2013 Albums: Burzum - Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan

On first listen, this album is merely a full work drawn from the melancholic sections of Varg Vikernes' prison albums and is generally receiving highly negative reviews by those metal fans that find it to be uninspired or not engaging. I will admit that the mood and even the compositional techniques rarely vary in this work; however, after further listening, its lack of variety is more due to its narrative structure, acting more as one long song than as a varied work along the lines of Burzum's finest metal works such as the legendary magnum opus Hvis Lyset Tar Oss. The real question regarding this album's value lies in the listener's understanding of ambient music: does an ambient album have to engage in a variety of techniques from start to finish or be as musically engaging as more active forms of music to be considered legitimate art? I would answer with a resounding "no" and expound upon this answer with the notion that some ambient music must simply sound pleasant as background music to achieve its goals. The chief example of this idea is Erik Satie and his "furniture music" - not meant to be listened to with full attention so much as appreciated for the atmosphere it evokes. Am I comparing Varg's late compositional quality to Satie's? No, but I still find this album pleasant to listen to in an ambient context, and that fact places it far above his other post-prison albums in my preference, albums which try and fail to engage the listener in that more active form of musical experience. As for the lack of variety, several great metal albums have achieved underground fame through a similar vibe of sounding like "one long song" - examples include debuts from Incantation and Sepultura.

In summary, if you're looking for an active listening experience full of varied compositional techniques and engaging hooks, this album is not for you; however, given Varg's inability to continue to write competent metal music, I am personally glad he has changed direction and is at least able to provide this soothing piece to ambient fans.