Review Summary: Belus deserves to be known as one of Burzum's best, with some of his most brutal, well crafted songs. The only thing standing between it and a "Classic" rating from me is its tendency to drag songs out for too long.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out why this was one of the most anticipated metal albums of all time. Burzum's Varg Vikernes has been in a Norwegian jail cell for ten years (he should've gotten the chair for Daudi Baldurs...), and the black metal scene has been holding its breath to see what would happen when he got out. True to form, the album was controversial from the start due to its original name - "The White God" - and only got better.
Now, in general, Burzum's releases have a very polarizing effect. They will either be an experimental metal masterpiece, like Filosofem or Det Som Engang Var, or they will be an absolute crap pile like Daudi Baldurs. He seems incapable of mediocrity, and while that may sound like a good thing, it means that diving into a new release from him is a toss up with the potential to leave you clawing at your ears. Luckily for the world, Belus lies in the former category.
The album begins with a short ambient track, "Leukes Renkespill". It's not really a song, it's a recording of a bottle or something being dropped on a hard surface a couple times. It produces nothing more than a raised eyebrow and mild amusement, but luckily it ends before it has the chance to tarnish the album.
We then delve into "Belus' Doed", black metal the way it should be. The repetitive tremolo picking is offset by a characteristic Burzum riff that could almost be a thrash composition. Varg also delivers vocally, with a distorted, desperate sound that, despite others attempts at copying it, is refreshing to hear for those of us that remember Filosofem. A thoroughly awesome track that even newcomers to Burzum's work can enjoy.
From the brilliance of "Belus' Doed" we sink into the run-of-the-mill "Glemselens Elv". "Glemselens Elv" represents a style of black metal that Burzum generally didn't overuse, the completely tremolo-picked, awash in distortion style that lends itself more to atmosphere than attention-grabbing. As a song it is okay, nothing special. It feels almost as if it was lifted off an old Darkthrone record. The next song, "Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning" delivers the same atmosphere, and the same listener apathy, for another six minutes....in fact, this album is full of it. Quite a bit of black metal tries to put the listener into a trance, and many of the songs on this record, such as the aforementioned two, "Keliohesten", and the ten-minute "Belus' Tilbakekomst" shoot for that mark. Some make it, and some don't. What keeps them from making the atmospheric mark is simply their length - when you go on for ten minutes, unless the listener is falling asleep, they will get bored if you are simply repeating the same riff over and over.
Thank god for "Sverddans", the speedy two minute thrash-esque number serving to bring the listener back out of the tremolo-picked trance of the previous two tracks. "Sverddans" uniqueness lies in its originating in Varg's pre-Burzum band, Uruk-Hai. Its lead guitar tracks makes it unique in the world of Burzum, and perfectly complements the speed-metal nature of the song...almost like a better version of his old song 'War'. Definitely my favorite off of this album.
"Morgenroede" also is a black metal titan. Eight minutes of cascading guitar riffs, it towers over the listener in all the ways that the previous atmospheric tracks didn't.
Honestly, the only thing keeping Belus from competing for the title of Burzum's best release is its length. The songs are all great...for the first five minutes of them. They stretch out for FAR too long, even beyond the point of appreciation as atmospheric black metal tracks. Even the damn song titles are long! Despite this, it can and should be said that Varg Vikernes has made up for lost time. Belus rocks a 4.5/5 from me.
