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 Burzum 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, AllMusic.com