 burzum (; ) is the musical project of norwegian musician and writer varg vikernes. vikernes began making music in 1988, but it was not until 1991 that he recorded his first demos as burzum. the word "burzum" means "darkness" in the black speech, a fictional language crafted by j. r. r. tolkien. the project became a part of the early norwegian black metal scene and one of the most influential acts in black metal. vikernes recorded the first four burzum albums between january 1992 and march 1993. however, the releases were spread out, with many months between the recording and the release of each album. in may 1994, vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of mayhem guitarist Ãystein 'euronymous' aarseth and the arson of three churches. while imprisoned, vikernes recorded two dark ambient albums using only synthesizers, as he did not have access to drums, guitar or bass. since his release from prison in 2009, he has recorded a further three black metal albums and another ambient/electronic album. although vikernes is known for his political views, he does not use burzum to promote those views. burzum has never played live and vikernes says he has no intention of doing so. == history == === early years (1988â1992) === thumb|right|the burzum logo used in 1991 vikernes began making music in 1988 with the band kalashnikov. the following year, the name was changed to uruk-hai, after the creatures from j. r. r. tolkien's the lord of the rings. in 1990 and 1991, vikernes played guitar for the death metal band old funeral, which also consisted of members who would later form the band immortal. he appears on the old funeral ep devoured carcass. vikernes left old funeral in 1991 and b
1988_establishments_in_Norway Dark_ambient_music_groups Musical_groups_established_in_1988 Musical_groups_from_Bergen Norwegian_ambient_music_groups Norwegian_black_metal_musical_groups Norwegian_folk_metal_musical_groups One-man_bands