| Det som engang var | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1993 | |||
| Recorded | April 1992 at the Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:49 | |||
| Language | English, Norwegian | |||
| Label | Cymophane | |||
| Producer | Count Grishnackh, Pytten | |||
| Burzum chronology | ||||
| ||||
Det som engang var (Norwegian for What Once Was) is the second studio album by the Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was recorded in April 1992 and released in August 1993 through Burzum's own label, Cymophane Productions.
Varg Vikernes recorded the first four Burzum albums between January 1992 and March 1993 at the Grieg Hall in Bergen. 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 (1st edition) module The Temple of Elemental Evil . [1] 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.
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, which was owned by Mayhem guitarist Euronymous. [2] Its release was limited to around 950 copies. [2] 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. 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. The vinyl release contained a Limited Edition poster of the album cover art. [2]
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 .
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Sputnikmusic | [4] |
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic 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." [3]
All tracks are written by Count Grishnackh
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Den onde kysten" ("The Evil Coast") | 2:20 |
| 2. | "Key to the Gate" | 5:10 |
| 3. | "En ring til aa herske" ("One Ring to Rule") | 7:09 |
| 4. | "Lost Wisdom" | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Han som reiste" ("He Who Travelled") | 4:50 |
| 6. | "Naar himmelen klarner" ("When the Sky Clears") | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Snu mikrokosmos tegn" ("Turn the Sign of the Microcosm") | 9:36 |
| 8. | "Svarte troner" ("Black Thrones") | 2:16 |
| Total length: | 39:49 | |
Burzum
Additional personnel
Burzum is a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a staple of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black metal's history. Vikernes has also released five dark ambient and neofolk albums. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a fictional language crafted by The Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology.
Louis Cachet, better known as Varg Vikernes, is a Norwegian author and musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burzum from 1992 to 1996, made him one of the most influential figures in black metal. In 1994, he was convicted of murder and arson, and subsequently served 15 years in prison.
Øystein Aarseth, 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 Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and was the only constant member from the band's formation in 1984 until his death in 1993. He was also founder and owner of the extreme metal record label Deathlike Silence Productions and record shop Helvete.
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Langhus in 1984. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes of Burzum.
The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with creating the modern black metal genre and produced some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. It attracted massive media attention when it was revealed that its members had been responsible for two murders, a suicide, and a wave of church burnings in Norway.
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De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's release was delayed until May 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely considered one of the most influential black metal albums of all time. It is the band's only studio album to feature Aarseth and Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes.
Burzum is the debut studio album by the Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was released in March 1992, through Euronymous's label Deathlike Silence Productions. Six of the songs were later re-recorded in 2010 and released on the album From the Depths of Darkness, as Varg Vikernes was dissatisfied with some of the original vocals and production.
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Hvis lyset tar oss is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was recorded in September 1992, but was not released until April 1994, whereupon it was released through Misanthropy Records and Vikernes' own record label, Cymophane Productions.
Filosofem is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was recorded in March 1993 and was the last recording before Varg Vikernes was sentenced to prison in 1994; the album was not released until January 1996, however. It was released through Misanthropy Records and Vikernes's own record label, Cymophane Productions. A music video was made for the song "Dunkelheit" and received airtime on both MTV and VH1.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1993.
Jørn Stubberud is a Norwegian musician best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher. He is one of Mayhem's founding members, along with Euronymous and Manheim. He is the band's only remaining original member, as Messiah and Manheim left Mayhem, respectively, in 1986 and 1988, and Euronymous was murdered in 1993. He has also played in other bands, including L.E.G.O., Kvikksølvguttene, Bloodthorn, and Checker Patrol.
Until the Light Takes Us is a 2008 American documentary film about early Norwegian black metal, directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in 2008, a year before it was released in theaters.
Belus is the seventh full-length album by the Norwegian one-man band Burzum. Released on 8 March 2010 through Byelobog Productions, it is the first Burzum studio album to be recorded after a near 11-year hiatus.
Fallen is the eighth studio album by the Norwegian artist Burzum, released on 7 March 2011 through Byelobog Productions.
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 (1992) and Det som engang var (1993), along with three new tracks.
The Ways of Yore is the eleventh studio album by Norwegian musical project Burzum, released on 2 June 2014 by sole member Varg Vikernes' label Byelobog Productions. The album retains the ambient and medieval music sound Vikernes started with Burzum's previous album, Sôl austan, Mâni vestan, albeit introducing vocals.
Thulêan Mysteries is the twelfth and final studio album by Norwegian musical project Burzum, released on 13 March 2020 through Byelobog Productions. It is a double album, comprising the sporadic and random tracks written and recorded by Varg Vikernes since 2014's The Ways of Yore.
