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Belus (album)

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Belus
Studio album by
Burzum
Released8 March 2010 (2010-03-08)
RecordedLate 2009 – early 2010
StudioGrieg Hall, Bergen
GenreBlack metal
Length52:16
LanguageNorwegian
LabelByelobog Productions
ProducerBurzum, Pytten
Burzum chronology
Hliðskjálf
(1999) 		Belus
(2010) 		Fallen
(2011)

Belus is the seventh full-length album by the Norwegian one-man band Burzum. Released on 8 March 2010 through Byelobog Productions, it is the first Burzum studio album to be recorded after a near 11-year hiatus.[1][2][3][4]

Background

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Belus was the first album to be recorded and released after Varg Vikernes' May 2009 parole from prison. He had served almost 16 years of a 21-year murder sentence.[5][6] The album was originally called "The Return of Baldur",[7] but Vikernes announced the album in November 2009 as Den Hvite Guden ("The White God" in Norwegian). In December 2009, he announced that the name was being changed to Belus because some in the media speculated that the album might have racist undertones.[8] He stated that the former name had nothing to do with skin colour or racism, but that it was merely a common name for the Norse god Baldr.[9]

Vikernes suggests that Belus is the oldest known (Proto-Indo-European) name of the life-death-rebirth deity that is reflected in the Norse Baldr, the Greek Apollo, the Gaulish Belenus and the Slavic Belobog (itself meaning "White God"), among others.[10]

The other Proto-Indo-European theonyms used in the lyrics are "Lukan" (equivalent to the god Loki),[11] "Kaimadalthas" (equivalent to the gods Heimdallr and Hermóðr, which Vikernes believes were initially the same god, Haimaþellar)[12] and "Kelio" (equivalent to the underworld Hel).[13]

Music

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The album is just over 50 minutes long. It originally contained nine metal tracks (though this was later reduced to only six metal tracks) and an ambient intro and outro. The song names "Besøk til Kelio", "Alvenes dans" and "Alvegavene" were removed from the track list, as the original was only a "working track list".[14] The album endeavours to explore the ancient European myths about Belus: his death, his journey through the underworld and his return.[3] Although he described modern black metal culture as a "tasteless, low-brow parody" of the early Norwegian black metal scene, Vikernes did not change the style of his music for Belus and likened it to Hvis lyset tar oss and Filosofem.[10] Nevertheless, he claimed to have "evolved" over time. Belus includes two reworked songs: "Total Destruction" from the unreleased Uruk-Hai from 1988–1989 (with lyrics and title changed to fit the album's theme), which became "Sverddans", and "Dauði Baldrs" (which appears on the album of the same name as an ambient song), which became "Belus' død". The album's lyrics are wholly in Norwegian and were uploaded to the official Burzum website.[8]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Metal Storm6.9/10[15]

The album garnered mainly mixed/average reviews. AllMusic gave Belus 3.5 stars out of 5. The AllMusic reviewer noted that the album was "defiled by intentionally lo-fi production standards that still barely try to mask the sophisticated compositional foundations supporting excellent songs" and named "Glemselens elv" as a highlight.[15] Metal Storm called Belus a "disappointment". While they praised the instrumentation, they heavily criticized Vikernes' change of vocal style when compared to earlier albums; "His wolf-esque howls have been replaced with mediocre, wholly unimpressive run-off-the-mill shrieks". They gave the album 6.9 out of 10.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Burzum

No.TitleTranslation
(by Varg Vikernes)		Length
1."Leukes renkespill (Introduksjon)"Leuke's Plot (Introduction)0:33
2."Belus' doed"Belus' Death6:23
3."Glemselens elv"River of Forgetfulness11:54
4."Kaimadalthas nedstigning"Kaimadalthas' Descent6:43
5."Sverddans"Sword Dance2:27
6."Keliohesten"The Kelio Horse5:45
7."Morgenroede"Dawn8:54
8."Belus' tilbakekomst (Konklusjon)"Belus' Return (Conclusion)9:37
Total length:52:16

Credits

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Charts

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Chart (2010) Peak
position
Finnish Albums Chart[17] 8
Norwegian Albums Chart[18] 23

References

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  1. ^ "Varg Vikernes med nytt album" (in Norwegian). fvn.no. 2009-11-19. Archived from the original on 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  2. ^ "Burzum Changes New Album Title from "The White God" to "Belus"". metalunderground.com. 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  3. ^ a b "Burzum "Belus" 2010". burzum.org. 2009-12-12. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  4. ^ "Burzum". Discogs. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  5. ^ "Burzum to Release 'The White God' Album in the Spring". blabbermouth.net. 2009-11-18. Archived from the original on 2009-11-21. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  6. ^ "Ute av fengsel" (in Norwegian). dagbladet.no. May 22, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  7. ^ "Interview with Varg Vikernes "Devilution" (08.04.2012), by Kent Kirkegaard Jensen". burzum.org. 2012-04-08. Archived from the original on 2014-07-06. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  8. ^ a b "A Burzum Story: Part XII – Belus". burzum.org. 2009-12-02. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  9. ^ "A Burzum Story: Part XI – Birds of a Feather Flock Together". burzum.org. 2009-11-21. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  10. ^ a b "A Burzum Story: Part X – The White God". burzum.org. 2009-11-14. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  11. ^ "A Bard's Tale: Part V – Loki". burzum.org. 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  12. ^ "A Bard's Tale: Part IV – Heimdallr". burzum.org. 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  13. ^ Interview with Varg Vikernes (10.03.2010), by Brandon Stosuy
  14. ^ "Interview with Varg Vikernes (23.02.2010), by EvilG, Lord of the Wasteland, Luxi, and Arto" (in Norwegian). burzum.org. 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  15. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Belus – Burzum". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  16. ^ "Burzum – Belus review". Metal Storm. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  17. ^ Steffen Hung. "Finnish charts portal". finnishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  18. ^ Steffen Hung. "Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
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