[4][5][6][7] The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a fictional language crafted by The Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R.

With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions.

Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it,[11] so Samoth of Emperor accompanied him as a session bassist, though only appearing on the Aske EP.

[12] Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer,[13] though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show.

Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore".

Burzum remained as a solo project until 1994, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway.

In 1998, all Burzum albums released up to that point were re-released as vinyl picture discs in a special box set called 1992–1997; however Filosofem did not contain "Rundtgåing av den transcendentale egenhetens støtte" due to its length.

[20] Sôl austan, Mâni vestan ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon"), Burzum's first electronic album since 1999, was released in May 2013.

[25] In July 2018, a YouTube user named Hermann posted unreleased materials of Uruk-Hai from 1988 to 1990 and Burzum's Bergen prison recordings from 1994, which he received from Tiziana Stupia.

[28][better source needed] The tracks from the album were previously used as background music on Vikernes' YouTube channel, which was taken down the same year.

On 18 December, Vikernes tweeted the album cover for Thulêan Mysteries and announced its release date as 13 March 2020.

On November 4th 2024, Vikernes announced the end of the project on his X account saying "I stopped making music (again), because I appreciate a lot more to work with my books, and especially #ReconQuest.

[9] He has stated the "message" of Burzum can be found in the lyrics of the first song of the first album ("Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown").

[9] Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology, and do not feature the far-right political views Vikernes is known for.

In a 1996 interview with Terrorizer, Vikernes also named Bathory's Blood Fire Death and Celtic Frost's Morbid Tales as significant influences on Burzum.

[4][6][7] Bands that have listed Burzum as an influence include Deafheaven,[38] Liturgy,[39] Wolves in the Throne Room[40] and Altar of Plagues.

[41] The project has also inspired musicians from other genres, including Chelsea Wolfe,[42] Mount Eerie,[43] Thurston Moore,[44] and Vision Eternel.

[45] Main releases EPs Singles Demos and promos Music videos Compilation albums Box sets Other appearances