I know this doesn't exactly rank high amongst the playlists of many black metal enthusiasts, but I am a huge fan of the prison-Burzum era. I think we need to reflect on what the man was simply left to work with; any country that allows you make an album whilst serving prison time for murder is pretty unusual in my opinion, and to be fair, considering Varg was supposedly only allowed to use a synthesizer, he did a pretty good job. Sure, it sounds cheap, but so does any synth music made in that era - just check out early Mortiis, that sounds similar and that dude wasn't chained up in the clink when he was writing his shit.
I think that the cheap, tacky feel of the keyboard sounds really contribute to the full atmosphere of the record. Sure, these tracks would sound absolutely stunning performed by a full orchestra or even a small group, but the tacky electronic instrumentation really gives this record it's charm. I was chuffed to bits then, when Back on Black re-issued not only the guaranteed-to-sell Burzum records, but the whole shebang, allowing me, the crappy keyboard music enthusiast, to get a lush new copy of this record on wax. I am not usually that keen on re-issues but Back on Black has made the whole Burzum catalog (not to mention a lot of "classic" black metal) much more affordable for vinyl fans. The fact that this label seems to get through so many releases can only be a good thing for the vinyl world, right?
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