Controversy regarding the recording legacy of Burzum continues. Daudi Baldrs and Hlidskjalf, representing the later half of Burzum's (featuring sole member Count Grishnackh, formerly a member of the also controversial band Mayhem) recording era, were the first from the Norwegian band's five official recordings to find first-time proper US release. However, close to the albums planned late September release date, the titles were recalled and refused by Dead Ringer's US-based distributor, throwing long-time fans back in search of the hard-to-obtain recordings. To fans and extreme metal followers, the early BURZUM years facilitated the rise of the initial wave of Norwegian black metal. It was in this period that the world would come to bear witness to the initial trinity of recordings. Each set a standard that, alongside Darkthrone, early Mayhem and the initial recordings from Emperor, remain today as genre-setting sounds. It is in the second period that Grishnackh began to experiment more with not only sound but a growing musical conception that would travel far beyond the barriers of metal. Reaching further into the realms of ambient, dark wave and electronica, Grishnackh infused the savagery of his blasphemous metal offerings with the complex throes of synthesizers and computer-assisted musical composition. This second period, or what is intended to represent BURZUM's later trilogy, have all been recorded from inside the prison walls that have surrounded him near eleven years.
