Burzum: The Land of Thulê - Black Metal Album Review

Burzum's latest album, The Land of Thule, is a mesmerising journey through dark, ambient landscapes and haunting black metal melodies. Varg Vikernes masterfully blends black metal elements with atmospheric soundscapes, in a way very reminiscent of early Neraines and Lord Wind, creating a unique and immersive listening experience. Tracks like 'The Hidden Name' and 'The Call of the Kraken' showcase Burzum's abilities to evoke both powerful dark emotions all while transporting the listener to another realm (Thule).

While this album differs in approach from Burzum's most famous works, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Filosofem, it is very much in line with albums such as Belus and some of the more atmospheric, post-prison work. Still, however, it would be incorrect to say that The Land of Thule is purely an atmospheric or ambient album. The black metal elements are still as present as ever, with some melodies which would not sound out of place on the Burzum debut.

Off the "big four" of Norwegian black metal - Mayhem, Burzum, Immortal and Darkthrone -, this band has been the only one to successfully produce music more than three decades after the genre had peaked. Mayhem turned into commercial irrelevance with nonsense like Daemon, Darkthrone is trying to be Motörhead 2.0 for some reason, and Immortal... the less said, the better. How Demonaz can reconcile the moshcore crypto nu-metal of Northern Chaos Gods with a genre that explicitly stated "no fun, no trends, no MOSH, no CORE" is beyond the scope of this review anyway. Back to The Land of Thule.

Burzum is very much a band that can successfully reinvent itself time after time. This album The Land of Thule, released almost a year after the hilarious parody/tribute Burzumination, is certainly one of the most audacious offerings in recent years. Don't skip this one if you are a fan of atmospheric black metal.

Tracklist of the album The Land of Thulê (2024) by Burzum:

Back to the band Burzum.