Customer Reviews:
 "In every night, theres a different black" January 8, 2003
Lone Wolf77 (England)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This was the last "studio" album released by one man band & Norse extremist Varg Viknerness (well, released after his imprisonment infact), and its quite a departure in sound from previous releases. I'd say it was the most accessible for the first timer - instead of shrieking these are clever distorted industrial type vocals. still intense, with the added bonus that you can understand what he's singing. The guitars are multilayered, treble heavy & much more intricate than first meets the ear, with repeated listens you will hear hidden stuff. I can;t say I;ve heard anything quite like it. I only listen to the first 3 tracks (not a fan of the ambient later 3 songs)& they are worth 5 stars on their own. This isn't 100mph black metal.. the riffs are monstrously heavy, the guitars ultra-cool, but the effect is more of moodiness/mystery. Favourite track is no. 3.. I can't explain why, but I can easily listen to this on repeat for hours on end, the intensity, seriousness & ambience created are what sets Burzum aside from the rest.
 Good album overall, but the experimental tracks are lacking. March 3, 2002
minim_babysatan@hotmail.com (South England)
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
The first thing i noticed when listening to this album is that it only has 6 tracks and 4,5 and 6 are almost a waste of time. Not entirely but these tracks are Varg experimenting with synth and atmosphere, but when it lasts over 30 minutes it does get tedious. Despite that the first 3 tracks are really good, highly distorted guitars and voice that give a kind of hypnotic feel to it. Dunkelheit and Jesus' Tod are the best tracks on the album. Jesus' Tod has to be my faveourite, its rawness and furiousness make it listenable for the full 8 minutes. Dunkelheit and Erblicket die Töchter des Firmaments also stand out as well written black metal songs. Overall Filosofem has a great atmosphere and that's what Varg was trying to create, but the end half of the album does seem (to me) boring and not worth the listen.
Most important black metal album of all time September 8, 2000
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Vikernes actually topped "Hvis lyset tar oss" by creating this masterpiece. Minimalistic, monotone black metal art with a lot of misanthropic atmosphere.Great production, especially the vocals "suffer" like never before...
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