LIBRARY
Interview with Varg Vikernes
"Valhalla Promotions" (09.04.2012), by Semivivus
Howcome you have released so many albums since your prison release, is this material that has been pent up inside of your head and if so does this content represent Burzum now or a Burzum of the past just through a more mature filter?
If you take a look at the earliest work you will notice that all the four first albums and the "Aske" EP are all made mostly between August 1991 and March 1993, so in about one and a half year, so I would say I am actually taking things slow and easy these days, with only one album each year.
Throughout so many years there have been numerous Tributes to Burzum, can you tell us which cover versions of any of your songs you liked the most?
Well, I have only heard some, and I don't know which ones I heard or anything, so that's somewhat hard to answer properly.
How would you prefer Burzum's listeners to regard your music, instead of putting the tag "Black Metal" on it?
Scaldic metal would be fine, or just scaldic music.
What is your opinion on metal and its fans as a whole?
It seems metal fans are more loyal than other fans, they collect more than others and are a bit more extreme (as fans) than most others. They are of course weirder than most others too... but that's nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary.
Metal as a whole? I don't think I have an opinion on that. Well, I can tell that generally speaking I am negative, but I am more positive to metal than I am to most other music genres, so I guess it doesn't matter much anyhow.
What is the reason of the 11 year long silence (apart from compilation releases) between "Hliðskjálf" and "Belus"?
In one word; prison.
What has changed in Metal since the beginning of Burzum and how have you changed during the years?
(Not answered)
What do you think of modern Black Metal and blackened death metal bands nowadays?
I do not think about Black Metal at all, and I have no idea what a blackened death metal band is. I don't mean to be as negative as I might sound saying this. I just have other interests and worries. Sorry.
So after being released are there any projects for a book or some philosophical stuff?
Well, it depends on what you mean by "a book", because I am in fact working on a Roleplaying Game, and of course this will if ever released be released in form of a book.
Is it true that Fenriz took care of the drum duties on the last albums?
No, and I wonder why on Earth you or anyone else would believe that. I play all the instruments myself, and will do so in the future as well. Had anyone else played anything on an album I would of course have informed about that on the album cover.
"Umskiptar" will be released in May, can you tell us more about the ideology behind the lyrical concept and how important is Asatru in your life?
That is a question best answered by the articles on Burzum.org.
Are you still following the Metal scene intense, if so... are there specific bands that give inspiration to Burzum's newer albums?
No, and no.
There are many who hate Burzum but also those who always supported your music throughout all the years, how do you deal with the negative feedback? Does it make Burzum even stronger?
No, it doesn't make Burzum stronger, I just ignore it and keep doing what I like and what I want. I appreciate it when someone likes my music, and couldn't care less if they don't. That's their problem, if they spend time listening to music they don't like and even spend time complaining about it.
Regarding the music, are there any things you would have changed if you only could turn back time? Any releases you regret?
As I see it that is not a constructive approach to this.
"Umskiptar" is probably the first album where the use of vocals is as important as the music itself, what is the reason behind this and will we get to hear more use of clean vocals on the next Burzum releases?
The reason was first of all because there were so many stanzas in Völuspá, which I used as the lyrics for "Umskiptar", and also because the Old Norwegian language (of Völuspá) was so rewarding and inspiring to work with. Yes, you can expect more of this in the future.
Burzum is one of a few bands staying true to the sound of Grieghallen Studios, did you ever consider to work with another recording studio in order to follow a new direction?
This is a very strange question. A) Why would anybody want to stay true to "the sound of Grieghallen Studios"? B) Back in 1992-1993 all the underground metal bands in Norway did their best not to sound alike, and even went to great lengths to use different studios to achieve this. I originally used Grieghallen because it was a 5 minute walk from where I lived at the time, and I still use it only because I really don't like to meet new people. With that said, I follow a new direction every single time I am in the studio, and I have since the beginning.
You are a legendary person and we're sure you get lots of offers from bands to participate on their albums... Are there any bands you'd like to work with or do you prefer to record only for Burzum? Did you ever consider to hire specific session musicians and which musicians already worked for Burzum since you got out from jail?
No, I would not at all like to work with any other bands or musicians, and if I cannot record my own music I would rather not record it at all. I have not and will not hire, or for that sake see or even hear about other musicians. If I wanted that I would be in a normal band.
You're officially released from jail since 3 years, how difficult is it to start living in a world that has changed so much in the last 20 years?
It was not difficult at all.
Are there any future plans for a side-project, for example something in the vein of "Dauði Baldrs" and "Hliðskjálf"?
No, there are no such plans, but I will not rule out that I will do something like that in the future.
Thank you kindly Varg for your time and words, do you have any message to your fans and Valhalla Promotions?
Thank you for your interest and good luck to you. Remember that I have no Facebook profile or anything like that. The only web site with reliable and relevant Burzum information is www.burzum.org.
If you take a look at the earliest work you will notice that all the four first albums and the "Aske" EP are all made mostly between August 1991 and March 1993, so in about one and a half year, so I would say I am actually taking things slow and easy these days, with only one album each year.
Throughout so many years there have been numerous Tributes to Burzum, can you tell us which cover versions of any of your songs you liked the most?
Well, I have only heard some, and I don't know which ones I heard or anything, so that's somewhat hard to answer properly.
How would you prefer Burzum's listeners to regard your music, instead of putting the tag "Black Metal" on it?
Scaldic metal would be fine, or just scaldic music.
What is your opinion on metal and its fans as a whole?
It seems metal fans are more loyal than other fans, they collect more than others and are a bit more extreme (as fans) than most others. They are of course weirder than most others too... but that's nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary.
Metal as a whole? I don't think I have an opinion on that. Well, I can tell that generally speaking I am negative, but I am more positive to metal than I am to most other music genres, so I guess it doesn't matter much anyhow.
What is the reason of the 11 year long silence (apart from compilation releases) between "Hliðskjálf" and "Belus"?
In one word; prison.
What has changed in Metal since the beginning of Burzum and how have you changed during the years?
(Not answered)
What do you think of modern Black Metal and blackened death metal bands nowadays?
I do not think about Black Metal at all, and I have no idea what a blackened death metal band is. I don't mean to be as negative as I might sound saying this. I just have other interests and worries. Sorry.
So after being released are there any projects for a book or some philosophical stuff?
Well, it depends on what you mean by "a book", because I am in fact working on a Roleplaying Game, and of course this will if ever released be released in form of a book.
Is it true that Fenriz took care of the drum duties on the last albums?
No, and I wonder why on Earth you or anyone else would believe that. I play all the instruments myself, and will do so in the future as well. Had anyone else played anything on an album I would of course have informed about that on the album cover.
"Umskiptar" will be released in May, can you tell us more about the ideology behind the lyrical concept and how important is Asatru in your life?
That is a question best answered by the articles on Burzum.org.
Are you still following the Metal scene intense, if so... are there specific bands that give inspiration to Burzum's newer albums?
No, and no.
There are many who hate Burzum but also those who always supported your music throughout all the years, how do you deal with the negative feedback? Does it make Burzum even stronger?
No, it doesn't make Burzum stronger, I just ignore it and keep doing what I like and what I want. I appreciate it when someone likes my music, and couldn't care less if they don't. That's their problem, if they spend time listening to music they don't like and even spend time complaining about it.
Regarding the music, are there any things you would have changed if you only could turn back time? Any releases you regret?
As I see it that is not a constructive approach to this.
"Umskiptar" is probably the first album where the use of vocals is as important as the music itself, what is the reason behind this and will we get to hear more use of clean vocals on the next Burzum releases?
The reason was first of all because there were so many stanzas in Völuspá, which I used as the lyrics for "Umskiptar", and also because the Old Norwegian language (of Völuspá) was so rewarding and inspiring to work with. Yes, you can expect more of this in the future.
Burzum is one of a few bands staying true to the sound of Grieghallen Studios, did you ever consider to work with another recording studio in order to follow a new direction?
This is a very strange question. A) Why would anybody want to stay true to "the sound of Grieghallen Studios"? B) Back in 1992-1993 all the underground metal bands in Norway did their best not to sound alike, and even went to great lengths to use different studios to achieve this. I originally used Grieghallen because it was a 5 minute walk from where I lived at the time, and I still use it only because I really don't like to meet new people. With that said, I follow a new direction every single time I am in the studio, and I have since the beginning.
You are a legendary person and we're sure you get lots of offers from bands to participate on their albums... Are there any bands you'd like to work with or do you prefer to record only for Burzum? Did you ever consider to hire specific session musicians and which musicians already worked for Burzum since you got out from jail?
No, I would not at all like to work with any other bands or musicians, and if I cannot record my own music I would rather not record it at all. I have not and will not hire, or for that sake see or even hear about other musicians. If I wanted that I would be in a normal band.
You're officially released from jail since 3 years, how difficult is it to start living in a world that has changed so much in the last 20 years?
It was not difficult at all.
Are there any future plans for a side-project, for example something in the vein of "Dauði Baldrs" and "Hliðskjálf"?
No, there are no such plans, but I will not rule out that I will do something like that in the future.
Thank you kindly Varg for your time and words, do you have any message to your fans and Valhalla Promotions?
Thank you for your interest and good luck to you. Remember that I have no Facebook profile or anything like that. The only web site with reliable and relevant Burzum information is www.burzum.org.
Author: Semivivus (© 2012 "Valhalla Promotions")