Without a doubt Burzum is known majorly for its black metal albums of the 90s, which are considered as classics of the genre, yet the metal albums of the early 2010s deserve a nod too. “Belus” marked the second coming of Varg and it remained the most interesting work in the skaldic series of Burzum. The forced layoff positively affected Burzum, because it made Varg hungry for making music and eventually “Belus” gathered the material of different years, what made the album diverse and highly memorable. Despite Varg’s desire to distant himself from associations with black metal, “Belus” pretty much fits the definition of atmospheric black metal, which, actually, was coined exactly by Burzum in the 90s. It’s possible to call “Belus” pagan black metal as well, since its concept deals with the story of Baldr.
The material is monotonous and quite melodic. Mid-tempo is common, blast bits are rare. Tremolo riffs are the main tool in creation of melodies, although there’re some passages with thrashy riffing. Vocals aren’t screamed, instead Varg produces some sort of hissing like on “Filosofem”. There’re some clean sung parts, which were rarely heard from Burzum before, but the overall picture is in the vein of the early works from the technical side. Varg himself likes to compare “Belus” with “Hvis lyset tar oss” and “Filosofem”, however, the atmosphere of “Belus” isn’t that dark. “Hvis lyset tar oss” and “Filosofem” were filled with misanthropy and depression, while “Belus” is more reserved and stoic. The intro “Leukes Renkespill” is too simple and short, but all the remaining tracks are profound, even if they remain repetitive. “Belus’ Død”, which was presented before in the ambient form with the title of “Dauði Baldrs”, is probably the darkest composition of the album. It’s slow and relatively disturbing. Yet already the following track, “Glemselens Elv”, isn’t that grim, instead of what it sounds hypnotic and quite passionate. “Kaimadalthas’ Nedstigning” starts with thrashy passages, but in choruses it sounds melancholic, what is supplied by the ethereal singing. There’re some post-punk/gothic rock vibes. Varg is known to like The Cure with the early Dead Can Dance, isn’t he?
“Sverddans” is the most energetic composition of the album, a pure thrash metal written back in the late 80s. “Keliohesten” features great suspensive tremolo riffs in verses and powerful thrashy riffs in culminations. It’s the second and the last track, which sounds dark enough. The conclusion of “Belus” comes with “Morgenrøde” and “Belus’ Tilbakekomst”, which are similar. The monotony is emphasized there. On “Morgenrøde” there are short vocal parts, while “Belus’ Tilbakekomst” doesn’t have those at all. Varg likes to hypnotize a listener in the end with prolonged instrumentals, he did the same on “Hvis lyset tar oss” and “Filosofem”, although there were more of ambient in the endings of those albums. So, “Belus” is a great work, a more than excellent comeback of Burzum after a decade of silence. The album didn’t make it to the glory of the classical works, so it’s fair to call him underrated. Basically, it’s the same Burzum, diverse yet repetitive, just not that aggressive and dark, instead of what it’s more meditative. The value of “Belus” is exactly in the least thing. It’s a mature version of Burzum.
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