Varg Vikernes
, the sole member of
Burzum
, formerly of
Mayhem
and locked up for years for the murder of bandmate
Euronymous
, made the switch from making jagged-edged black metal to the darkest ambient sometime during his prison stay in the 2000s. With
Sol Austan, Mani Vestan
, his 11th proper album under the
moniker, he leans again in the shadiest direction of ambient instrumental sounds. Dark synths and menacing, impossible-to-place textural elements fill the entire album, and certain songs such as "Solargudi" incorporate upright bass, stringed instruments, and choral sample keyboard sounds for an almost new age feel. ~ Fred Thomas