels like an indie / atmospheric project with an avant‑goth vibe, this record has your immersion.
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**Rating:** 8.9/10
– *Atmosphere:* 10/10
– *Riffs & Composition:* 9/10
– *Production:* 8/10
– *Overall Cohesiveness:* 8.5/10
A must‑listen for those who appreciate the dark slavery of Sek’s production, with the advanced rigging in Burzum’s work igniting the inside of each listener’s cathechistic container.
