''Det som engang var'' (Norwegian for ''What Once Was'') is the second studio album by the Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

solo project

Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black m ...

. It was recorded in April 1992 and released in August 1993 through Burzum's own label, Cymophane Productions.

Background

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Bur ...

recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993 at the

Grieg Hall Grieg Hall ( no, Grieghallen) is a 1,500 seat concert hall located on Edvard Griegs' square in Bergen, Norway. Grieghallen was named in honor of Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg, who served as music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. However, the releases were spread out, with many months between the recording and the release of each album. The album was initially named ''På svarte troner'' (Norwegian for "On Black Thrones") but was renamed shortly before its release. The song "Det som en gang var" (with a slightly different spelling) would appear on the next album, '' Hvis lyset tar oss''. The album cover is visually inspired by the ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

'' (1st edition) module ''

The Temple of Elemental Evil ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', set in the game's ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition ' ...

''. At the bottom of the artwork is a depiction of the "reaper" and the tree shown on Burzum's first album. The album cover was drawn by Jannicke Wiese-Hansen, who also drew the cover for the first Burzum album.

Release

''Det som engang var'' was released on CD in August 1993 through Vikernes' own record label, Cymophane Productions, which he created so he could leave

Deathlike Silence Productions Deathlike Silence Productions (DSP) was a Norwegian independent record label founded in Oslo in 1987 (initially as Posercorpse Music) that focused on black metal. DSP supported the black metal revival in the early 1990s. Helvete was the headqu ...

, which was owned by

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

guitarist

Euronymous Øystein Aarseth (; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the N ...

. Its release was limited to around 950 copies. Although the two were friends, by the time of the album's release they had fallen out. On 10 August 1993, Vikernes stabbed Euronymous to death outside his apartment in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. He was arrested a few days later and, in May 1994, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and the church arsons. ''Det som engang var'' was reissued in 1994, by Misanthropy Records, in two formats: CD and

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

. The vinyl release contained a Limited Edition poster of the album cover art. After Vikernes's release from prison in 2009, he re-recorded two songs from the album—"Key to the Gate" and "Snu mikrokosmos tegn"—and released them on the album ''

From the Depths of Darkness ''From the Depths of Darkness'' is a compilation album by one-man musical project Burzum, released on 6 December 2011 through Byelobog Productions. It consists of newly re-recorded tracks from Burzum's first two albums, ''Burzum (album), Burzum'' ...

''.

Critical reception

Eduardo Rivadavia of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "Vikernes' claim to musical genius would soon be irreparably stained by his, shall we say, extra-curricular infamy, burying all of the fascinating contradictions inherent in his art under the brutally one-dimensional label of "murderer", and, by extension, forcing complicated feelings of guilt upon all those who would dare experience this otherwise compelling music."

Track listing

Personnel

Burzum *

Count Grishnackh Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burz ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, bass,

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Additional personnel *

– gong (track 1) Vikernes, Varg (July 2005)
"A Burzum Story: Part VI - The Music"
burzum.org. Retrieved 21 March 2020. *

Pytten Eirik Hundvin (born 8 February 1950), also known as Pytten, is a Norwegian producer and recording engineer for many classic black metal albums, mainly by Norwegian bands, nearly all of which were recorded in the Grieg Hall in Bergen. Hundvin is ...

– production *Jannicke Wiise-Hansen – album artwork (artwork is a partial re-creation of

's cover art.)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1993 albums Burzum albums Norwegian-language albums